"Every species lost is an evolutionary experiment ended — a door that took four billion years to open, closed in a generation. We exist to keep as many of those doors open as possible."
Dillon Thomson — Executive Director
Industrial civilization does not pause. Species do not wait. Every acre that remains intact is an acre where evolutionary time can continue uninterrupted — where salmon can still find cold gravel, where old-growth forest can still shelter the creatures that depend on it, where native plants can still hold the hillside they have inhabited for centuries.
We work with landowners, Tribes, and communities across Cascadia to permanently protect land through conservation easements, outright donation, and direct stewardship. Our approach is rooted in a biocentric ethic: we hold land not as owners but as participants in communities of life that predate and will outlast us — if we let them.
Our first stewarded parcel is 15 acres in the Elk Creek watershed, Del Norte County, California — old-growth redwood country where the Klamath Mountains meet the Pacific.
Elk Creek watershed · Photo: Justin Garwood
- Coho salmonendangered
- Northern Spotted Owlthreatened
- Port Orford cedar
- Pacific Giant salamander
- Roosevelt elk
- Cougar · Black bear
Conservation
Easement
A legal agreement between you and FGC that permanently limits certain uses or development on your land while you retain ownership. Terms are negotiated to reflect what you want protected and how you want to use the land going forward. Once established, FGC monitors and enforces the easement in perpetuity.
Most common option. You keep the deed.
Land
Donation
You transfer ownership of your land to Fertile Ground Conservancy outright. The land is permanently protected and managed by FGC for conservation purposes. This option may carry significant tax benefits and ensures the land is actively stewarded rather than simply restricted.
Immediate and permanent. May qualify for tax deduction.
Bequest
You include a provision in your will or estate plan to leave your land to Fertile Ground Conservancy upon your death. You retain full ownership and use during your lifetime. This is a powerful way to ensure the land you love is protected for the long term without giving anything up now.
Retain use for your lifetime. Plan for what comes after.
If you own land and are thinking about its long-term future, we'd like to hear from you. There's no obligation — just a conversation about what's possible.