The Forty for Forty Project

Article from The Wenatchee World | March 1, 2025

The Forty for Forty Project 

A question to consider.

Besides your employer, which three organizations are most important for maintaining the quality of life you enjoy in Central Washington?

If, like me, your interests are outdoor related — hiking, mountain biking, trail running, birding, wildlife viewing, snowshoeing, skiing, paddling, nature photography — then your top choices probably include a combination of organizations like the US Forest Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Chelan PUD, Mission Ridge, an activity club you’re part of and, perhaps, the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust.

Some may find this last choice a surprise option, but if you regularly visit such places as Saddle Rock, Castle Rock, the Loop Trail, Sage Hills, Horse Lake Reserve, Cashmere Canyons, Mountain Home Ridge, the White or Entiat rivers, Dry Gulch, Peshastin Pinnacles, or Twin Peaks then you likely have the Land Trust to credit for much of what you enjoy about living here.

Although the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust is now a well-recognized regional organization, 40 years ago it was just being birthed by local community members who recognized that, as our area grew, some of the undeveloped lands and waterways adjacent to our communities might be lost.

The organization’s first "save" came in the mid-1980s when it became involved in keeping Peshastin Pinnacles open to climbers. The sandstone slabs rock climbers enjoyed were on private property and the orchardists who owned them had generously allowed climbers to use the area for decades. But as America became a more litigious country, legitimate concerns arose as to whether landowners might be sued and held liable for injuries or deaths occurring on their property.

Quite sensibly, the landowners eventually protected themselves by closing the slabs to climbing. At this point the newly formed Land Trust, which had several avid climbers amongst its founders, got involved. Working with the landowners, a variety of funding partners, and many climbers who were willing to pony-up some dollars to keep the area open to the public, the Land Trust negotiated the purchase of the property and the eventual gifting of these lands to Washington State Parks, which would manage the area as a climbing and hiking park.

Over the next 15 years the organization, which at this point in its history was entirely a volunteer organization, played important roles in establishing the Loop Trail and in protecting Spider Meadows, but progress in protecting important local natural lands was, admittedly, slow. This was partly due to the organization being viewed suspiciously (and erroneously) as a quasi-governmental group trying to grab private property rights. The group has only ever worked with willing landowners who no longer wanted (or were able) to own a property but who also wanted the land to remain in a wild state.

The other factor curbing the Land Trust’s productivity in its early years was simply the lack of paid staff to lay the groundwork and follow through on the details of getting land deals done. This all changed in 1999 when the organization secured funding to hire Gordon Congdon, the CDLT’s first executive director. From this point forward, the organization moved quickly from crawling to running.

In the intervening 25 years since that first hire, most of the places that have benefited our regional lifestyles mentioned at the start of this article were protected to the benefit of our local wildlife, fish, and people.

Chelan-Douglas Land Trust events

To help you appreciate just how much these 40 years have benefited our local citizenry, for the remainder of 2025, which happens to be the Land Trust's 40th Anniversary, we will be bringing you 40 articles highlighting outings you can enjoy on the many properties it has helped protect.

These articles, which we’re calling the Forty for Forty Project, will not only highlight an outing, they’ll often feature important functions of that property or important details about how the Land Trust operates.

Put these 40 articles together and you’ll have a better grasp of just how many "front country" lands can be enjoyed throughout the greater Wenatchee River Valley as a result of the CDLT’s efforts. Along the way you may also have the "aha" moment of seeing why the Land Trust might deserve being listed as one of the top three organizations supporting your quality of life here in Central Washington.

During its 40th anniversary year, the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust will also host over 40 outings and events, many of them on the properties we will be writing about. Click here to see the calendar of upcoming events.

Andy Dappen is a retired magazine writer, the creator of the WenatcheeOutdoors website, and has served on the Land Trust’s board.