A Historic Opportunity
Please help the Pacific Crest Trail Association raise $300,000 by February 1, 2009!
One mile of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) runs through a parcel of threatened property in Oregon - and we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save it. For financial reasons, the private landowner must either sell her property, or raise cash by selling a conservation easement no later than February 2009. She cherishes her home and the 153 surrounding acres of her Keene Creek property, and wants to restore the land's natural beauty and forest ecosystem. No government agency can move fast enough to purchase the conservation easement, even though she is willing to sell it for one-third of the property price. She trusts the staff at the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) and admires our mission. The PCTA is determined to purchase the conservation easement on the Keene Creek property to protect the threatened trail corridor. To succeed, we must raise $300,000 by February 2009.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association is making a historic leap in land protection and is taking immediate action to prevent development of this "priority one" Keene Creek parcel outside of Ashland, Oregon. This is our first campaign of this magnitude to permanently protect the trail corridor and safeguard the experience of hikers, equestrians, runners, skiers, and other trail enthusiasts.
Our window of opportunity is narrow. Because no government entity can act in time to purchase this conservation easement, it is up to us. If February comes and goes, the owner will be forced to sell her property for financial reasons. It may be a generation - or longer - before a new owner decides to sell.
There may not be a second chance to save this First Mile!
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