Deep Connections to Land Result in Hopeful Future

Excerpt from the Washington Association of Land Trust’s 2024 Groundswell

Sometimes land trusts act as advisors or facilitators to support local conservation projects rather than
doing the transactions themselves. Recently, Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC) has been working to harness their specialized knowledge base around conservation and landowner relationships to help address historic injustice.

In 2018, 2,000 acres outside of Spokane was passed onto five siblings, who each envisioned a different future for the estate. Inland Northwest Land Conservancy had been meeting with the family, building relationships, and strategizing options to conserve the property for a decade before the land transfer happened. After many deliberations, INLC finally brought the right people to the table—the family
trustees and representatives of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. In 2023, the land was sold to the Tribe with the
facilitation and support of INLC, satisfying the family’s goals and reconnecting the Tribe to their traditional homelands. Here, the Tribe can rebuild their roots, revive native trout runs, and steward this pristine tract of land.

Text adapted from Inland Northwest Land Conservancy

Click to view the complete 2024 Groundswell

Read the full project article on pages 10 and 11 of your Conservancy’s Fall 2023 newsletter