The acquired property, Oyster Island, was a mere 100 acres of shoreline along Willapa Bay, the second largest estuary on the Pacific Coast encompassing over 260 square miles of water surface. But it was a start.

The initial success was followed by several other acquisitions the following year. The Nemah River project, which included 305 acres of critical habitat for an array of bird, fish, and terrestrial species, was ranked number one in the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program for 2004.

While several of Forterra’s first properties were purchased from individual private landowners, its continued success relied on collaborations with larger entities. In 2005, Forterra acquired over 500 acres of shoreline properties from one of the largest timber holding companies in the world. The Weyerhaeuser acquisitions were significant additions to the piecemeal estuary plan, particularly the 375 acres within close proximity of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

Over the next two years, the land trust would partner with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), which would eventually take on long-term stewardship to maintain and protect the estuarine and forested wetlands as part of the Willapa Bay Management Plan.

Yet it didn’t happen all at once. In fact, it was parcel by parcel, acquired over a decade of dedication and multiple partnerships. 

Over 20 years ago, Forterra—then the Cascade Land Conservancy—purchased its first parcel in the bay, kicking off Phase I of its Cedar River Estuary acquisition plan. Cedar River empties into Willapa Bay from the north, where a tidally influenced ecosystem contains salt marshes, tidelands, and a mixed cedar, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir forest. The estuary provides valuable nursery habitat for several species of salmonid and is also a critical rest stop along the Pacific Flyway for 70 species of migrating shorebirds, waterfowl, and other avian species.