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OREGON’S RAINFOREST RESERVE: A STORY OF SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY CONSERVATION
By North Coast Land Conservancy Staff
Oregon’s Rainforest Reserve. A coastal landscape of epic proportions. Basalt cliffs rising high above the rugged shoreline below. Since long before we humans first ascended its peaks to soak up its breathtaking views, these mountains have been home to an abundance of rare and diverse plants and wildlife.
Beyond its natural magnificence, these forested mountains—standing between Cannon Beach and Manzanita along Oregon’s North Coast—play an invisible role in sustaining our everyday lives, cleaning the air we breathe and purifying the waters that quench our thirst. Just as wildlife depends on this land to survive, so do we.
In the fall of 2021, North Coast Land Conservancy (NCLC), a nonprofit land trust, acquired 3,500 acres of temperate rainforest, establishing Oregon’s own Rainforest Reserve. Together with the adjacent Oswald West State Park and Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, the Rainforest Reserve helps form a continuous 32-square-mile conservation corridor stretching from the summits of coastalfronting mountains to the nearshore ocean. This accomplishment came at the end of a $12.1 million capital campaign that involved support and donations from more than 1,000 donors, organizations, and agencies. Now, conserving the Rainforest Reserve will create ripples that resonate for generations to come.
A Haven for Biodiversity
Within this evergreen realm thrives a complex community of plants and animals—from dragonflies to elk and eagles. Some of the plant and animal species found in the reserve live nowhere else on the planet. Additionally, the beloved basaltic ridgeline has become a familiar backdrop to the coastal communities clustered at its feet. It is well known to generations of residents and visitors alike. It figures in the stories of Indigenous people, in seafaring captains’ logs, in works of art, and in countless photographs.
“Bringing this land into conservation allows us to unlock its future,” NCLC Executive Director Katie Voelke says. “It is a living, breathing, flowing and evolving place. Conservation allows it to live its most dynamic and abundant life. This is a living museum, a living laboratory, a globally rare and precious place, and it’s our community backdrop. Conserving this land gives us all a chance to be in the right relationship with the land and the people it sustains.”
The primary purpose of the Rainforest Reserve is conserving important habitat for plants and animals and enabling the landscape to heal and rewild itself under our care. Habitat that is uninterrupted from summit to sea enhances survival of all species and helps them adapt to a changing world. Some of the plant and animal species that call the Rainforest Reserve home include the black petaltail dragonfly (Tanypteryx hageni), Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), northern pygmy owl (Glaucidium gnoma), queenof-the-forest (Filipendula occidentalis), Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis), Olympic onion (Allium crenulatum), Chamber’s paintbrush (Castilleja chambersii), bobcats, black bears, salamanders, and much more.
Connecting People to Place
However, the Rainforest Reserve is also a special place where the community can connect to conservation. For centuries, families have been hiking the mountains now within the reserve, including Angora and Onion peaks, and using the landscape to forage, hunt, and fish. Under our care, we continue to welcome visitors to the Rainforest Reserve—a beautiful place that belongs to us all. However, to protect this ecologically sensitive land, we must be good stewards.
We ask the public to follow some guidelines within the reserve, such as going on foot or by bicycle only; not camping, smoking, or building fires; and following access closures signs and staying on the road where indicated. Most importantly, we ask people to respect the land and follow “leave no trace” principles.
Since the acquisition in 2021, our stewardship team has been caring for the Rainforest Reserve. We worked with partners, supporters, stakeholders, and community members—including the Land Trust Alliance, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, The Climate Trust, the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Park Service—to create a climate-focused management plan that was finalized in 2024.
NCLC’s stewardship team is also engaged in various other projects in the Rainforest Reserve, including forest restoration, rare species monitoring, invasive species management, and road decommissioning.
“Caring for these lands is both a privilege and a responsibility,” NCLC Stewardship Director Melissa Reich says. “We watch, listen, and learn from the coastal forests and ancient mountains, so we may be thoughtful stewards—honoring a reciprocal relationship with the land and waters, where care flows in both directions.”
