ALUmNi Seeing the Forest for Its Trees An alumna works to sustain commerce and conservation Laurie Wayburn finds both inspiration and solace in these protected wood- lands, within walking distance of her San Francisco office. house-gas emissions, providing clean wa- ter and habitats, and stabilizing the en- vironment. “It’s the old ‘You can have your cake and eat it, too,’” says former PFT board member Walter Sedgwick ’69. “There are people who want to protect and set aside forests through organiza- tions like the Save the Redwood League, the Sierra Club, and the Nature Conservancy, which tend to buy forest and let it grow, a n d p e o p l e wh o would cut down the forests in short rota- rowing up in San Francisco, we still respond to it,” she says. “Nature tions and monetize the resources.” PFT’s Laurie Wayburn ’77 rarely at- is central to our emotional, physical, and approach has brokered a middle ground in tended church on Sundays. In- spiritual wealth and well-being. A central what has always been an extremely polar- stead, she and her family went motivating force for me in this work is ized, politicized arena. Ghiking. Mount Tamalpais State Park, Muir creating a resonance with that part of our “What’s different about Laurie and Woods, and the Point Reyes National lives at a very basic economic level: build- Connie,” Sedgwick adds, “is that they said, Seashore—among the most diverse and ing an understanding that nature is where ‘We can get almost all we want in terms of beautiful landscapes in the nation—are all our wealth comes from.” biodiversity and conservation values, but within easy reach of the city and quickly To marry these cultural and economic we can also cut.’ The real enemy of the for- became as familiar to her as her own back- realities, Wayburn and her partner, Con- ests is not the big timber companies, but yard. “We were raised in that environ- stance Best (who co-founded PFT with the permanent conversion of those forests ment,” she says. “Nature was our church.” Wayburn in 1993), have focused on con- into sprawl. From Laurie’s point of view, Now president and co-CEO of the Pa- serving working forests. And through pio- the landowners are the good guys.” cific Forest Trust (PFT), Wayburn is still neering a conservation easement specifi- As Wayburn, who spends a lot of time a convert—and one of the more innova- cally for land still in production, they have with state and federal politicians these tive conservationists in the environmental found a way to reward landowners who days, puts it: “I’ve found that a love of the field. “Everyone loves to be outside; na- engage in sustainable timber harvesting land is inherently bipartisan; but so is ture is where we all come from, and even and long-term stewardship that preserves a love of money. If you love land and you through millions of years of evolution, forests’ critical role in removing green- love money, this is a way to have both.” 68 May - June 2010 Photograph by Toni Gauthier In numeric and environmental terms, that typically leads to nest building, Way- Now that she is more immersed in de- the stakes are very high. Forests cover burn says. (She has vast knowledge of bird veloping policy, Wayburn misses working one-third of the United States—and life and was executive director of the Point directly with private landowners. “One of two-thirds of them are in private hands, Reyes Bird Observatory before founding the fun things is that many of them really so there are only nominal regulatory con- PFT.) Typically, in such a case, timber love their land and keep logs on what birds trols over their development. Forests fuel production would be restricted under return and what flowers bloom first,” she the nation’s $130-billion timber industry, the Endangered Species Act—a source of notes. “They are deeply attuned to aspects delivering basic products and critical ru- tension and conflict between landowners of their own property and are knowl- ral jobs. “Every year, forestlands the size and conservationists. But because PFT’s edgeable about what happens there from of Delaware are being destroyed,” Way- easement was already in place—and had, an ecological point of view. That always burn says, “and nobody wakes up realiz- in fact, helped foster a habitat that drew makes it a real pleasure to go out walking ing what that really means to our world. the birds in—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife with them.” Frankly, you can create alternatives for Service recognized the easement’s inher- Colleagues say that Wayburn her- a variety of timber products out of other self can identify most of the local plants, plants and materials through recycling— “You can create trees, and birds outside the PFT office, at but you cannot replace the clean air and the Thoreau Center for Sustainability in clean water that forests nurture.” She be- alternatives for the San Francisco’s Presidio, near the Golden lieves American culture is slowly evolving Gate Bridge. It is not unusual for her to into a society that recognizes the need to timber products—but stop mid-sentence to listen to a bird’s call. pay for what it really needs—a stable, re- “Getting ourselves back in touch with the source-rich environment. you can’t replace the natural world,” she says, “is enormously PFT’s work on two fronts—developing powerful.” and practicing direct land conservation clean air and water.” Maybe even more so for her than for services, and promoting public policies for other people. Hampered throughout her sustainable forestry—is meant to speed ent value and PFT was able to use that to teens by chronic pneumonia and kidney this cultural evolution. Forests are like negotiate a 99-year Safe Harbor Agree- diseases, Wayburn spent a lot of time in an old-fashioned bank account, Wayburn ment that did not interfere with planned the hospital. Trips outdoors to see birds likes to say: “They grow on their own, if logging on the land. and open sky, or study insects on the we let them. But we need to apply con- The negotiation also heartens Wayburn forest floor, were comforting. “I’m a big servative banking principles to our forest because it affirms the possibility of finding softie about animals—we have two mice, management: conserve and re-grow the and forging common ground. “The num- one magnificent cat, and a delightful dog, principal.” ber of forests that are conserved versus the in addition to our nearly eight-year-old The privately owned Van Eck Forest, number lost to development—that’s very child,” she says. “I think animals make us for example, is a 2,200-acre tract that depressing,” Wayburn notes. “So I pre- human.” PFT manages and conserves in Humboldt fer to focus on creating situations where At Harvard, where she transferred after County. It is a testing ground and model there is a win-win-win. A lot of this work a year at the University of California-Da- for PFT’s brand of stewardship, and was depends on how you look at your oppor- vis, Wayburn worked closely with Agas- the first emissions-reduction project reg- tunities, saying, ‘How can I find a friend siz professor of zoology and professor of istered in California under that state’s here?’ ‘How can we work together?’ That’s biology Farish A. Jenkins Jr., spending new carbon-accounting standards, my approach.” most of her time at the Museum of Com- which PFT was instrumental in drafting, In January, Wayburn led a “working parative Zoology “pulling out drawers of in 2006. The system rewards landowners lands coalition” (forest landowners, mill dead birds and studying their skins.” She for responsible harvesting practices by owners and environmentalists) to Wash- concentrated in geology and biology, but allowing them to sell carbon credits from ington, D.C., to advocate for the inclusion would have chosen ecology had that been forests in the carbon market created by of forests in climate and energy legisla- an option. the state’s landmark legislation. At the tion. Group members stressed the need to Some might argue that such formal same time, under its working easement, maintain and increase jobs in the declining study was less valuable than what she’d the Van Eck Forest is projected during wood-products industry in order to re- already learned growing up with her par- the coming century to reduce more than duce pressure on landowners to sell forest ents, Peggy and Edgar Wayburn, M.D. 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions through tracts for development. Specifically, they ’30, a renowned conservationist and for- sustainable forestry techniques that se- said, the climate bill should include: an ac- mer Sierra Club president who died in quester more carbon than conventional curate accounting of carbon stored in and March, at the age of 103. Campaigns that methods do. emitted by the nation’s lands; acknowl- he led ultimately protected about 104 mil- Recently, PFT took this easement prin- edgment of emissions reductions from for- lion acres of Alaskan wilderness and huge ciple a step further toward species preser- ests in any climate policy; and funding for tracts throughout Northern California, vation and habitat formation. Two endan- conservation and stewardship to protect including the places his daughter still gered northern spotted owls have been essential infrastructure that reduces car- loves to hike. He was also a prime mover seen on the property, engaging in behavior bon emissions.