SEATTLE, Sept. 2, 2004--Hancock Timber Resource Group has agreed to one of the nation's largest forest conservation transactions for land in a major urban area with the $22 million sale of development rights to the Snoqualmie Forest, just east of Seattle, Washington.

Hancock Timber, which acquired the Snoqualmie Forest in March 2003 from Weyerhaeuser, will sell the development rights for more than 90,000 acres of the Snoqualmie Forest to King County, Washington. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Under the terms of the deal, the land will remain a working forest in perpetuity. The area is nearly twice the size of the City of Seattle and five times the size of Bellevue, Seattle's largest eastern suburb and Washington state's fourth largest city. No commercial, industrial or residential development will be permitted.

John Davis, western regional manager for Hancock Timber, said the company has a long-standing commitment to working with communities to conserve sensitive lands and is extremely pleased to be able to join with King County and the Cascade Land Conservancy in preserving the Snoqualmie Forest.

"When we purchased the property, we said we wanted to work with conservation interests and the county to preserve the environmental features that make this forest so special," Mr. Davis said. "It's enormously satisfying to have achieved this common goal. Snoqualmie will remain a working forest with all of the economic, conservation and recreational values that come with a working forest."

King County Executive Ron Sims, who spearheaded the effort to conserve the forest along with the Cascade Land Conservancy, a Seattle conservation organization, said the agreement means the forest will always be part of the rural character of East King County.

"The wall against sprawl we've spent years creating is now reinforced to forever protect East King County quality of life," he said. "Instead of a suburb envisioned for this area two decades ago, we will leave a legacy of open space, timber jobs and a buffer for the Cascade wilderness for generations to come."

In addition to the purchase of development rights on 90,000 acres, King County purchased 150 acres of land along the Tolt River to protect critical chinook salmon spawning habitat. The transaction is expected to close later this fall.

This development rights agreement is viewed by the Cascade Land Conservancy as one of the most significant in the nation, given the size of the forest and its short distance from Seattle. "The Cascade Land Conservancy has worked for many years to conserve this most critical component of our region's Cascade Foothills," said Gene Duvernoy, conservancy executive director. "This dream has finally become reality. Purchase of the development rights from the Snoqualmie Forest fairly compensates Hancock Timber for the development value of the property, while ensuring that the foothills forests will remain green and productive, providing ecological and economic benefits to everyone in our region."

Larry Phillips, Chair of the Metropolitan King County Council, said that the Snoqualmie Forest had been envisioned as a natural target for suburban development to provide homes for the county's expanding population. Protecting it was critical so that the plateau's winding streams would never turn into winding streets.

"Hancock Timber will continue to own and log the land responsibly while the people of King County will hold the development rights," he said. "This part of the Cascade foothills will remain accessible to everyone, and never serve as a pedestal for rows of hill-top mansions."

Hancock Timber has a long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship. The company has conserved more than 200,000 acres of environmentally significant lands that would be better managed under public or conservation ownership by arranging their acquisition by appropriate organizations. These include 10 transactions totaling more than 11,000 acres in Washington state alone. Hancock Timber's conservation accomplishments have been honored with awards from groups including The Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, Trout Unlimited and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.