What does the landowner intend to do with Skyline?
Fidelity National Timber has told the Land Trust it expects to utilize the Skyline Forest legislation passed in June of 2009, which would allow Fidelity (or its successor) to develop a 282 home subdivision on 1,200 acres on the north end of Skyline Forest, in exchange for selling 30,000 acres of Skyline Forest and 34,700 acres of the Gilchrist Tree Farm (running along the Little Deschutes River between Gilchrist and LaPine) to the Land Trust at the “timber” value, rather than “development” value, as well as donating a conservation easement on an additional 1,8oo acre to serve as a buffer between the Skyline Community Forest and Fidelity’s subdivision. However, because Fidelity’s “return on investment” comes from development and sale of the subdivision, rather than the sale of land to the Land Trust at timber values, we expect that Fidelity will take their time. The legislation gave Fidelity or its successors up to 5 years to initiate the sale to the Land Trust.
