Partner Profile | Dan Kipervaser and Mike Schlafmann, Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie NF

Dan Kipervaser (left) serves as the Strategic Operations and Shared Stewardship Coordinator for the Mount Baker- Snoqualmie National Forest. He describes his position as “focused on finding opportunities for partnerships with organizations, governments and other programs where we can explore mutual interests and help each other achieve great outcomes that are meaningful to each organization and the people [they] represent.”

Mike Schlafmann (right) is the Partnerships & Public Services Staff Officer for the Mount Baker- Snoqualmie National Forest. According to Mike, the portfolio he maintains includes all of the places where the Agency–traditionally or non-traditionally–touches on communities and intersects with local and state government and NGOs, towards getting good work done. In recent years, he says, his role has evolved into “a facilitator and convener to help bring different groups to the table to think about where [they] might want to land in three years and then form a strategy to, slowly but surely, get there.”

Mike met Blue Forest co-founders Nick Wobbrock and Zach Knight at a US Forest Service conservation finance boot camp in November 2019 where Mike presented a case study on what would eventually evolve into the Snoquera Project. Although their proposal wasn’t selected, the boot camp provided both a space and an opportunity for the two to get to know Nick and Zach, to learn about the Forest Resilience Bond and “to better ground what this project represents for us as a National Forest.” Following the boot camp, the two were then able to expose their staff and leadership to conservation finance—specifically, to the FRB, which Mike describes as “a tool we all need in the toolkit.”

Fast forward to present day and the Snoquera Project is now in its development stage. The project is Blue Forest’s first FRB endeavor where wildfire risk reduction is not the main focus. Instead, the planned actions center around restoring riparian areas, enhancing aquatic habitat and fish passage, conducting road work that improves water quality, and addressing recreation needs within the watershed. The early challenge for understanding the value proposition of a Forest Resilience Bond for the Snoquera project was “to articulate the value of the project when it’s not as clear-cut as other Forest Resilience Bonds, but rather a blend of conditions, needs, and benefits.” explained Dan. “The financial gap is large, but the potential outcomes are also very large,” he added.

“There’s a connection between road infrastructure, water quality, habitat, and fish. The federally listed salmon species within our watershed are already having a hard enough time making their way from the ocean to the upper watersheds where they reproduce. Now, the same road infrastructure, which was insufficient for aquatic passage to begin with, is also falling apart. It prevents fish from getting upstream, reduces water quality for downstream communities, and impacts the Forest’s ability to prepare vegetation treatments in the forest. These treatments are how we not only support the economies of our local communities, but also how we manage forest conditions to support species like the northern spotted owl,” he said. “We need appropriate and functional infrastructure to implement the treatments that improve habitat, reduce erosion into our streams, and support the long term viability of a variety of species. If the roads and infrastructure are falling apart, we can’t do this critical work or provide these ecosystem services.”

As the project starts gaining momentum, the two consider what future success would look like for Snoquera.

“There are a few different outcomes I’m hoping for and I think we’re already realizing some of them,” said Mike. “The first is opening our minds within the Forest Service to the opportunity to work more creatively with a set of partners who have always been there. We’ve never had this kind of nexus which brings everyone together around the table to build new relationships and new approaches. Through this collaboration, we can really leverage each of our strengths to take advantage of different financial revenue and economic streams.”

“I think one of the greatest stories that we may be able to tell about a project like Snoquera, is how it is different from some other conservation finance projects, where there is a single benefitting utility or local agency that can sustain the lion’s share of a big complex project. That doesn’t exist here. Snoquera is going to be more complex and there isn’t a singular or primary source of support. However, it’s probably more representative of the world at large. To make Snoquera successful, we are going to require support from a diverse blend of smaller sources and organizations working together towards a multifaceted outcome,” Dan concluded.