The Desolation Creek watershed in northern Grant County is about to get a new owner and its one that will keep the property on the countys tax rolls.

Hood River County, which has owned the 13,400-plus acres for nearly 12 years, recently put the land up for sale at auction. The successful bidder was Ecotrust Forest Management, although the parties are still finalizing the deal.

In Hood River news accounts and also in recent Grant County Court discussions, the purchaser was identified simply as Ecotrust, a Portland-based conservation group.

Bettina von Hagen, in an email to the Eagle, clarified that the prospective buyer is not the nonprofit, but Ecotrust Forest Management, a subsidiary of Ecotrust.

Ecotrust Forest Management is a for-profit entity, and is making the purchase through one of its investment funds, she said. The entity invests capital for clients with an interest in forestland.

EFM is a for-profit entity and invests through for-profit vehicles, and as such pays all relevant taxes, including property taxes, she said.

Von Hagen said the deal is still subject to due diligence, and has not yet closed.

She said when such a deal closes, the managers develop specific plans for the land over the first year of ownership.

Our general objective is to create financial value through managing actively for timber, grazing, recreation, nontimber forest products, habitat and other forest products and services, she said.

An online blog about the management program says it seeks to address the investors financial goals, the long-term health and vitality of the forest, and the social needs of surrounding communities.

Hood River County bought the land in July 2002 from a private timber management company. Last year, the county listed the property for auction with a reserve price of $6,875,000.

An auction notice from Realty Marketing/Northwest touted the propertys 35.7 million board feet of timber, 10 miles of Desolation Creek, critical fish habitat and hunting and recreation values.

The Hood River News reported last month the county commission voted to accept a $5.7 million offer for the Desolation lands.

Although not a private owner, Hood River County has been paying property taxes on the land to Grant County.

The auction proposal last fall prompted concerns among Grant County officials that the land might sell to another government entity or a nonprofit that would take it off the tax rolls. Commissioner Boyd Britton suggested the county should look into buying it in case no private buyer stepped up. Other Court members were wary of whether the county should buy land, and questioned the legality of real estate as an investment tool.