In the early 2000s, on a tip from her daughter, Carolyn Seachris reached out to a group of volunteers who were in process of forming what would eventually become the Blue Mountain Land Trust. She wanted to see about opportunities to protect the family land just west of Walla Walla, WA. After decades of collaboration, this August…
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Last month, the Washington Farmland Trust (WFT) announced that its growing Farm to Farmer Program will inherit Washington FarmLink, which has been run by Tilth Alliance for twenty years. This will create one go-to resource for farmers to buy, sell, or lease land in Washington. Beyond sharing listings and connecting producers, Farm to Farmer helps participants clarify land search and tenure goals,…
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Over $12M was awarded to three projects in Washington State through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, two involved land trust partners. In Pacific County, Columbia Land Trust and Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will receive $4.5M to protect over 1,200 acres of marbled murrelet habitat. DNR, Forterra, and other regional partners will receive just over $4M to protect up to 372 acres of…
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In Astoria, OR, Columbia Land Trust transferred 82 acres of land on the lower Columbia River to Clatsop Community College. The site, located on Astoria’s South Tongue Point will now feature a living laboratory for students studying critical habitat for salmon and other wildlife. Learn more from the press release.
Jefferson Land Trust, together with the Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative, is close to successfully protecting the historic Kawamoto Farm outside of Quilcene, WA and identifying a farmer to keep the land in production while honoring the incredible history and legacy of the Kawamoto family. Read more from the Jefferson Land Trust.
A historically significant twenty-nine acre farm was purchased by Community Farmland Trust from the James family, who have owned and managed the land since its original granting all the way back in 1852! Moving forward, CFLT will lease the farm to Common Ground CSA; these additional acres will allow Common Ground to improve soil quality and function by allowing rotations out…
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The Washington Farmland Trust has now conserved over 3,000 acres! Last month, they acquired Getchell Ranch, a 94-acre ranch that is one of the oldest farmsteads in the area. Honoring the legacy of its life-long former landowner, Alex Getchell Alexander, it will remain a farm forever. The ranch is part of a small farming community that sits…
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Protection of Richardson Marsh, home to one of only two wetlands in San Juan County, has been a long-term goal for the San Juan Preservation Trust. With the help of the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank, the land trust worked with the Hoedemaker family to complete a dual transaction of Davis Bay Farm.
Nisqually Land Trust purchased 6 acres of Upper Mallard Cove to safeguard source wetlands for this critical pocket estuary. Way back in 1998, the Nisqually Land Trust’s first project to protect Mallard Cove began with acquiring 46 acres of its mudflats and beaches that serve as prime habitat for forage fish and juvenile salmon.
With time at a premium, Skagit Land Trust pulled together nearly 200 donors and 4 grants to add an additional 3.5 acres to their March Point Heronry. Though small in size, this 15.5 acre preserve is the site of over 700 Great Blue Heron nests, the biggest colony on the entire west coast of the United States!