Farmland Preservation protects valuable farmland and habitat for recreationally important animals, like salmon, birds, deer, and elk. These projects allow families to continue farming the land they have worked on for generations, and provide Washingtonians with healthy local food and a diverse economy. WWRP is the only source of farmland preservation funding in the state budget.
The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust (CDLT) used this grant to acquire 50 development rights and place a permanent agricultural conservation easement on approximately 2,450 acres of the Breiler Ranch located on the ancestral land of the Yakama, Okanagan, & Moses-Columbia people. This fourth generation dryland wheat farming and grazing operation produces wheat and similar non-irrigated grain crops and supports 40-60 cow/calf pairs. In addition to its agricultural benefits, permanent protection of the dryland agriculture and high quality shrub-steppe grasslands on the property help meet Douglas County’s Habitat Conservation Plan for the greater sage grouse, a state threatened species present on the property. This property adjoins another almost 7,000 acre dryland wheat and cattle ranch on which CDLT will acquire a conservation easement this year. The primary benefit of this project is the preservation of working farmland.
