Farms and Family in Eastern Washington

WWRC would like to acknowledge that this story takes place on the traditional lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people. We honor with gratitude the Tribes and their land on which we work, play, learn, and organize today.

In the foothills of eastern Washington’s Blue Mountains, conserving land is rooted in community. It’s the kind of community where families have known each other for decades and neighbors have been known to bet cases of scotch on the apple harvest.

Today, a new generation is protecting the farms that have been in families for decades. Farms in this area get an average of 30 inches of rain each year, making for rich, productive soil that has supported the agricultural economy for more than a century. These lands also provide important habitat for elk, bear, cougar, wild turkeys, and other species.

With concerns over development and what the future holds for the land they love, some locals are looking for ways to preserve this special area.

Photo courtesy of RCO’s PRISM Database

Don and Anne-Marie Schwerin moved to Dixie, WA to run the 400+ acre farm that had been in Don’s family for a century. Wanting to protect the land they cherish, the Schwerins created two conservation easements in partnership with the Blue Mountain Land Trust. These easements permanently protect their land for agriculture use. Tim Copeland, Executive Director of the Blue Mountain Land Trust, knows the passion that drives people here to protect this important land. He grew up here and, as it turns out, he went to school with Don Schwerin.

Photo courtesy of RCO’s PRISM Database

Fast forward a few years. Without telling the folks at the land trust, Don was recruiting other landowners to join him in protecting the area’s farming heritage. In 2018, Jeannie and Lynn, the sisters who own neighboring Eagleson Farm received a letter from Don. He explained his work with the land trust and offered to connect them with Tim. Now, the Eaglesons are working with the land trust and are expecting to close a deal very soon. When it’s done, about 1,000 continuous acres of critical land will be protected across the two adjacent farms.

Photo courtesy of RCO’s PRISM Database

But in this community, a land deal is rarely a meeting of strangers. It was the fathers of Tim Copeland and the Eagleson sisters who bet those cases of scotch on the harvest all those years ago.

Project Highlights

Want to know more about WWRP Farmland Preservation grants? Download the Earth Economics Field Guide below.