Category Overview
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.
Project Highlights
Washington Farmland Trust used this grant to acquire a permanent conservation easement on Getchell Ranch, one of the oldest farmsteads in the Snohomish River Valley. The 94-acre farm is located on Ebey Island, just across I-5 and the Snohomish River from Everett in Snohomish County. The farm includes prime soils, a historic farmhouse and barn, a small heritage orchard, and pasture. The easement will covers the entire 94 acres and extinguished the estimated 8 remaining unexercised development rights. Our initial estimate of the easement and project costs was very accurate, but because the appraised value of the easement went up significantly between the original budgeting process and closing, we used the full award from RCO to go towards the real property acquisition of the farmland easement.