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
PCC Farmland Trust will use this grant to buy a voluntary land preservation agreement, also called a conservation easement, for the Mountain View Dairy, a historic family dairy farm in Graham. At 284 total acres, it is eight times the average farm size in Pierce County, and one of the largest farms in the area. The agreement will prevent the farm from being developed, ensuring the land will be available for farming forever. The farm is owned by a developer who has had the property preliminarily platted and listed for sale. If not conserved, the farm could be developed into more than 29 homes and lost forever as a productive farm. The owner is leasing the land to a local farming family that operates a certified organic dairy in King County and is using the property to expand and diversify its operation. The family plans to buy the land and raise feed, beef, and chickens. In recognition of this farm’s importance in the community and the urgency of the threat of development, the PCC Farmland Trust is working to buy the easement and ensure that ownership of the farm can be transferred affordably to the current farmers. This project is supported by Pierce County and the Pierce Conservation District. The PCC Farmland Trust will contribute $778,862 in donations of cash and Conservation Futures.