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
The Washington State Conservation Commission will use this grant to acquire an agricultural conservation easement on approximately 1,900 acres of farmland in perpetuity and will extinguish 95 development rights. The Schuster Hereford Ranch is adjacent to almost 12,000 acres of ranchland already protected under agricultural conservation easements and also land protected by the Badger Gulch Natural Area Preserve. The property includes upland grazing and dryland haying while also protecting key habitat in the Rock Creek Watershed for mid-Columbia ESA listed chinook and steelhead. The property is located in Klickitat County about 15 miles east of Goldendale along the Bickleton Highway.