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 Okanogan Land Trust will use this grant to buy a voluntary land preservation agreement, also called a conservation easement, to conserve permanently 2,904 acres of ranchland in the Tunk Valley, about 15 miles northeast of Riverside. The Synarep rangeland hosts a successful grazing operation and is designated as both farmland of statewide importance and farmland of unique importance. It also is important for wildlife. The land supports some of the most robust active sharp-tail leks in Washington State, is important for mule deer and Canada Lynx movement, and is an integral part of one of the largest remaining blocks of shrub steppe habitat in north central Washington. The Okanogan Land Trust will contribute $644,479 in a federal grant and donated land or property interest.