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 North Olympic Land Trust will use grant funding to conserve the 9.79-acre Dungeness Hub, owned by Nash’s Organic Produce, one of the first organic farms in Western Washington. The Dungeness area of Sequim is renowned as the agricultural heart of Clallam County, which is at great risk of development. The conservation of Dungeness Hub will meet four critical goals. First, as a “hub” the farm supports several surrounding farms (see Site Location Map attached showing other protected lands) by providing infrastructure. This includes a packing shed, a large walk-in cooler, office space, greenhouses and ready access to water, a necessary resource in an area that receives less than 20 inches of rain annually. Second, it will connect already conserved farmland preserving a contiguous area of farmland thereby preserving the integrity of the soils and shared resources between farmers. The property is at the capstone of over 600 acres of conserved land for farming, waterfowl, and river restoration in Dungeness. It’s north of Sequim, in the middle of existing farmland in the Dungeness area, much of which has been conserved. Third, conservation of the Dungeness Hub, through the purchase of a conservation easement, will provide critical land access for farmers. Fourth, prime agricultural soils will be conserved and available for farming into the future. The easement will prohibit subdivision, maintaining the property as a 9.79 acre farm, and extinguish at least 1 development right.