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 Blue Mountain Land Trust will acquire an agricultural protection easement on a 25-acre farm in Walla Walla County. Welcome Table Farm is located on Old Milton Hwy in Walla Walla and has been providing produce to the local community for 10 years. The farm includes a homestead including the family’s residence, a fruit orchard, irrigated cropland, and approximately 1/2 mile of Yellow Hawk Creek, including the confluence with the Lassister Spring Branch. Yellow Hawk Creek is one of the most important distributaries in the Walla Walla Basin for ESA-listed steelhead and bull trout to reach upper Mill Creek. While the area has historically been farmland, increasing development pressure in recent years and conversion to non-farm uses has occurred in the nearby area. An agricultural easement on this property will ensure that the productive farmland remain in agricultural use. Welcome Table Farm grows a variety of fruit and vegetable crops and flowers for sale in Walla Walla Saturday markets, through wholesale contracts with Walla Walla vendors, and through Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) shares. The farm also hosts college interns, annual kids summer camps and educational events for the community, highlighting the importance of locally produced food. An agricultural easement on this property will ensure the land remains in production as one contiguous parcel, regardless of its development potential.