SPF and Skagit County's Farmland Legacy Program join forces to protect 109 acres

Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland (SPF) and Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program (FLP) joined forces once again to protect 109 acres of farmland south east of Mount Vernon. The farmland contains two certified development rights totaling $460,000 or $230,000 per development right. In partnering with the Farmland Legacy Program SPF has agreed to pay one-third of the total cost to protect this land with the remaining two-thirds coming from federal grants and the Farmland Legacy Program. SPF’s participation in the purchase of the development rights was made possible by two very generous donations from the Osberg Family Foundation and the Lucky Seven Foundation The Farmland Legacy Program will hold the easement which means SPF will not need to set aside funds for easement monitoring and enforcement. One hundred percent of our donors’ contributions are protecting farmland in perpetuity.SPF believes in the power of partnerships and collaboration and works hard to match our donor’s dollars whenever possible. The partnership with the Farmland Legacy Program has enabled SPF to match our private donors’ support with federal funding, as well as with the funds generated through the County’s conservation futures easement program, which supports the Farmland Legacy Program. This marks the second conservation easement project south of Mount Vernon that SPF and FLP have worked together on this year. SPF first partnered with FLP, the Osberg Family Foundation and the Lucky Seven Foundation to permanently protect 39 acres within the City of Mount Vernon’s proposed commercial expansion area. You can see a map of our recent conservation easements by going to our "Publications" page.