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Northwest Rangeland Trust

By Northwest Rangeland Trust

The Northwest Rangeland Trust (NWRT) has closed on a conservation easement on 142 acres of agricultural land in Thurston County. The property is part of the McKenzie Family, LLC Ranch near the town of Yelm.

The purchase of the easement was funded by Thurston County Conservation Futures Funds, a Thurston County Program overseen by the Thurston County Commissioners, and the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) a federal program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

The conservation easement will ensure that this privately owned agricultural land, currently being used as a cattle ranch, will remain as agricultural property in perpetuity. The property is highly desirable for residential development and has repeatedly faced the threat of development. In addition to retiring the development rights on 142 acres of the most desirable development sites of the 205 acre parcel, the conservation easement provides for a management plan that will ensure best practices are implemented in the operation of the ranch. NWRT will monitor the property annually to ensure the terms and conditions of the easement are adhered to.

Alan McKenzie, the managing partner of McKenzie Family LLC, stated, "With this easement in place, I feel as though I have come full circle. My great grandparents homesteaded here in the 1870's and I am sure they are smiling down upon me, now that I have preserved their dream forever."


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Updated 2015/01/07 21:14:22