News

A Toast to the Community Forest: Chimacum Ridge Toasted Fir Cider!

Introducing Chimacum Ridge Toasted Fir Cider from Finnriver Farm & Cidery! Crafted as part of Finnriver’s Community Cidermaker series, this delicious new cider is made with Douglas-fir sustainably harvested from Chimacum Ridge, the future site of Chimacum Ridge Community Forest. Gazing south from Finnriver’s organic orchard, you can see forested Chimacum Ridge rising prominently above […]

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Three Cheers to 35 Years at LandFest 2024!

On the evening of Thursday, July 11, more than 350 community members joined us near the beautiful marina at The Resort at Port Ludlow for an evening of inspiration and celebration at LandFest 2024! Our annual fundraising gala was extra special and bigger than ever this year as we marked 35 years of community-powered conservation. […]

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“What’s Up at Short’s Family Farm?”

In 2016, the Land Trust worked with the Short family to place a conservation easement on the 253-acre Short’s Family Farm, one of the largest productive farms in Jefferson County. In the summer of 2023, the Port of Port Townsend acquired Short’s Family Farm in Chimacum with the objective of developing and maintaining infrastructure and […]

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Chimacum Ridge Community Forest Update: Land Trust Purchases 853-Acre Chimacum Ridge

For more than a decade, Jefferson Land Trust has been working to protect Chimacum Ridge with the vision of establishing the Chimacum Ridge Community Forest. Thanks to outstanding support from generous donors, conservation partners, and granting agencies, we recently completed the purchase of 853-acre Chimacum Ridge from our partner EFM — the Land Trust’s largest […]

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Land Trust Staff Members Complete In-The-Field Wildlife Track and Sign Certification

In late May, several Land Trust staff members completed an intensive two-day track and sign workshop on Land Trust preserves in East Jefferson County. This two-day field experience, which is both an assessment and a training, is offered by CyberTracker, an international organization recognized as the gold standard for tracker training and certification across North […]

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Extraordinary Property Protected Forever: 155 Forested Acres with a Mile of Salmon Creek

We’re thrilled to share that we’ve recently completed the permanent protection of an extraordinary 155-acre property in the Snow and Salmon Creeks watershed. Here, a full mile of Salmon Creek and six tributaries stream down steep forested slopes that lead eventually into Discovery Bay and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca on the north […]

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Olympic Wildland Burial Grounds Seeks Land for Natural Burial Options

Creating a conservation burial program that offers local natural burial options, while also supporting land conservation and restoration, is something the Land Trust has been focused on for a number of years. In 2021, after investigating such programs and gauging local interest, the Land Trust’s Board of Directors granted approval to move forward in creating […]

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Land Conservation Community Celebrates Passage of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act by U.S. Congress

In December 2022, following years of activism by the land trust movement and conservation allies on Capitol Hill and around the nation, the United States Congress passed the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act as part of its year-end spending bill. “It’s a really exciting moment,” says Richard Tucker, Executive Director of Jefferson Land Trust. […]

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Grant Funding Secured for Two Historic Farms: Hannan and Natembea Northwest!

We’re doubly delighted to announce that the Land Trust recently secured grant funding for conservation easements on Natembea Farm and Hannan Farm, which together total over 200 acres of prime farmland in Jefferson County. Every other year, the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) accepts applications for farmland preservation grants. This grant program provides […]

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Conservation, Celebration… and Chocolate!

Recently, in the courtyard outside the Jefferson Land Trust office, our staff could be found hard at work, pens in hand, brows furrowed. This was serious business: chocolate selection for FutureFest, our online gala, coming up on July 8. This is not just any chocolate, but some of the world’s very best, sourced from all […]

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