At Jefferson Land Trust, our mission is to work with the community to preserve open spaces, working lands, and habitat forever. Since 1989, we’ve used innovative ways to protect and restore ecologically sensitive lands, benefiting wildlife and people alike.
Conservation burial grounds and memorial forests are places where family and friends can go to honor and remember a loved one in a natural setting. Photo by Robert Tognoli.
In 2021, recognizing growing community interest in natural end-of-life options, Jefferson Land Trust began exploring the feasibility of a conservation burial initiative in our region. Conservation burial combines green burial practices with land conservation and ecological restoration on properties managed as conservation burial grounds and/or memorial forests.
In 2022, to bring this vision to life, we established Olympic Wildland Burial Grounds LLC (OWBG). This wholly owned subsidiary, managed by a dedicated board of volunteer community members, is focused on developing and caring for conservation burial properties that align with the Land Trust’s values of preservation, restoration, and community benefit.
Since early 2023, OWBG has been searching for a property appropriate as a conservation burial ground — one that is 10 or more acres, is zoned Rural Residential, and has open space with a meadow or clearcut area.
Conservation burial will allow the Land Trust to provide green burial options to our community while protecting and restoring land.
A burial ground and/or memorial forest will serve as more than a final resting place. It will be a living landscape that embodies the conservation values cherished by so many in our community. Every burial will contribute to ecological restoration and the enduring protection of this special land.
In late 2024, Jefferson Land Trust began exploring the viability of creating a conservation burial ground on a property on Marrowstone Island, on which we hold a conservation easement and which the current landowner wishes to sell.
Strong opposition to this project from Marrowstone Island residents was voiced through feedback to Jefferson County during the public comment period of the permit application, and in direct feedback to the Land Trust.
We’ve determined that the community’s concerns are unlikely to be resolved through further inquiry and dialogue. Therefore, Jefferson Land Trust is ending its exploration of the viability of this project.
As the owners of a conservation easement on the land, we’ll continue to work in good faith with whoever owns the property in the future with the best ecological interests of the land and its wildlife in mind.
Our commitment to finding the right site(s) for a conservation burial ground and memorial forest in Jefferson County remains strong. We’ll continue to keep you updated regularly on project developments.
Conservation burial offers the opportunity to continue the environmental values we held dear in life. By choosing green burial in a perpetually protected landscape, we can leave a legacy of land restoration and conservation for future generations to enjoy and treasure.
The activities and properties of OWBG will be another conservation and restoration tool that will help us restore land that has been disturbed, improving its ecological condition over time, and keeping it natural and open forever. The proceeds from conservation burial activities will be used to restore and maintain burial ground and memorial forest properties and also to advance future conservation work throughout Jefferson County.
Together, we can transform the way we care for our land — and for one another — through this inspiring initiative.
Through the Look to the Land fundraising campaign’s Flexible Opportunity Fund, Jefferson Land Trust is currently setting aside funds for the future purchase of a conservation burial ground and/or memorial forest property. Please make a gift today in support of this initiative. Additional funds will be raised to launch the program in upcoming months.
Visit our Conservation Burial Q&A page to learn more.
Please fill out this form to let us know you’re interested in learning more about the Land Trust’s conservation burial program as it continues to develop.
Conservation Burial Ground: A conservation burial ground has dual purposes: providing a final resting place and improving the health and beauty of the land. At a conservation burial ground, green burial methods are used. For instance, no embalming chemicals are used and all burial materials are biodegradable. Generally, properties selected for this purpose are in need of rehabilitation. They are cared for in a way that improves their ecological conditions and habitat benefits, and are protected as a burial ground in perpetuity.
Memorial Forest: A memorial forest is a designated area of a natural woodland for returning cremated remains to the earth. A forest property is selected (often one in need of care and management), is purchased, and then the land is protected in perpetuity.
