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Look to the Land Campaign

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“What’s Happening 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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Coming in February: Affordable Native Plant Sale at Chimacum Corner Farmstand Nursery

Did you know that you can help make land more resilient and beneficial to local wildlife by replanting with native species? The owners and staff of the Chimacum Corner Farmstand’s Corner Nursery do — and they’re on a mission to encourage everyone to restore landscapes large and small. Beginning in February, the Corner Nursery has […]

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Fall Field Trips: Catching Up with the Land Trust’s Youth Education Programs

Over the past decade, Jefferson Land Trust’s youth educational programming has reached thousands of East Jefferson County students with field-based, localized learning experiences on our nature preserves. We provide field trips at no cost to schools, and strive to be responsive to the needs of individual schools, grades, and classrooms with a variety of offerings. […]

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Chimacum Commons Project Update: Olympic Housing Trust Launches Feasibility Survey

In 2014, the Land Trust purchased a 15.7-acre agricultural property in the heart of Chimacum, right around the corner from the Chimacum Corner Farmstand. We called this property “Chimacum Commons,” and had a threefold vision for the project: 1) to protect this valuable farmland in Chimacum Valley’s agricultural corridor, 2) to conserve and restore the […]

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Valley View Pilot Program to Begin Community Forest Harvest

Over the next few weeks, Jefferson Land Trust will be conducting a selective timber harvest at Valley View Forest, a Land Trust-protected working forest in Chimacum. The 65-acre Valley View Forest is the gateway to what will eventually become the 918-acre Chimacum Ridge Community Forest. This first harvest, conducted according to our management plan, will […]

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Chimacum Ridge Community Forest Project to Receive $3 Million from New State Program

The Washington state 2021-2023 state capital budget recently approved by Governor Jay Inslee includes $16.3 million for a new Community Forests Program administered by the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). In 2020, our conservation team applied for a $3 million grant from this new program to help us acquire the 853-acre Chimacum Ridge Forest […]

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Ruby Ranch in Chimacum is Now Protected Forever!

We’re celebrating the permanent protection of another family farm in Chimacum with the purchase of a conservation easement on Ruby Ranch. This 65-acre property owned by Joe and Val Goularte is located in the fertile bottomlands of Beaver Valley. The Goulartes currently raise a herd of grass-fed beef cattle and are eager to begin diversifying […]

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Partnering for the Future with Wayland Constructive

Cody Wayland likes working with wood that has a story to tell. That’s why he, as the owner of Wayland Constructive, a creative full-circle woodworking shop with its own sawmill, is excited about Jefferson Land Trust’s vision to purchase the forested ridge above Chimacum in 2023 and transform it into a community forest that works […]

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K-12 Educational Field Program is Growing Fast

The thank you notes and poems arrived soon after Port Townsend first and second graders visited Illahee Preserve to learn about salmon. Inside were messages filled with warmth and gratitude. “Thank you for the experience of being in the forest,” Addie H. wrote. “Thank you for saving the salmons,” said Laverna. “I loved being a […]

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A Growing Movement: Community Forests

Imagine local wood production as powerful for our community as the local food movement is. You’ve heard of “slow food.” Now there’s a buzz about “slow wood,” because forests are crucial to community wellness, economy, culture, and landscape. And we have new opportunities to manage them to provide maximum benefits for community health.

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