Whidbey Camano Land Trust Contact:

Lisbeth Cort, Director of Outreach & Development, Whidbey Camano Land Trust, (360) 222-3310

Greenbank, WA

At first glance, Plum Creek Timberlands, the U.S. Navy, Island Transit and the Whidbey Camano Land Trust might seem unlikely partners.  But, all four just came together in an unusual partnership that conserves a nationally significant property along Highway 20 at the southern gateway of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. 

In March of this year, the Whidbey Camano Land Trust learned that the 46- acre Plum Creek conifer seed orchard was about to be put up for sale.  Patricia Powell, Land Trust executive director said, “Saving this scenic and agriculturally important 46-acre Central Whidbey property was a very important priority for us.  Plum Creek could have sold the land to developers for light industrial or residential uses.  But instead, it readily agreed to give the Whidbey Camano Land Trust the time it needed to come up with funding to buy the property.”  What emerged was a conservation solution that solved issues for several entities and led to a series of remarkable partnerships. 

The Plum Creek seed orchard is located on Smith Prairie just inside Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.  The property has been a conifer seed orchard for nearly 30 years, producing genetically superior seed for reforestation.  It’s an ideal conifer seed site because of its well-drained fertile soils, its gently sloping land and its rain shadow climate.  It takes at least ten years for a conifer seed farm to become productive.  Such seed farms are decreasing rapidly due to conversion to other uses like housing subdivisions. 

But its location adjacent to the Navy’s Outlying Field (OLF), used by Navy pilots to practice jet landings on aircraft carriers, makes it a place that’s also valuable to the military.  Many military facilities have been closed and encroachment was a major factor.  As a result, Congress expanded the Private Lands Initiative to allow military branches to partner with government or private organizations to establish “compatible use buffer areas” around active training and testing areas.  “This is a new tool to help us address encroachment,” said Capt. Syd Abernethy, Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station    “It allows all military  installation to work with concerned partners to encumber land and protect valuable training areas like OLF without bringing new land into military fee ownership.”

The Plum Creek property is within the high noise zone for the OLF.  The Navy found it to be in the national public interest to limit development and uses on this property.  Thus was born the Land Trust/Navy partnership at Plum Creek.

On October 31st, the Whidbey Camano Land Trust purchased the property in fee from Plum Creek Timberlands.  “Plum Creek is pleased to have collaborated in this conservation partnership which protects this historically significant property, while enhancing national security,” said Rick Holley, president and chief executive officer.  In the same closing, the Land Trust sold a deed of restrictive easement to the U.S. Navy using federal military base encroachment partnering funds. 

Then, the Land Trust immediately sold eight of the 46 acres to the adjacent landowner, Island Transit, for expansion of its transit yard.  Martha Rose, executive director of Island Transit, said:  “Island Transit was thrilled to be part of such a productive and positive partnership with the Whidbey Camano Land Trust and the U.S. Navy. The Land Trust not only negotiated the land purchase deal, they also made a donation in support of the services we offer to our community. The sincerity behind the Land Trust’s donation makes Island Transit feel very humbled and honored.” In addition to the Navy restrictions, the Land Trust has required Island Transit to maintain and plant vegetation to screen future development from views on Highway 20, a National Scenic Byway.  From a public perspective, it was both cost effective and created less land impact for Island Transit to expand at its existing location rather than to purchase a disjunctive property. 

Before the end of 2006, the Land Trust will sell the remaining Navy-encumbered property (38 acres) to a buyer who wants to keep the property in agricultural production, preferably one that will continue to operate the existing conifer seed orchard.  “We’ll reserve a conservation easement that goes much further than the Navy restrictions.  The conservation easement will limit future use of the property to agricultural and forestry activities that protect the significant soil productivity, ecological and scenic values of the site,” Powell added.

The Plum Creek Seed Orchard is a very significant in the Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. Ebey’s Trust Board Chair, Marshall Bronson, noted:  “This site was listed as one of our highest protection priorities because of its importance to the scenic, agricultural and historical integrity of the Reserve.” 

Sometimes it takes a lot of partners to conserve land.  Land Trust executive director Patricia Powell added, “It was so rewarding to work with all the partners.  The Land Trust couldn’t have done it alone.  We each had different priorities, but working together we achieved all our goals.”

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