Welcome to Skagit County

June 30th, 2003

SKAGIT COUNTY FARMLAND LEGACY PROGRAM PROTECTS 410 ACRES NEAR BURLINGTON FROM FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Department of Agriculture funds $408,950 to purchase conservation easements

SKAGIT COUNTY – The Skagit County Farmland Legacy program announced today the purchase of development rights from 410 acres of prime farmland located north of Burlington, owned by Dan and Carol Miller. This purchase brings the total of agriculturally zoned land in Skagit County protected from future development to 3,926 acres.

The Skagit County Commissioners established the Farmland Legacy Program in 1996, enabling the use of a Conservation Futures taxing mechanism authorized by the Washington State Legislature for easement purchases. In Skagit County, participating farmland owners receive approximately 1/3 of market value for their property, in exchange for retiring development rights and eliminating the potential for residential development on the property.

In June, Skagit County received a matching grant for $408,950 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase conservation easements. Since 1998, the Farmland Legacy program has received more than $2.3 million of federal funding to help leverage more than $3 million from local tax dollars.

“This is prime Skagit Valley farmland in the path of development. We greatly appreciate the Millers’ and the Nelsons’ commitment to agriculture in Skagit County,” said Allison Deets, Farmland Legacy Program Director. A portion of the property is jointly owned by Dan Miller and Norm Nelson, Jr. and Jim Nelson.

The Millers received $775,000 to extinguish the development rights on their property. “There is an incredible amount of pressure to convert agricultural land to other uses near our cities and towns. The Farmland Legacy Program, keeps farmland affordable for farmers and allows farmland owners to access dormant equity, instead of having to chop off lots to sell for retirement,” said Deets.

“Skagit County has been very pro-active in its efforts to protect our agriculture land base. We are a rural county with a focused vision for sustaining our agricultural economy and protecting our rural lifestyle,” said Curtis Johnson, Chair of the Conservations Futures Advisory Committee, which oversees the purchase of development rights.