Welcome to Skagit County

July 19th, 2003

LARSEN TO ATTEND FARMLAND LEGACY CELEBRATION AT MILLER FARM

SKAGIT COUNTY - Congressman Rick Larsen will be joining the Skagit County Board of Commissioners and local agriculture leaders to celebrate the placement of an agricultural easement on Burlington farmer Danny Miller's 410-acre property north of Burlington. The event is scheduled for July 28, 2004 at 10:30 a.m. at the Miller farm. This purchase brings the total of agriculturally zoned land in Skagit County protected from future development to 3,926 acres.

Mr. Miller and Congressman Larsen will install the first "Private Land, Public Legacy" sign on the farm, identifying the property as protected by a Farmland Legacy easement.

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.

"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.

"Skagit County is a national leader in the preservation of farmland. We are committed to preventing urban sprawl and preserving both our ag economy and our rural lifestyle," said Commissioner Don Munks.