COLT and local land trusts host public tours for community leaders
During August and September 2016, the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts worked with three of our member land trusts to host tours for community leaders and local partners on farms protected with conservation easements. These well-attended and informative tours highlighted landowners who chose to either donate or sell a conservation easement over their farm or ranch, protecting it forever from development and other uses that would harm the land’s productive and conservation values.
The first tour took place on August 16th on Trey and Tammie Hagen’s farm protected by a conservation easement held by the McKenzie River Trust near Monroe in Northwest Lane County. State Senators Arnie Roblan and Chris Edwards joined representatives from the McKenzie River Trust, the Greenbelt Land Trust, the Long Tom Watershed Council, COLT, and the Lane County Farm Bureau for the tour.
The next tour was held on August 19th in Wallowa County on the Wolfe Farm, owned by Woody Wolfe. Woody sold a conservation easement to the Wallowa Land Trust in 2011, protecting nearly 200-acres of his family’s century farm. This popular tour brought many people and partners together, including Oregon State Senator Bill Hansell, State Representative Greg Barreto, staff from both Senators Wyden and Merkley’s office, and representatives from the Nez Perce Tribe, the Oregon Farm Bureau, and many other groups.
The final tour took place on September 9th in Jackson County on the C2 Cattle Ranch. In 2006, the landowners donated a conservation easement to the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy protecting 1,660 acres of the nearly 9,000-acre ranch. The ranch manager, Jason Saulan, provided an excellent tour and discussion of the property and easement. Among the participants included Oregon State Representative Sal Esquivel, Jackson County Commissioner Colleen Roberts, and other partners
COLT is grateful to our dedicated members, partners, and the respective landowners who helped make these tours happen.
To see many of the photos from these tours, including captions of the ones here, check out the photos below.
