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Skagit County approves two farmland legacy easements to protect 79 acres
Summary
The Board approved conservation easements March 10 that will protect 40 acres owned by Jerry and Jenny Nelson and 39 acres owned by William and Marion Ruzin, with each landowner to receive $95,000 under the county's Farmland Legacy Program.
The Skagit County Board of Commissioners on March 10 approved two Farmland Legacy Program grant deeds of conservation easement to protect a combined 79 acres of prime farmland.
Sarah Stoner, agricultural lands coordinator with Skagit County Public Works, briefed the board on the two easements. "The Nelson agreement ... seeks to protect 40 acres and removes 1 development right for a total compensation to the landowners of $95,000," Stoner said. She said the Nelson property in Bow has been classified as prime farmland by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service and that the family has protected roughly 1,500 acres through the county program over time.
Stoner described the second easement as a 39-acre protection for William and Marion Ruzin, also removing one residential development right and offering $95,000 in compensation. The Ruzin property lies south of Highway 20 and east of an existing easement protected in 2013, Stoner said. "As with all Farmland Legacy easements, their protections carry forward with land regardless of who owns it," she told commissioners.
Commissioners praised the program and the landowners. Commissioner Browning said he works out with Jerry Nelson and thanked him for "his commitment to farmland in this valley," calling Nelson's stewardship "really says a lot" about keeping the area agricultural. The board approved the two easements unanimously, 3-0.
Ending
Staff said maps, soil surveys and the county's annual report include more information about the easements and that the county would include links to those materials for public review. The easements are recorded as grant deeds and the protections run with the land.
