PORT ANGELES – Clallam County Commissioners have agreed to its first payout from a conservation tax fund.
Commissioners agreed Tuesday to award up to 400-thousand dollars to the North Olympic Land Trust. The Trust will use the funding to help acquire a deed with conservation easement for its Mid Valley Farm Project near Sunland in Sequim.
NOLT executive director Tom Sanford says the county money is being used matching money to get other money to fully fund the project
“The county was the first funding pollinators on this project. And since that time, we’ve been getting appraisals for exact costs, while also seeking other resources. Funding has been secured through the Jamestown Tribe from the ‘Flood Plains by Design’ program for this project. At this point, the highest level of funding for this project about 250,000 dollars, not the full 400-thousand dollars requested,” said Sanford.
According to the land trust, Mid Valley Farm is approximately 56 acres, made up of 45 acres of prime farmland, 8.5 acres of forestland and a 1.9 acre building envelope which includes a farmhouse and agricultural infrastructure.
The county’s contribution comes from the county’s “Conservation Futures Fund”. In 2019, commissioners agreed to add just under three cents tax per $1000 of assessed property valuation. That money goes into the conservation fund from which groups with projects aimed at preserving farm and forest land can apply.