CHIMACUM — Restoration of the historic Glendale Farm is expected to be in full swing next year.
The Jefferson County commissioners this week accepted a $546,737 grant to acquire a conservation easement to save the farm’s 180 acres in perpetuity.
Jefferson Land Trust successfully applied for the grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office, formerly known as the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation.
The farm where Kirk Salvatore now raises organic beef cattle is nestled between Beaver Valley and Center roads, and dates back to 1857.
With 23 acres of forestland, and much of the rest in pastures, the site is habitat for salmon, trumpeter swans, eagles, hawks and other species.
“We hope to close on the easement at the end of the year and start on the restoration projects after the first of the year,” said Sarah Spaeth, Land Trust conservation director.
Easement acquisition cost for the 180-acre farm is $1.09 million, county officials said.
Aside from the Recreation and Conservation Office grant, the remainder of the funding comes from $316,738 of community funds to be provided by Jefferson Land Trust, and $230,000 in county conservation futures awarded to the project in 2007.
The acquisition of the property’s development rights would secure a buffer zone for a half-mile stretch of Chimacum Creek that runs through the property.
The project has been a trial balloon for Land Trust’s Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative for farm preservation, Spaeth said, and it will keep Glendale Farm — which once produced dairy products — economically viable.
“It is a cornerstone of agricultural properties in the Beaver and Center valleys,” Spaeth told the county commissioners on Monday before they accepted the grant.
The group proposes to improve the efficiency of the farm with new water lines, and solar panels to help power the irrigation pump and the farm’s other electrical equipment.
It also wants to increase the farm’s beef production from 100 head to 160 head, and allow for increased diversity of agriculture uses.
Also possible is leasing plots of the farm to smaller operators who deliver produce to local markets.
Now zoned for 12 home sites, the conservation easement would allow only one more home to be built on the property.
Ultimately, Spaeth said, the farm would pump new dollars into the county’s economy.
“It’s a win-win for a lot of people,” said county Commissioner David Sullivan, D-Cape George.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
