Fund Created by PCC Natural Markets Saves Strategic Growing Area for Organics
SEATTLE, Wash. (April 11, 2000) - Holding off development bulldozers against the fast disappearance of farmland in Western Washington, the PCC Farmland Fund today announced purchase of a strategically crucial 100-acre farm in the Dungeness Delta near Sequim, Wash.
In a dramatic two-hour window of opportunity the Fund rescued the farm from an undisclosed buyer, as part of its alliance with other state and local groups working to preserve Lower Dungeness Valley and Sequim Bay farmland and coastal wetlands.
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), the North Olympic Land Trust and the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe are among the Fund's allies in the effort to protect the local farming community and resident wildlife and to reestablish a natural floodplain ecosystem along portions of the Lower Dungeness River.
For seven salmonid species, organic farming will reduce water contamination and contribute to protection of spawning and nursery habitat by restoring natural filtration and reducing sediment. Many other species will benefit from protected living space and food supply, including waterfowl, migrant songbirds, amphibians, mammals, and raptors such as peregrine falcons, bald eagles, osprey and goshawks.
"The farm we have rescued is the center of that landscape. If it had fallen to development, the chances of saving the rest of the valley would have suffered," said Jody Aliesan, president and operating officer of the Fund.
The plan calls for eventual joint purchase with WDFW, but last week's fast bidding duel required the Fund's flexibility to pin the farm down. Ultimately the Fund will lease the farm from WDFW, hold an agricultural conservation easement requiring organic farming, and manage a sublease to Nash Huber, the organic farmer whose concern for the land inspired creation of the PCC Farmland Fund in September 1999.
Huber, who farms the largest organic produce operation in Western Washington, recommends the farm saved by the Fund for both its soil quality and its strategic location in the Dungeness Delta. "This is an old, established farm with deep alluvial soil," he said. "I expect it to pass organic certification tests with ease. Its layout provides a broad and interesting palette for the farmer to work on." Plans are for row crops, cane berries, medicinal herbs, and orchard fruit and nut trees.
PCC Natural Markets, the largest retail food co-op in the nation and founding parent of the Farmland Fund, will be purchasing most of the dozens of varieties of organic produce Huber grows in nearly year-round succession. As Joe Hardiman, PCC's Produce Merchandiser, explained, "the expanded operation will help more people buy fresh locally-grown produce instead of being vulnerable to a system that transports food from distant places, using more petroleum, polluting the air with emissions, and tearing up the highways."
According to Anita McMillan, Wildlife Biologist for the WDFW, "Many years of work by many individuals and organizations have gone toward a common vision for the Dungeness Valley for fish, wildlife, and farmland. By securing this especially critical property the Farmland Fund has made the Lower Dungeness River Floodplain plan possible. PCC has established a wonderful reputation with the many participants in this process as they have joined us as a partner in our effort and by involving staff who have shown us over and over again how extremely competent they are. We're grateful that the Fund is part of our vision here in the Dungeness Valley."
For more information or to make a donation, contact the PCC Farmland Fund at 4201 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105, (206) 547-1222, email [email protected], or visit PCC's website at www.pccnaturalmarkets.com.:
