First use of Transfer of Development Rights in Kittitas County results in significant conservation
A forested portion of the storied Parker Ranch, an historic
ranch located in the Umptanum area west of Ellensburg, has been conserved
through the first-ever use of Transfer of Development Rights in Kittitas
County.
About 480 acres of the 1,460-acre ranch were conserved
through the sale of development rights on the property by the Parker sisters,
Franki Storlie, Mickey Parker, Lori Macke.
The Parker sisters’ father, Jack Parker, bought the ranch in
the Manastash Hills near Ellensburg back in the 1960s and the family grew up
learning to work with and love the land.
But as was the case with many property owners in Kittitas County, they were not able to buy all
the rights along with the land. An industrial timber company retained the
timber rights and visited the property regularly to harvest the old-growth
ponderosa pine.
When the opportunity came to work with the Cascade Land
Conservancy and use special transfer of development rights funding from the
2007 Legislature and the Governor, the sisters decided to take the opportunity
and use the money to buy back their timber rights. Now the sisters can manage
the timber on their property to their own specifications and realize a goal
long held by their family.
Enthusiastic about the prospect of managing their timberland
into the future, the family has joined the Washington Farm Forestry Association
(WFFA),an organization that supports family forest landowners. “Our members are
working to provide communities throughout Washington with clean water, air, wildlife
and timber. We are pleased to have the Parkers join our ranks, and appreciate
community support for landowners who are making great sacrifices to maintain
their forests for the benefit of our neighbors today and for future
generations,” said WFFA’s Executive Director, Rick Dunning.
In a transfer of development rights transaction, landowners
are paid an agreed-upon price for the development potential of their lands,
creating development credits that can be sold to builders or developers in
other parts of the county. The credits allow a development project to be larger
or contain more living units than might be permitted under existing zoning. A
conservation easement is put in place on the seller’s property ensuring that it
remains working land by preventing further development of the protected
property.
Kittitas
County currently is in
the process of publicly reviewing a complete TDR program proposal including
both sending sites – such as the Parker Ranch – and receiving sites in areas of
the county that better accommodate development. However, the decision where
development will and will not be permitted is still a county decision.
Funds for the purchase of the development rights came from
2007 Legislature. The capital budget
included funds for transfer of development rights pilot projects on family
forestlands in three areas of Washington
State including Eastern
Washington. The Kittitas County project fell under the Eastern
Washington portion of the funds.
“This project shows the power of this program to create real
change in our environment,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “Important forest lands in the county are now
conserved and will remain as working forests forever, providing clean air and
water as well as maintaining the rural quality of life.”
"My sisters and I feel very honored to have Parker
Ranch and to be able to do our part to assist with the conservation of the
earth's natural environment," said Franki Storlie, one of the Parker
Sisters. “This easement would not have been possible without the Cascade Land
Conservancy. The staff in the Ellensburg
office are very committed.”
“Kittitas
County has been a part of
the Cascade Agenda from the beginning,” said Gene Duvernoy, President, Cascade
Land Conservancy. “This project shows
the reach of the Agenda and its ability to achieve significant conservation
throughout the region.”
“I am very pleased the county is able to partner with the
Cascade Land Conservancy for this project,” said Kittitas County Commissioner
Paul Jewell. “Rural character and scenic resources are a key component to the
quality of life for our residents and the culture of our county. It is very exciting to be taking an active
role in preserving those assets for our future.
Hopefully, this demonstration project will serve as an example of the
benefits that a voluntary Transfer of Development Rights program can have in Kittitas County.”
“I was thrilled to be able to work with the Parker sisters
on this conservation project,” said Jill Arango, Cascade Land Conservancy’s Kittitas
County Conservation Director. “The property is a treasure to their families and
to our community. We now know the timber will be harvested in a sustainable
manner, the land will continue to be in resource production, and the family can
be in control of management decisions.”
After Jack Parker bought the ranch in the 1960s, he ran
around 200 head of cattle on the ranch and also grew dry land wheat on part of
the ranch. Jack became well-known in the
Northwest and California
for his horsemanship and training of horses.
Many of his horses were sent to film sets Hollywood and for the television show
“Gunsmoke.” James Arness, the star of
the television series that ran from 1955 to 1975, came to meet Jack to see the
origin of the wonderful sure-footed horses that starred in his show.
The ranch was originally homesteaded in the 1800’s by Fred
Hansen. The barn, cabin, and other
ranch buildings were recently placed on the historic preservation registry for
the State of Washington. The cabin was originally the schoolhouse for
the Umptanum area in the 1800s.
The ranch is designated as an Important Bird Area by the
Audubon Society because of the wide variety of birds that can be seen on the
ranch. Deer and elk live on the
ranch. The ranch is a natural migration
route for the elk with the cow elk using the ranch in the spring to birth their
calves. The ranch terrain includes shrub-steppe, wheat fields, fir trees and
ponderosa pines. A branch of Umptanum Creek runs through the middle of the
ranch and there are many natural springs for wildlife.
Lynnwood becomes the twelfth cascade agenda city
The Lynnwood City Council voted on February 23rd to become the twelfth Cascade Agenda City as a member city; joining the leadership cities of Tacoma, Kirkland, Issaquah and Tukwila; and the member cities of Shoreline, Ellensburg, Edmonds, Snohomish, Mountlake Terrace, Buckley and Mill Creek.
The Cascade Agenda Cities program enlists the region’s cities to
improve the livability of neighborhoods—making them complete, compact
and connected—and spectacular enough that people choose to live there,
saving the region’s natural and working lands from poorly planned
development.
Photos, from top to bottom: Teanaway Farm, Matthew Simek; Lunds Gulch, Todd Parker.
The Cascade Land Conservancy envisions a region that combines conservation of spectacular landscapes, a vibrant economy and great places to live.
