common ground - Okanogan Land Trust

AUTUMN 2014
co mmo n grou nd
NEWSLETTER
Similkameen Valley. Photo by Justin Haug.
Garry Accepts Position at Inland Northwest Land Trust
INSIDE
The Okanogan: What a wonderful and varied place!
From the scent of orchard blossoms in spring, to the
biting winds of winter— the land, the people, the
politics, all giving and flowing, but also chiseled and
unforgiving. Looking out over the land, I can still feel
the open opportunities that generations felt before us.
• Carter Mountain Trailhead
• CE Grants Rank High
• Mobile Processing Unit
• Friends of the Bluebirds
• Annual Harvest Festival
• Annual PLC Dinner
!
Opportunity presents itself in unusual ways and unusual
times, and so I must relay that I have accepted the
Garry Schalla
Executive Director role of Executive Director for the Inland Northwest Land
Trust (INLT) in nearby Spokane. I will continue to work
for the OLT as your “consulting” Executive Director— through December at the
very least—and help make the transition to a new Executive Director a
flawless experience. Frankly, given the impressive staff we have now, the dayto-day workings of the land trust will not miss a beat. It is my hope that I can
use my position with INLT to advance conservation efforts at a regional level,
benefiting the Okanogan, as well.
!
The accomplishments over the past three years have been outstanding. It has
been a collaborative effort, from landowners to the OLT Board.
The
Okanogan Land Trust is a vibrant organization with great opportunities on the
horizon. It has been an honor to be a part of this growth. Thank you.
!
Connecting
Land and Community
Respectfully,
Garry Schalla
OKANOGAN LAND TRUST
AUTUMN 2 0 1 4
NEWS
mission
OLT Pledges to Help Improve
Access to Carter Mountain Wildlife Area
This spring a coalition of local organizations—
including the Mule Deer Foundation, Back Country
Horsemen, and the WA Department of Fish &
Wildlife—will work together to improve access to
the Carter Mountain Wildlife Area. The OLT has
pledged to make a donation to support the
project.
Currently, there is a nondescript parking area for a
trailhead west of Hwy 97, just north of Crumbacher
Road.
Access improvements will include
expanding and fencing in the parking area to
accommodate horse trailers, grading and
graveling, and adding signs and an informational
kiosk.
Carter Mountain Wildlife Area
Photo by Justin Haug.
From the Cascades to the
Kettles, Canada to the
Columbia, the Okanogan
Land Trust is a local nonprofit
organization connecting
people to the land and
conserving and sustaining
our working farms and
ranches, wildlife habitats,
and water resources for
generations to come.
!
board of
directors
Carter Mountain Wildlife Area is located west of
Tunk Valley; it is part of the Working for Wildlife
initiative. We hope you will take advantage of the
improved access and venture out to enjoy the
natural beauty that hides in plain sight beside our
beaten paths!
John Magoteaux
President
Todd Thorn
Vice President
Christine Olson
Secretary
Ponderosa Leadership Circle: Annual Dinner Date
The Ponderosa Leadership Circle is a collection of OLT members who are willing
and able to provide stability and leadership through a long-term commitment:
pledging to donate $1000 each year—or another significant amount within
one's means—for three continuous years.
Three-year pledges allow us to
budget and plan with greater accuracy, knowing that we have a base income
to work from.
!
In addition to ensuring the continuity of our shared mission, members of the
Ponderosa circle enjoy a wee perk: the annual Ponderosa Dinner— Sunday,
November 16th, more details to follow by invitation. This year’s dinner will feature
Okanogan-fresh ingredients prepared by culinary dynamo, Casey Oberg!
Contact Lenette in the office if you would like to make a pledge and become a
member of the Ponderosa Leadership Circle.
!
MULE DEER DASH
Bound along the Sinlakhein Trails in a
1.5 – 5 – or 15K Race
Saturday, September 27th
Registration opens at 9 a.m.
Visit sinlahekindash.blogspot.com for more info.
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Patti Baumgardner
Treasurer
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!
Barley Hyde
Director
staff
Garry Schalla
Executive Director
[email protected]
Jacquelyn Wallace
Conservation Director
[email protected]
Lenette Schuldheisz
Administrative Coordinator
[email protected]
(509) 486-2765
www.okanoganlandtrust.org
OKANOGAN LAND TRUST
AUTUMN 2 0 1 4
CONSERVATION
CE Grant Proposals Rank High for Consideration
This summer we presented four properties to the Washington Recreation Office’s
Farmland Preservation Program. Of the 26 proposed projects statewide, our
potential conservation easement projects ranked 2nd, 3rd, 10th and 11th for
funding consideration! Proposals are reviewed by a panel of volunteer citizens
with expertise in farming, ranching, and land conservation.
!
Jacquelyn Wallace
Conservation Director
The conservations easement projects we proposed total over 7,700 acres of
family farms and ranches located near Tonasket, Malo, the Okanogan
Highlands, and Tunk Valley.
!
Funding allocations will be determined during the state’s spring budgeting
process. The state legislature’s final budget will decide how many of the ranked
projects will receive funding. State conservation funds are awarded with great
care, and it takes a tremendous amount of work—by OLT staff, board members,
and partners—to prepare and submit grant proposals. We are thrilled that our
family farms and ranches are being given such high consideration!
YA’ LEARN SOMETHING NEW…
OLT Offers Professionals Opportunities to
Become Bona Fide CE Know-It-Alls
!
!
If a client asks you for guidance in developing a conservation easement for their
property, will you know how to help them? As a component of our education
program, the OLT hosts Certified Learning Events (AKA Continuing Legal
Education)—for attorneys, real estate agents, financial advisors, civic leaders
and other professionals—to prepare you for CE discussions and service requests.
Completing a CLE course will expand your repertoire, making you a certified
conservation easement expert in your field.
!
Our current series is geared towards legal advisors. We are presenting the third
“Understanding Conservation
and final class, “Conservation Easement Language,” this November. (Note: CLE
Easements” –an informational
pamphlet-- is now available at classes are held mid-day so you can squeeze them in during a long lunch break
—lunch is provided.)
the OLT office and online.
!
!
!
Thanks to member support, The OLT is able to offer CLE courses pro bono. To
learn more visit www.okanoganlandtrust.org/certified-learning-events.
!
We plan to launch a fresh series of real estate courses starting this winter. We
also intend to host refresher courses, to keep “graduates” up-to-date. To
request an invitation to the upcoming CLE, or to inquire about CLE courses for
your professional field, contact Garry: [email protected] or (970) 318-8018.
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OKANOGAN LAND TRUST
AUTUMN 2 0 1 4
EAT OKANOGAN
“There is a butcher in your driveway.”
Slow Food Okanogan has a Mobile Processing Unit
Slow Food Okanogan—in partnership with Pine Stump Farms— has developed a
mobile processing unit: a trailer fully equipped with a food-service kitchen
designed for butchering poultry and rabbits. The mobile kitchen is WSDA
licensed, so meats processed in this unit can be sold to restaurants and stores.
In fact, Pine Stump Farms has been selling chicken and rabbit meat at farmers
markets all summer. Do you know where your chicken comes from?
!
!
Members of Slow Food hope that the community’s mobile processing unit will
Carey Hunter
stimulate more people to produce meat within our region, both for themselves
Pine Stump Farms
and others in our area. When our community produces and consumes its own
meat, we support the homesteaders and farmers who raise animals in a Pine Stump is a diversified farm
humane and environmentally responsible manner; we reduce our carbon located in the foothills east of
Omak. Carey and Albert raise
footprint; and we enjoy fresher, healthier, and more flavorful food.
!
goats, cattle, horses, chicken,
vegetables, mushrooms, and
The Slow Food’s mobile processing unit is available to rent for $150 per day (+ hay. Look for Pine Stump goat
$200 damage deposit). If you’d like to use the kitchen regularly, you might cheese at your local markets!
consider buying in as a member for $100, which—in addition to helping secure
the mobile kitchen’s future—earns you priority scheduling and discounts on rent
and deposits. For those of you who aren’t ready to process critters on your own,
a butchering crew can be hired, too.
!
For more info, contact Carey and Albert at Pine Stump Farms, (509) 826-9492, or
visit www.pinestumpfarms.com/meat or www.slowfoodokanogan.org.
!
!
!
-Slow Food Okanogan is the local
chapter (founded in 2010) of a
global, grassroots movement to
rekindle our awareness of and
passion for what we eat. (I.e., to
counteract the mounting effects of
a fact-paced, fast-food-fueled,
unconscious consumer culture.)
Slow-Foodies are mindful of how
food choices impact not only our
own bodies, but our environment
and our communities as well, and
we believe everyone should have
access to good, clean and fair food.
!
Mobile processing kitchen in action.
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OKANOGAN LAND TRUST
!
AUTUMN 2 0 1 4
COMMUNITY
OLT’s Annual Harvest Fest
Pairs Well With An Okanogan Feast
!
To receive periodic
communiqués about
opportunities to contribute as
a volunteer, let us know
what sparks your interest:
complete a quick ‘n’ easy
“Potential Volunteer Survey”
www.okanoganlandtrust.org
!
Save the date for the OLT’s annual membership meeting and seasonal
celebration:
Harvest Festival, Saturday, October 18th, 5:00 p.m. at Esther
Bricques Winery, near Oroville.
As a land trust—connecting land and community, and working to preserve our
working farms and ranches— it’s important to us that we feature local cuisine at
community events—especially Harvest Fest! It hasn’t always happened; it’s not
always easy. But this year Slow Food Okanogan has been a pivotal partner,
helping us meet our goal to “keep it local.”
When we discovered that our two organizations were scheduling annual fests/
feasts for the same weekend, it seemed only natural that the two events unite.
The Slow Food catering crew will prepare a Harvest Feast: a smorgasbord
showcasing 99% locally grown ingredients! A $10 donation is suggested per
diner; proceeds to benefit Slow Food Okanogan (and the farmers they source
ingredients from!).
After dinner you’ll have a chance to learn about the Okanogan producers who
supplied the feast, followed by the annual OLT update. We hope you’ll join us
for this gastronomic celebration of locally grown, seasonal cuisine!
“It ain’t easy being blue.”
Volunteers Needed to Maintain Bluebird Nest Boxes
In 1988, Dale Swedberg began an effort to help bluebirds in the Okanogan. Lee
Johnson and friends have kept the effort going over the years, building and
installing nearly a thousand bluebird nest boxes across the county. Now, we’re
looking for volunteers to help maintain those nest boxes, which are clustered in
groups along certain county roads—we’re calling them “Bluebird Trails.”
Lee Johnson
Bluebird Trails Founder
As Friends of the Bluebirds you would simply spend one beautiful autumn
afternoon visiting each box along your chosen trail, sweeping out old nests, and
noting any boxes that need to be repaired or replaced.
To learn more about the Bluebird Trails project, you can watch a video on our
website or Facebook page. Complete the Volunteer Survey if you’re interested
(no obligations; just information), or contact Todd Thorn to sign up for a trail:
[email protected] or (509) 322-6565.
Volunteer Appreciation Picnic – July 2014
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!!October 18
November 14
CALENDAR
Harvest Festival/ Okanogan Feast
Annual membership meeting and gastronomic
celebration. Have you renewed your
membership?
Continuing Legal Education
Course III: Conservation Easement Language
By invitation only. Contact Garry for details.
November 16
Ponderosa Leadership Circle Dinner
Make a three-year pledge; join the circle!
For more information:
www.okanoganlandtrust.org
www.facebook.com/okanoganlandtrust
Photo by Cynthia Nelson.
416 ½ S Whitcomb Ave #3
PO Box 293
Tonasket, WA 98855
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