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Wynne
Farm Conservation Easement:
355 acres in the Schneider Creek Watershed.
Conserved in 2007.
Historic
355 - acre Wynne Farm Conserved
by
Eric Erler
(Issue
46, Fall 2007)
On
a sunny afternoon in late August, I stopped in to see
Tom and Charlene Wynne at their farm west of Olympia.
After sharing some good laughs, a staple with Charlene
and Tom, we hopped in Tom’s truck and drove up the
beautiful valley that surrounds their property.
While Tom and I unloaded a piece of bailing
equipment from the truck, Charlene fed the horses. Then
we all drove into town and the Wynne’s signed an
agreement that permanently conserves 355 acres of their
incredible valley.
The
farm’s forested hillsides rise steeply from the valley
floor and completely
surround the property except where the road enters at
one end. Numerous
streams tumble down from the hills and empty into the
hidden and open-water
wetlands along the valley floor.
Osprey, owls and cougar feed along this
transition zone. The
property’s main streams contribute freshwater to the
Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve on Totten Inlet,
benefiting salmon and the health of Puget Sound.
Hayfields, flooded along the edges by over-productive
beavers, create a pastoral vista and provide habitat for
hawks and other raptors looking for movement in the
grass from overhead.
The
Wynne’s lovingly manage their property as a tree farm,
caring equally for the animals and the environment as
for their family business. Harvesting trees in small
patches and waiting nearly ¾ of a century between
cuttings enables
the property to function as a healthy ecosystem. The
Wynne’s management of this micro-paradise has been
praised by timberland owners, farmers, government
agencies and environmentalists alike.
Working
with the Wynne’s to conserve their farm is one of the
greatest pleasures I’ve had as director of Capitol
Land Trust. Tom and Charlene are truly two of the nicest
and most forward thinking people I have ever had the
pleasure of knowing. By donating a conservation easement
that will ensure the valley remains forever undeveloped,
Charlene and Tom have given a gift to the people,
the wildlife and the future health of this region,
unlike anyone before them.
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