Okanogan Land Trust

Programs: Okanogan land trust (olt) was awarded a two year grant from the national fish and wildlife foundation (nfwf) as part of a multi-year nfwf initiative called working for wildlife (wfw). The year's accomplishments include coordination and communication with project partners; outreach to landowners in the project area, olt members and donors, and the general public; advocacy work to increase support for conservation easements (ce's) among state and local legislators; performing extensive gis mapping work on project area; and initial development of several ce projects with landowners in the wfw target area. This groundwork is expected to result in olt securing between 2 and 4 ce's in the wfw over the course of the 2nd year of the nfwf grant.

okanogan land trust (olt) closed two conservation easements (ce's) totaling nearly 1,000 acres. Funding for the purchase of these ce's, totaling $1. 1 million, came from grants through both washington state's recreation and conservation office (rco) and the natural resources conservation service's farm and ranchlands protection program. In addition to applying for, receiving, and managing these grants, olt worked with the landowners and project partners to complete these projects. Additionally, olt applied for and was awarded an additional $1. 75 million in rco funding, which will enable us to pursue two additional large ce's over the next biennium.

okanogan land trust (olt) initiated a conservation planning process to determine conservation priorities and strategies for the organization. Olt secured funding from intermountain west joint venture, charlotte martin foundation, and community foundation of north central washington to help cover the costs of this planning process. Olt entered into contracts with two consultants, held initial planning/strategy sessions, and conducted stakeholder meetings to gather input on conservation priorities in our service region. The final plan is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2016.