Stillaguamish Valley Protection Initiative
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Snohomish Sustainable Lands Strategy partners are working to develop a program to reduce development pressure in the Lower Stillaguamish Floodplain for the benefit of both ecosystem recovery and agriculture. Aspects of this work are related to the Snohomish Riparian Zone Management Strategy, Snohomish Farmland Protection Strategy, and more generally Snohomish Agricultural Resilience work. This effort is still conceptual, and will be looking at both existing and potential new sources of revenue. It will likely be a component of the Lower Stillaguamish Floodplain reach scale plan.
Situation
- Initial meetings are working to develop a working lands protection concept that works for both agriculture and ecosystem recovery.
- A team is working to develop a model easement instrument that supports the concept.
- The Forterra and PCC Farmland Trust team has submitted 6 applications to the ACEP program to protect approximately 600 acres of farmland.
Conceptual Documents
- File:Klesick 2016 DRAFT SVPI concept.pdf - describes the need and vision for multi-benefit farmland protection
- File:SCD 2016 lower stilly farmland use map.pdf - shows current lower Stillaguamish farmland parcels
- File:Cereghino 2016 DRAFT lower stillaguamish context.pdf - a draft synthesis of fish, farm, and flood needs in the lower Stillaguamish.
Related Easement Language Examples
Part of this effort is in developing easement language that protects resource land values, including farm, forestry and habitat, while supporting negotiated local sovereignty over private land use decisions, and resulting in ecosystem improvement over time.