Current Farmer:

River to Ridge Farm has been owned by the Jacoby family since 1968. For the last 60 years, the farm has either been a dairy or beef cattle operation. In more recent years, the family began leasing a portion of the property to a nearby dairy farm, Coldstream Dairy, to grow corn, hay, and silage for their operation. 

Project Background:

This conservation easement is our first in Whatcom County, as well as our first partnership with the Whatcom County Conservation Easement Program to perpetually steward the many natural resources on the property. The project is funded by both the Whatcom Conservation Futures Fund and the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office’s Farmland Preservation Program. The forested acres are zoned forestry and have a Forestry Management Plan for both timber production and wildlife habitat. 

Property Description:

River to Ridge Farm is a 104-acre farm located in Whatcom County in the lower South Fork Nooksack River Valley. Nearly 70 acres are in agricultural production, and the remaining acres consist of forested land and protected wildlife habitat. The property has water rights and irrigates annually in the summer months. The habitat acreage on the property is enrolled in the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, administered and monitored by the Whatcom Conservation District. This partnership supported the planting of a wide buffer along the creek for salmon habitat. 

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