Oyster Bay Farm
CFLT’s preservation of Oyster Bay Farm through an Agricultural Conservation Easement ensures that this land will continue to be a productive farm in perpetuity. In addition to the removal of development rights through the agricultural conservation easement, the cost of the farm has been made more affordable to the subsequent farm families that own and produce food on the land.
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Oyster Bay Farm was originally a homestead grant from the late 1800’s. It has been farmed continuously ever since. It has gone through many transformations including being a dairy farm that once sold cream to the Olympia creamery. The land has been home to a chicken farm, holly farm, Angus beef ranch, and even, during World War II, a nutria fur farm. In the 1920’s firewood from Oyster Bay Farm supplied float boat houses of area oyster farmers.
In September 2004, the Olympian ran a series of articles called "Special Places," which reported on 30 sites in Thurston County that readers had nominated for preservation/protection. Burns Cove where the farm is located was one of the final 30 sites chosen as a "Special Place" from all the sites nominated. The original Oyster Bay Farm house was built prior to 1900 but burned to the ground and was rebuilt in 1922. The early barns were replaced in 1949 by the current farm buildings which includes a large two story barn that was originally designed to house up to 1000 laying hens. In 2010 the Oyster Bay Farm, together with Thurston Conservation District, was the recipient of a “Pioneers in Conservation” grant which funded re-sculpturing of pasture drainage to address sheet runoff during winter rains. In addition, the two seasonal streams on the farm that flow into Puget Sound have been fenced off by the farm owners to exclude livestock. Oyster Bay Farm also includes 300 feet of Totten Inlet waterfront on Burns Cove extending 100 feet into the tidelands. The woodlands and tidelands are home to 99 species of birds including 8 species of birds of prey and 38 species of waterfowl shorebirds. |
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Oyster Bay Farm is first Agricultural Conservation Easement acquired by CFLT. This project not only removed the development rights on the farm but assures the farmland continues in active production and significantly reduces the cost for the next generations of farmers owning the land.
Major Funding Sources and Partners: Thurston County’s 2017 Conservation Futures program; landowners Pat Labine and Kathleen O'Shaunessy. |
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Learn more about the history of Oakland Bay Farm and the transition to keep the farming tradition alive on this historic land.
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Learn More about Oyster Bay Farm by watching this video by Washington Grown.
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