#ThrowbackThursday – Turner Farm 1993 – our first conservation easement

Forested hills slope gently down to grassy fields and a home near a small, clear lake on the 210 acre Turner Easement in Stevens County, Washington. This rural area is home to a wide variety of plants and wildlife including coyote, elk, moose, black bear, and rainbow trout. Over the past twenty years, the easement, which protects 80% of the lakeshore, has continued to preserve this ecological diversity and scenic beauty from encroaching development.

When it was signed in August 1993, the Turner Farm became the recently-formed, Inland Northwest Land Conservancy’s first conservation easement. Seeking to protect her home from future development, Lollie Turner worked with INLC to create an easement with plans for ongoing forest and farm management under the oversight of INLC. Lollie Turner passed away, but the relationship carries on with the current property owners.