This easement is a 39 acre property that lies along the Kings Valley Highway. This wetland prairie property was permanently protected by GLT in 1998 and is adjacent to Lupine Meadows, a key upland prairie property protected by GLT in 2005.
The purpose of this 39-acre easement was to protect agricultural and scenic values of this property. Located on the Kings Valley scenic highway, the property has historically been utilized as a small farm and animal husbandry operation, and will remain as a working farm, according to the terms of the easement. Portions not farmed include stands of oak and Douglas fir.
The permanent protection of the easement was made possible through a strong collaboration in 1996 with landowner Edna McDowell. Edna McDowell (1917-2002), along with her
late husband George, placed a 39 acre conservation easement on the property in 1996 in partnership with Greenbelt Land Trust. Edna (Eddie to her friends) was born in Dallas and has lived close to the area for most of her life. Eddie graduated from Philomath High School, when her parents bought 1,000 acres of ranch land along the highway in Wren, site of the current easement. In 1997 Edna was honored with the “Order of the Greenbelt” award for her dedication to conservation.
“The land is the basic building block. Without it we have nothing.” – Edna McDowell
The easement is accessible only through GLT-led tours and events at this time.
