Brian and Connie Foster, longtime operators of a 39.5‑acre dairy and hay farm, inked a permanent conservation easement yesterday that locks the land along State Route 530 NE in the Stillaguamish Valley in Washington permanently as farmland.
The deal, brokered by Forterra, Snohomish County and the Stillaguamish Tribe, prohibits any future residential or commercial development while allowing the Fosters to keep ownership and continue farming.
The easement will keep the acreage open to floodplain management, absorbing floodwaters and curbing agricultural runoff—an advantage for the Portage Creek Wildlife Area that borders the property.
This agreement fits into a larger conservation push in the valley, where Forterra has already secured nearly 500 easements across Washington, protecting more than 275,000 acres.
Forterra’s monitoring team will review the 39.5 acres yearly, a practice that has kept its network of more than 100 properties compliant since 2015.