Wynne Tree Farm Conservation Easements

Conserved in 2007 and 2014

“The family – from Tom’s parents to Tom and me – wanted to ensure the property never got broken up and developed, and wanted to keep the property as wildlife habitat” – Charlene Wynne

Property Overview:

• The entire 530-acre Wynne Tree Farm has now been conserved, protecting most of the upper Schneider Creek Valley, located off Highway 101, northwest of Olympia in Thurston County.
• In 2007, Tom and Charlene Wynne donated a conservation easement to Capitol Land Trust on 355 acres of their property and in 2014, they signed a conservation easement with Capitol Land Trust on the remaining 175 acres of their property.
• The Wynne property is one of southwest Washington’s signature working-lands properties, containing a vibrant mix of forests, streams and wetlands.
• Streams, including Schneider Creek, flow for 3.5 miles through the property, tumbling down from the hills to empty into wetlands along the valley floor. The cool clean water in Schneider Creek eventually empties to the Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve on Totten Inlet, to the benefit of salmon and the health of Puget Sound.
• Conservation of the Wynne Tree Farm, when added to the Kennedy Creek Preserve, effectively protects about 10% of the entire stream system’s habitats!
• The Wynne family has owned property in the Schneider Creek Valley since 1916, and Tom and Charlene hold a powerful connection to the land. They lovingly manage the land as a tree farm, giving equal consideration to their family business and to the environment. Harvesting trees in small patches with 75 years between cuttings protects water quality and enables the property’s forests to remain healthy. In 1990, the Wynne Tree Farm was awarded the national “Green Tag” for sustainable forest management — only the fifth in the state to achieve this honor.
• The Wynne Farm Conservation Easements protects a vast amount of wildlife due to the amount and diversity of habitats it encompasses. Some of the wildlife protected by the easements include black-tailed deer, elk, coyote, beaver, cougar, black bear, green heron, kingfisher, swifts, red-winged blackbird, mallard and wood ducks, and blue gills.

Thank you to the following partners:

• Tom and Charlene Wynne
• Thurston County Conservation Futures Program
• Steamboat Conservation Partnership

CLT Strategic Conservation Goal Achieved:

• Conserve wetlands, riparian areas, and associated upland forests.
• Conserve working lands.