Farm Land Protection Easement Preserves Utah Family Farm

Mark E. Rey, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment joined the Trust for Public Land at a September 19 celebration marking the preservation of nearly 1,600 acres of ranch land in Utah’s historic Cache Valley.

The celebration marked the conveyance of a conservation easement on Brooke Ranch in Paradise to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food for protection in perpetuity.

Rey said the easement is more than a legal document.  "It's a covenant with future generations."

Keynote speaker Rey was followed by speakers representing the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food; Shauna Kerr, vice chair of the Utah Quality Growth Commission; Skip Nelson, NRCS Utah State conservationist; Bill Christensen, Utah regional director of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; John Hansen, Cache County Council; landowners Jon and Vickie White; and Alan Front, Senior Vice President of the Trust for Public Land.

Through $857,000 from the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, NRCS will set up a permanent easement covering almost 1,600 acres of the ranch, preserving it as farmland for generations to come.

The State's LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Fund is kicking in $250,000. Another $190,000 comes from the George S. and Delores Dore Eccles Foundation, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and other donors.

For the past 115 years, four generations of Utah pioneer Barnard White have worked the Brooke Ranch, producing hay and grains, raising sheep, fish, and turkey, and providing grazing for cattle.

“As a kid, everybody made a living as farmers in Paradise,” says White’s great-grandson Jon. “Now I only know of three that make their living that way.”

Increasing taxes and limited profits have turned many longtime farms into high-priced housing developments. But Jon refuses to follow suit.

“People that haven’t worked on (the land) see it only as a commodity you can sell," White said.  "(But) if you’re a farmer and you were raised on it, it’s a part of your soul.”

The property could have fetched five times the $1.72 million easement price if sold to developers.  The owners discounted the price by about $430,000.

"I don’t know of a better way to preserve your heritage than this,” said White.

(Salt Lake Tribune, AScribe, and NRCS Utah CloseUp. Image by Leah Hogsten.)

Other Resources
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program national web page