The Farmland Preservation Grant Program provides funding to buy development rights on farmlands to ensure they remain available for farming in the future.
Donor Name: Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office
State: Washington
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/30/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The program is part of the larger Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, which was created in 1990 to buy land for outdoor recreation and wildlife conservation, to keep pace with a growing population. In 2005, the state Legislature expanded the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program to include preservation of significant farmland.
Funding Information
- Funding comes from the sale of state bonds and is awarded every two years.
- Farm stewardship plans may not exceed $10,000.
Eligible Projects
- Land acquisition through easements and leases (required for all projects). Public access is not required.
- Enhancement or restoration, such as installing fences to keep livestock out of streams, replanting riverbanks, restoring historic water runoff patterns, improving irrigation, and installing solar well pumps. These activities must further the ecological functions of the farmland.
- Combination of land acquisition and either restoration or enhancement.
- Stewardship plans.
Eligibility Criteria
- Cities
- Counties
- Nonprofit nature conservancies
- State Conservation Commission.
Ineligible Projects
- Acquisition of rights for less than twenty-five years, of land already owned by the government, or of property acquired via a condemnation
- Consumable supplies such as fuel, fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, except as a one-time application in an otherwise eligible restoration activity
- Elements that cannot be defined as fixtures or capital items
- Environmental cleanup of illegal activities, such as meth labs
- Indoor facilities
- Organizational operating expenses or overhead
- Purchase of maintenance equipment, tools, or supplies
- Restoration work done before a grant agreement is signed
- Transfer of development rights.
For more information, visit WSRCO.
