April Joy Farm is located in rapidly developing Ridgefield, a suburb of Vancouver where the median home price has grown 147% in the last decade

RIDGEFIELD – Washington Farmland Trust has permanently protected the 24-acre April Joy Farm in Ridgefield, Washington using a conservation easement, the first project of its kind funded by Clark County. The easement ensures the land on April Joy Farm will remain a farm forever.

April Thatcher started April Joy Farm in 2006. Today, alongside her partner Brad, they manage a certified organic, diversified crop and livestock operation. In addition, April Joy Farm runs Farm to Heart, a food equity initiative that connects local farmers with families facing food insecurity. Three years in the making, April hopes that this conservation project will serve as an inspiration to other farmers looking to protect Clark County’s remaining farmland.

“Permanently protecting high-quality farmland in rapidly developing areas is at the heart of our mission,” said Washington Farmland Trust Senior Conservation Manager Nate Lewis. “After working throughout Washington for more than 25 years, we are honored to partner with Clark County for the first time to safeguard local food production, healthy watersheds, and resilient communities in one of our state’s vital agricultural regions.”

In addition to being Washington Farmland Trust’s first conservation project in Clark County, it is also the organization’s first partnership with Clark County’s Legacy Lands program and the first farmland conservation easement project funded by the program. The farm’s location at the headwaters of Whipple Creek, a tributary to the Columbia River and an important salmon-bearing stream, make the conservation of this property all the more vital for the health of the watershed, a priority at the center of the Legacy Lands program.

“We are proud to see Clark County’s Legacy Lands program taking this next step to permanently protect vital farmland in our region,” said Legacy Lands Program Coordinator Denielle Cowley. “This working farm will remain protected for future generations, and we look forward to working with more local farmers to preserve Clark County’s agricultural lands and support the future of farming in our community.”

April Joy Farm is located in rapidly developing Ridgefield, a suburb of Vancouver where the median home price has grown 147% in the last decade. Ridgefield has a long agricultural history known for growing prunes, pears, and berries, but as the farmland has disappeared and been replaced with houses, the urgency to preserve the remaining farmland parcels has increased. Washington Farmland Trust and Clark County hope that this project will lead to more permanent protection of the county’s important agricultural land – acreage that has decreased by nearly 40% since 2017.

“Every acre of Clark County’s rich soil is a miracle centuries in the making,” said farm owner April Thatcher. “We simply can’t replace this high quality soil. Protecting farmland isn’t about preserving a nostalgic way of life, it’s about making sure that fifty years from now, this region can feed itself.”

Washington Farmland Trust works alongside farmers, landowners, and partners to permanently protect the farmland that sustains Washington’s communities, economy, and food system. The conservation of April Joy Farm brings its total conserved acres to more than 4,000 across the state.

About Washington Farmland Trust

Washington Farmland Trust is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and accredited land trust that protects and stewards threatened farmland across the state. The organization keeps land in production by making it accessible to a new generation of farmers. Since its founding in 1999, Washington Farmland Trust has conserved 38 farms, more than 4,000 acres, across Washington. Learn more at wafarmlandtrust.org.

About Clark County’s Legacy Lands Program

Through the Conservation Futures levy, Clark County’s Legacy Lands program protects, preserves, and restores natural spaces, including fish and wildlife habitat, forestlands, and agricultural lands. Since 1995, the program has protected more than 5,600 acres of the county’s most diverse natural landscapes, including broad river valleys, narrow creek canyons, wetlands, lakes, riparian zones, forests, mountains, meadows, foothills, and farms.

About April Joy Farm

Located near Ridgefield, April Joy Farm is a 24-acre diversified, direct market family farm, certified organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Inspired by the work of renowned environmental scientist and author Donella Meadows, April Joy Farm is committed to building reciprocal relationships and resilience for the long haul. From its cultivated annual and perennial crops and its topography of canyon, creek, and cropland, to its rare breeds of heritage livestock and the community of eaters it sustains, April Joy Farm is a celebration of the power and possibilities of integrated diversity.

Go to clark.wa.gov/public-works/news to read this information in another language. Click the button in the top right of the page that says “Change language” next to a globe icon and choose your preferred language.

Information provided by Clark Co. WA Communications.