The snapshots from the wildlife cameras we have on the 1200 acres of the Sunny M Ranch remind us that our work matters to many. Our cameras have captured cougars, bears, weasels, deer, and even a pileated woodpecker all taking their turn sipping water from a small spring in the summer heat. (Click HERE to see some of our game camera videos!)
The Methow Conservancy protects land for wildlife, so there will forever be places where critters roam free.
There’s nothing quite like the chaos of a pack of 4th graders trying to put on snowshoes on a brisk January day. It’s all part of our monthly Schoolyard Science program at Methow Valley Elementary School. For some, it’s their first time walking on top of snow with big feet. One of the best sounds: when you hear their joy as they find a wildlife track telling a story in the snow.
Our goal is to generate lasting excitement around science, and inspire our next generation of biologists, ecologists, conservationists, and nature-lovers in the Methow Valley.
Your support gives the next generation a chance to find wonder in nature.
It’s the perfect Methow Valley summer evening, strolling through the simply breathtaking rows of cabbage and lettuce at Willow Brook Farm near Carlton. Farmers Eric and Cameron and their staff radiate a love for soil, good food, and caring for the land as they share their story with more than 100 First Tuesday Farm Tour participants.
Through our Methow Grown programs, we help people appreciate the hard work of all the Valley’s farmers, so that agriculture can not only survive but thrive in the Methow Valley.
Forever is a long-time, but that’s the time horizon we work with for our 122 conservation easement properties, covering more than 10,000 acres from Lost River to Pateros.
Since 1996, we’ve created and stewarded these permanent legal agreements between private landowners and the Methow Conservancy to protect wildlife habitat, fertile soils, and stunning views, while keeping the land in individual or family ownership, from riparian areas (including 31 miles of shoreline in the Methow Watershed) to agricultural fields and orchards, to shrub-steppe habitat, to forests and meadows.
Your support means we can have the structure and systems in place to uphold our conservation easements and ensure the land we conserve is protected forever.
The winding trails and ridgeline on 144 acres of Mill Hill in Twisp, the trails at the 139-acre Meadowlark Natural Area in Winthrop, and the 10+ miles trails on the Sunny M Ranch are special places to Methow Valley residents and visitors. Over the past seven years, the Methow Conservancy has worked with our towns to provide free public access to beautiful trails close to where so many people live.
Your support connects people to the land.
The Methow Valley has been the homeland of the mətx̌ʷu/Methow People since Time Immemorial and as a community we have a responsibility to work toward justice that respects their past, present, and future on the land. With community support we purchased and then returned 320+ acres on the Chewuch River to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in honor of the mətx̌ʷu People. We are grateful to be invited to work with them as they host cultural and educational events at x̌ʷnámx̌ʷnam.
We are honored to be allies for mətx̌ʷu Descendants.
Finding land for housing matters, too. As a conservation organization, we see the housing crisis in our community and recognize the importance of finding land near towns that is suitable for building neighborhoods that are affordable for people who live and work in the Methow Valley.
The Methow Conservancy has been thoughtfully grappling with what it means to support conservation and community as we work with community partners to find win-win strategies that work for the human and wild communities of this Valley.
The best reason of all: because you love this Valley, you care about its future, and you believe that together we can help future generations know a Methow Valley like the one we cherish.
We believe that a love of the land unites us in the Methow Valley--and when people find that common ground, amazing things can happen.
If you are inspired to give, please visit: www.givemethow.org or visit our donation webpage.
