By The Chronicle

Thanks to a willing partnership with an Oakville landowner, the Chehalis River Basin Land Trust has added a 40-acre easement of riparian forest, prairie and oak savannah to its holdings.

The agreement will help to conserve the private property as natural land by protecting the unique property from pressures of development, according to a press release.

The landowner originally purchased the 40-acre plot for herself and three horses and immediately set about improving the land. This was no small task since the grass pasture was largely covered in timber and brush debris, pock-marked with large depressions and choked with invasive plants. In order to transform the property to match her vision, the homeowner, referred to only as Sabra in a press release from the Chehalis River Basin Land Trust, spent years meticulously mowing and clearing land, planting native vegetation and setting out bird and bat boxes. Through that work, the grassland has rebounded, and what was once a small cluster of oaks has grown into a full-blown oak savannah and woodland.

The press release from the Chehalis River Basin Land Trust noted that the homeowner drew some of her inspiration and much of her native plant knowledge from the annual Prairie Appreciation Day celebration at the Glacial Heritage Prairie in South Thurston County. When she approached the Land Trust at that event about the possibility of creating an easement on the property, the organization jumped at the chance.

Assistance from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Grays Harbor Conservation District, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Center for Natural Lands Management also helped to bring the property around to its current robust status.

The official easement agreement was recently finalized and signed by the Chehalis River Basin Land Trust and the property owner.