Skerbeck Farm, Photo: Patrick Downs
January, 26, 2015 – On December 23rd, North Olympic Land Trust finalized a legal agreement with landowners Conard and Pat (Skerbeck) Metcalf to permanently conserve the 20-acre Skerbeck Farm just east of Port Angeles.
The farm has been in the Skerbeck family since 1955, when it was purchased by Ms. Metcalf’s parents, Dr. Frank and Dorothy Skerbeck. Metcalf and her 14 brothers and sisters were raised on the property where her parents fostered a stewardship ethic toward the land within each of their children.
“For me, a large goal of this project was to permanently protect our family property in my parents’ honor,” Metcalf said. “We want to make sure the natural beauties of this farm are conserved for generations to come.”
Metcalf first learned about the potential for land conservation from her sister Bobbie who has also embodied her parents’ conservation legacy by permanently conserving her property near the Elwha River with North Olympic Land Trust in 2011.
Since 1990, North Olympic Land Trust has conserved over 90 properties and 3,000 acres across Clallam County. This effort has focused on preserving the lands that sustain the farms, fish and forests that define our community.
Skerbeck Farm, Photo: Patrick Downs
“We were drawn to this donation of a conservation easement on Skerbeck Farm by the opportunity to protect quality farm soil and enhance a buffer between intensive development along Highway 101 and the Strait-front bluffs east of Port Angeles,” said Land Trust executive director Tom Sanford.
Like nine other properties protected by the Land Trust, Skerbeck Farm sits alongside the Olympic Discovery Trail protecting the natural appeal of this popular recreation and wildlife corridor.