Blue Vista Farm development
rights procured
The Daily Press
Last Updated: Monday, December 22nd, 2024 10:09:05
AM
BAYFIELD — On December 16, the Town of Bayfield purchased
the development rights on Blue Vista Farm. Blue Vista Farm, perched above Lake
Superior overlooking Chequamegon Bay, grows apples, blueberries, raspberries,
fresh cut and dried flowers. The Blue Vista Farm barn has been on the cover of
Wisconsin Trails magazine and featured in the National Barns Calendar and the
Lake Superior calendar.
“Blue Vista Farm is a gateway to the
orchard region in the Bayfield Peninsula” said Ruth Oppedahl who
administers the Farmland Preservation Program for the Town of Bayfield.
“Seasonal visitors are drawn to this region to sail and kayak the Apostle
Islands National Lakeshore, and for the beauty of the orchards and rural
landscape. The apples, berries, perennial plants, honey and jams from Bayfield
are distributed throughout the upper midwest and pick-your-own operations form
the base of the local economy. This small town of just 674 residents in
northern Wisconsin has taken a bold stand to preserve the farmland and orchards
which form the backbone of their economy.”
Blue Vista Farm is the
second farm to sell development rights to the Town of Bayfield. In 2024, the
Town developed the Farmland Preservation Program in response to a community
survey and Land Use Plan which called for preserving productive agricultural
land to maintain economic activity and way of life. After two years of
research, the Town initiated the purchase of development rights (PDR) program
in January of 2024. In a PDR transaction, the landowner sells the development
rights, but retains title and all other rights to the land which is permanently
restricted for agriculture or open space use. Over 1.8 millions acres of prime
and unique farmland has been permanently protected through PDR programs around
the country in the last twenty-five years. *
Funds for the purchase of
development rights were provided by the Town of Bayfield and the USDA Natural
Resources and Conservation Services Farm and Ranch Protection Program. Blue
Vista Farm owners, Eric, Keith and Laura Carlson also donated $9,025 to the
transaction. The conservation easement permanently restricting the land is
co-held by the Town of Bayfield and the Bayfield Regional Conservancy, a local
non-profit land trust. The City of Bayfield has contributed $5,000 to the Town
of Bayfield’s Farmland Preservation Program.
A total of
eighty-three acres of unique agricultural land have been permanently protected
in the first year of the program. In November, development rights were
purchased on Highland Valley Farm, the largest blueberry producer in the
western Lake Superior region.
For more information contact: Ruth
Oppedahl, Bayfield Regional Conservancy, 715-779-LAND (5263)
brcland.org
* According to the
American Farmland Trust and the Agricultural Issues Center of the University of
California, Davis. See the
complete report.