Bonaparte Meadows Campaign Reaches $1.5 Million Funding Goal
For the Fen! campaign reaches full funding for 745-acre Okanogan Highlands conservation project
Okanogan Land Trust’s For the Fen! campaign has reached its $1.5 million fundraising goal for Bonaparte Meadows, a 745-acre landscape in the Okanogan Highlands that includes approximately 265 acres of rare peat fen habitat.
The milestone brings the capital campaign to a close after an effort that brought together individual donors, local organizations, foundations, conservation partners, and supporters from across the region and beyond.
This campaign began with the dream of protecting an extraordinary and beloved local landmark, and a very big goal. Reaching it is the result of hundreds of people choosing to be part of the future of Bonaparte Meadows. Every donation, share, conversation, partnership, and word of encouragement helped carry this effort forward. We are deeply grateful.
Kate Miller, Executive Director, Okanogan Land Trust
Located below Bonaparte Mountain near Bonaparte Lake, Bonaparte Meadows contains Okanogan County’s largest peat wetland and one of Washington’s rare calcareous fens. Its deep peat soils hold water, store carbon, and play an important role in watershed and wildfire resilience. The property also supports a connected matrix of wetland, meadow, shrub, forest, and upland habitats used by a wide range of wildlife.
The campaign is fully funded. The next phase can begin.
Although the campaign has reached its goal, the need doesn’t end with acquisition. Future donations will go toward a Stewardship Fund established for the property.
With the campaign fully funded, Okanogan Land Trust can move forward with the next steps toward acquisition and permanent conservation of Bonaparte Meadows, while beginning a collaborative planning process with project partners for the restoration of areas affected by historic peat extraction. The partners can also now prepare for the long-term work of stewarding the property for its water, wildlife, and habitat values.
The opportunity to plan for restoration turns a long-held vision into reality.
Restoration can only happen by securing the property first, and it means a lot that people have embraced this moment and stepped forward.
Julie Vanderwal, Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner
Restoration priorities will include recovering wetland function, improving hydrology, and increasing the meadow’s ability to store water and support clean, cold-water flows into the Okanogan River watershed.
Project partners include Trout Unlimited, Okanogan Conservation District, North Central Washington Audubon Society, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and Sparrow Song Consulting, among others.
Follow what comes next at Bonaparte Meadows
Okanogan Land Trust will continue sharing updates as the project moves through acquisition, restoration planning, and long-term stewardship.
Although the campaign has reached its goal, the need doesn’t end with acquisition. Future donations will go toward a Stewardship Fund established for the property.
