Unique and Fulfilling Partnerships
In 2000, we partnered with The Nature Conservancy, and state and federal wildlife officials, to create a voluntary wildlife conservation area. This “Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances”, is a formal agreement between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Threemile Canyon Farms, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland General Electric, and The Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy manages the habitat area, while the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife performs surveys and makes recommendations. Our work with these groups serves as a national model for voluntarily protecting species at risk of being designated “Endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.
The Conservation agreement secures 25 years of wildlife conservation area benefits on 23,000 acres, or nearly 25% of our farm. In fact, four threatened species and Columbia Basin grassland have remained off the federal endangered species list due in part to the agreement: the Washington Ground Squirrel, Ferruginous Hawk, Loggerhead Shrike, and Sage sparrow. Chinook and Snake River sockeye salmon, steelhead trout, the white-tailed jackrabbit, Swainson's hawk, Western burrowing owl, grasshopper sparrow, long-billed curlew, Northern sagebrush lizard, two species of bitterbrush, two species of sagebrush, and three different grasses also benefit from the conservation area.