Egg and I Angus
Egg and I Angus
Acres Preserved:
114
Year Conserved:
2022
Category:
Conservation Easement
Natural Features:
We felt that this land should be preserved as a farm, because we think it’s one of the most valuable assets in Center Valley as far as farming is concerned.
– Laurie Hannan, Egg and I Angus
A Birds-Eye View
One of the larger family farms in the Chimacum Creek watershed, Egg and I Angus is located four miles south of Chimacum in Center Valley. The rich land of this 115-acre historic cattle farm has been in agricultural use for more than a century, and the upper reach of Chimacum Creek — with spawning habitat for coho and steelhead — runs through it for nearly a mile.
Egg and I Angus lies within a specific agricultural geographical priority area identified by the community in the Land Trust’s conservation plan. The prime soils of the farm have been classified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service as “Farmland of Statewide Importance,” and the property’s barn and attached milking parlor, built in 1900, is listed on the Washington Heritage Barn Register.
The Preservation Story
At the time of its protection, Egg and I Angus was run by daughter-and-mother team Julia Nottingham and Laurie Hannan. Julia inherited the farm from her late father, Bob. Raised in Port Angeles, Bob took correspondence courses in dairy farming during his time in the Navy before purchasing the farmland from the Oaks family around 1960 and running it as a dairy. Bob was locally known as a good businessman, hard worker, and great farmer who loved his herd of Holsteins.
The Land Trust began working with Julia and Laurie in 2020 with the goal of protecting the farm. In 2023, local, state, and US Navy funding made it possible for the Land Trust to purchase two easements on the farm that limit development of the property, ensuring it will remain available as farmland for all time.
This project was made possible with the support of the Navy’s REPI (Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration) program, the Jefferson County Conservation Futures Fund program, and the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) farmland preservation grant program, which provides funding to buy development rights on farmland to ensure it remains available for farming in the future as well as to restore natural functions, improving the land’s viability for farming.
The Protected Property Today and Tomorrow
By the time the farm was permanently protected in 2023, Egg and I Angus had more than 50 Black Angus cows on their beautiful farm.
