PRESS RELEASE
The Board of Directors of the Alaska Farmland Trust Corporation (AFTC) is pleased to announce the permanent protection of 68 acres in Palmer. After four years of planning, paperwork and fundraising, a conservation easement was placed on the property known as The Musk Ox Farm, north of Palmer on Archie Road.
“The Musk Ox Farm is a one-of-a-kind operation, not only in Alaska, but across the country. In addition to the fact that a very unique ungulate (Musk Oxen) roams the property, it is also managed in a holistic and forward-thinking manner,” says AFTC Director, Amy Pettit. “Spend ten minutes with Mark and his crew, and you immediately recognize that this farm is different and special.”
Alaska Farmland Trust received funding through the USDA’s Agriculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) to help facilitate this project. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service administers the easement program. To qualify for the ACEP funding both Alaska Farmland Trust and The Musk Ox Farm had to meet a wide variety of parameters including being a qualified conservation organization, utilizing approved management practices and the desire and willingness to permanently restrict the property from future non-agricultural uses, such as development.
Alaska Farmland Trust is a non-profit whose primary mission is the protection of Alaskan farmland to guarantee viable agricultural soils exist in Alaska in perpetuity. The addition of this property brings the total acreage protected by Alaska Farmland Trust to 228 acres, all in the greater Palmer area.
Contacts:
Alaska Farmland Trust
Executive Director: Amy Pettit
amypettit@akfarmland.com (907) 355-2706
www.akfarmland.com
The Musk Ox Farm
Executive Director: Mark Austin
mark@muskoxfarm.org (907) 355-2221
www.muskoxfarm.org