Reusing resources. The farm partners with local logging operations to reuse their by-products to distill essential oils. In logging, the by-products are typically burned, so the farm is not only reducing waste, but it is also reducing emissions. This material is also added to the farm’s fields after distillation to enrich the soil and sequester carbon.
Practicing regenerative farming. The farm practices no-till, regenerative farming in an effort to cultivate the highest-quality conifer trees possible and protect the planet. The farm crew uses all leftover plant material from distillation to mulch the fields and improve the soil.
Protecting native pollinators: Since 2019, the Highland Flats farm has had the second-largest and most established waystation of all the farms, with 12,000 square feet that provide shelter and food to butterflies and pollinators alike. Here, we have planted over 2,100 plants of over 40 different native plant species.
The garden primarily consists of colorful flowering perennials that bloom from early May to late October, providing a diverse group of pollinators with nectar. There are three different species of milkweed specifically planted for the monarch migration and reproductive cycle.
Conserving wildlife habitats. The farm committed over 220 acres of land to the McArthur Lake Wildlife Corridor Conservation Easement. This easement is part of a federal conservation program that designates land as environmentally important and protects it from non-forest land uses and commercial development. The conservation values of the program include preserving natural wildlife habitat and travel corridors, ensuring water and soil quality, and protecting ecosystem diversity, as well as all cultural, historical, archaeological, and aesthetic values of the land.
This conservation easement helps to give wildlife, such as grizzly bears, Canada lynxes, gray wolves, deer, elk, and moose an unimpaired passage between two mountain range ecosystems (Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk), the McArthur Lake Wildlife Management Area, and the greater Panhandle national forest. It also helps to preserve riparian areas, as well as natural stream courses and wetlands for fish.
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