DNR Offering 3,000-acre Agricultural Lease in Paterson’s Horse Heaven Hills

DNR is offering a long-term lease on 3,000 acres of prime agricultural land within Horse Heaven Hills AVA with secured water permits and senior water rights in-hand. Photo: DNR

Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering for lease approximately 3,000 acres of agricultural land in the Paterson-Horse Heaven Hills region. All bids are due by 1 p.m., April 6, 2017. Learn more

This bid opportunity is unique for a several reasons: its large size, an atypical lease structure and the ability to tap into 3.9 acre feet of non-interruptible Columbia River water per acre.

This structure of this lease will differ from our standard agricultural leases. Most notably, we’re looking to the bid winner to construct the supply system needed to deliver water to the land. To that end, the agency will allow proposals with rental terms designed to reimburse against the winning bidder’s investment – such as a long-term lease of up to 35 years and reduced lease rates.

The agency will select its future lessee based on a range of criteria, including the applicant’s financial capabilities and ability to perfect DNR’s water rights. Environmental considerations also will factor in, such as whether the applicant intends to grow organic crops or preserve areas of shrub-steppe as wildlife habitat.

“We know this is not a typical agricultural land lease, but we also know that access to prime irrigated farmland is valuable. We want applicants to be creative and propose what can work for them, and us,” says DNR Southeast Region Manager Todd Welker. “We’ve done a lot of work upfront. We think this approach will preserve a valuable water right, generate revenue for public beneficiaries and pencil out for someone.”

To reduce risk, DNR has already negotiated needed agreements and right-of-ways for the water supply system. We’re also providing water pipeline and pump station engineering drawings, electrical drawings and a project cost estimate, which rings in at $11 million.

Want to find out more? Check out www.Paterson2017.com, which has overhead drone footage of the available farmland, associated documents and parcel temperature data. You’ll also be able to sign up to get email updates about this unique lease offering.

If you are interested in a tour of the parcels, email Rick Roeder or Randy Niessner, or visit www.paterson2017.com

March Offerings: Irrigated Agriculture and Grazing Leases

Grazing Lease No. 10-094032 — March 8, 2017

This 10 year-lease, which will be offered at sealed-bid public auction, includes 120 acres in Spokane County.

Sealed bids must be received no later than 10:00 a.m. on March 8, 2017, at which time they will be opened at DNR’s Northeast Region Office, 225 S. Silke Road, Colville, Wash., 99114. Lease documents:

• Notice of Intent
• Proposed Lease
• Maps

For more information, contact Shawn Soliday or Suzanne Thome at 509-624-7474.

Temporary Grazing Permit No. 11-095122 — March 8, 2017

This five-year permit, which will be offered at sealed-bid public auction, includes 9,934 acres in Okanogan County.

Sealed bids must be received no later than 11:00 a.m. on March 8, 2017, at which time they will be opened at DNR’s Northeast Region Office, 225 S. Silke Road, Colville, Wash., 99114. Lease documents:

• Notice of Intent
• Proposed Lease
• Maps

For more information, contact Brian Derting or Suzanne Thome at 509-624-7474.

Irrigated Ag Lease No. 12-092579 — March 9, 2017

This ten-year lease, which will be offered at sealed-bid public auction, includes 255 irrigated agriculture acres in Adams County.

Sealed bids must be received no later than 3:30 p.m. on March 9, 2017, at which time they will be opened at DNR’s Southeast Region Office, 713 Bowers Road, Ellensburg, Wash., 98926. Lease documents:

• Notice of Intent
• Proposed Lease
• Maps

For more information, contact Mark Bohnet at 509-531-7418, or Kathleen Beach at 509-925-0912.

April Offerings: Irrigated Leases in Grant and Franklin Counties

Irrigated Ag Lease No. 12-A79766 — April 11, 2017

This lease will be offered at sealed-bid public auction with the following lease options: a ten-year term for irrigated row crops, or a 25-year term for orchard or vineyards crops. The lease is for 155.6 irrigable acres in Grant County.

Sealed bids must be received no later than 2:00 p.m. on April 11, 2017, at which time they will be opened at DNR’s Southeast Region Office, 713 Bowers Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926. See lease documents:

• Notice of Intent
• Proposed Lease
• Map Location
• Map Topography

For more information, contact Tim Kopf at 509-528-2894, or Kathleen Beach at 509-925-0912. 

Irrigated Ag Lease No. 12-A79611 — April 11, 2017

This ten-year lease, which will be offered at a sealed-bid public auction, includes 520 irrigated agriculture acres in Franklin County.

Sealed bids must be received no later than 2:30 p.m. on April 11, 2017, at which time they will be opened at DNR’s Southeast Region Office, 713 Bowers Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926. See lease documents:

• Notice of Intent
• Proposed Lease
• Map Location
• Map Topography

For more information, contact Ryan Cloud at 509-528-6196, or Kathleen Beach at 509-925-0912. 

Irrigated Ag Lease No. 12-A79612 — April 11, 2017

This ten-year lease, which will be offered at a sealed-bid public auction, includes 439.7 irrigated agriculture acres in Franklin County.

Sealed bids must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. on April 11, 2017, at which time they will be opened at DNR’s Southeast Region Office, 713 Bowers Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926. See lease documents:

• Notice of Intent
• Proposed Lease
• Map Location
• Map Topography

For more information, contact Ryan Cloud at 509-528-6196, or Kathleen Beach at 509-925-0912.

DNR wells and water level monitoring

Air line measurement at DNR well. Photo: DNR

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) relies on more than 80 wells for water supply to irrigate crops under agriculture leases. On most leases with existing well(s), the well(s) provide the primary source of water for irrigation under the lease. In other cases, the well(s) serves as a backup supply to a surface water source. In either case, the wells and associated water rights are valuable assets to the State. As stewards of these water rights and wells, DNR is responsible for effectively managing them to produce revenue for public schools and other state trust land beneficiaries.

DNR water-level monitoring data provide important information about the aquifers the department use for irrigation water. Identifying and tracking the presence and magnitude of water-level trends, including declines, can help us anticipate well and pump issues. The monitoring information helps us assess the lifespan of an existing well or the need for future well repairs or maintenance. The monitoring data also are critical to DNR’s long-term planning and decision-making for future water supplies on irrigated agriculture leases.

DNR has regularly measured water levels in about half of its wells, with data sets in many cases extending back to the time that the wells were drilled. DNR typically measures water levels in the early spring in order to track trends in water levels prior to irrigation season pumping. Currently, DNR is expanding its monitoring network to track water level trends at wells completed in the different aquifers on which the department relies for irrigation.

Many DNR wells are relatively deep wells into the Columbia River basalts. In most cases, DNR uses air line measurements to track water levels in these wells. This requires the installation and maintenance of air lines at each DNR well, regardless of whether they are part of the current annual water level monitoring network or are only measured periodically. An important part of the monitoring effort is to work closely with lessees to ensure that functional air lines with known depth settings are put in place when pump work is done, and when pumps are pulled.

DNR is working to broaden its monitoring network and track the data spatially in a geographic information system (GIS) so that well information can be easily accessed and used. In addition, DNR looks to other publicly available water level data for wells in the vicinity of state trust lands. In this way, we can continue to plan for the future on our agriculture leases.

By Ingrid Ekstrom, Hydrologist, DNR Product Sales & Leasing Division

DNR Focused on Protecting Water Right Assets

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages more than 300 water right certificates and permits that it holds in addition to water right claims in many cases. These water rights are used primarily for irrigation on state trust lands leased for agriculture uses.

As stewards of these water rights, DNR is responsible to effectively manage these rights to produce revenue for public schools and other state trust beneficiaries. We also are responsible to protect these rights from relinquishment. DNR is moving toward using the Washington State Trust Water Rights program to protect these rights for future uses on state lands and to allow increased flexibility in water management on agriculture leases.

“The Washington State Trust Water Rights program provides a way to legally hold water rights for future uses without the water right relinquishing. Water is held in trust to benefit groundwater and instream flows, and other beneficial uses.” (Department of Ecology website, 2014)

Water rights can be held in trust permanently or for short periods of time as temporary donations. With the added ability to donate groundwater rights, as well as surface water rights, to the program, DNR gains flexibility and options for protecting water rights that rely exclusively on wells for withdrawing irrigation water. As an example of this flexibility, DNR can choose to donate its water rights, in whole or in part, to the Trust Water Rights program for a specified period of time when it anticipates using less water. By temporarily donating the water right to the program, DNR is able to protect the State’s water assets and, at the same time, provide benefits to surface water and groundwater resources.

The program is a particularly useful tool for DNR to consider in protecting its water rights during periods when irrigation infrastructure is under development, crop types and water demand are changing, or in other periods of transition that may reduce water use. For example, on one of DNR’s large agriculture leases a farm-scale transition of crop type and irrigation system was planned. During the development period, the old crop and irrigation infrastructure had to be removed and new system installed and crop planted. It took a considerable amount of time for the lessee and DNR to successfully complete the project. In the interim, DNR wanted to ensure that its water rights remained intact so the agency temporarily donated the water to the Trust Water Program to protect the water right during the project’s development. Once the project is completed or as the crops are incrementally planted, DNR will have the ability to remove the water from the Trust Water Rights program and begin using it again for irrigation.