By STEVE BROWN

Capital Press

When Nate Hair sees land being bought by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, he's concerned.

As a cattleman and as president of the Cattle Producers of Washington, he takes seriously the prospect of losing land for grazing.

"It especially impacts cow-calf producers," he said.

Jennifer Quan, manager of the lands division at DFW, said the state has been buying land for years. The agency owns 580,000 acres and manages about 900,000 acres, just short of 1 percent of the state's land, with the purpose of preserving property for wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.

As far as land being taken out of ag production, "that's kind of a misnomer," she said. "We only purchase from willing sellers. We don't go in and condemn or anything. Usually owners approach us."

Regional teams evaluate potential acquisitions to determine if that's the right conservation tool.

On the state's eastside, most of the land is old ranches and some is farmland. Many are families who don't have children who want to continue in the industry.

"A lot of times we want to maintain a working landscape and keep the same management practice," Quan said. That might include grazing or sharecropping with local farmers who agree to leave half the crop for wildlife.

All the eastside acquisitions in 2011 involved some long-term leases to allow ag use to continue, she said.

In a time of tight state budgets, "where does the money come from?" Hair asked. "And doesn't it take away jobs and the tax base?"

In general, Quan said, funds for land acquisition comes from state and federal grants and from conservation groups. Occasionally it comes from state appropriations, but not from general fund dollars or state operating funds. On average, WDFW spends $15 million a year.

DFW cannot pay above fair-market value, she said. Third-party appraisals are reviewed by federal and state agencies.

A website to be launched in late March will allow public input early on in the process, when the agency is ready to submit new grants.

Agency spokesman Craig Bartlett said the website will allow the public to see which properties have been proposed for acquisition. Further, he said, any land purchase must be approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which establishes policy for the agency.

"I don't see any impact on jobs," Quan said. "Our lands are part of a bigger economy related to recreation and tourism, a $4.5 billion industry. For example, the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses helps support small mom-and-pop operations in rural Washington."

As far as eroding the tax base, she said, the agency pays counties about $1.2 million a year in payments in lieu of taxes.

Online

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: http://wdfw.wa.gov