Purpose and Early History
Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT) has an integrated, four-fold purpose: to protect rural and urban agricultural lands and keep them in agricultural production; to make those lands available for the use of future generations of growers; to conduct research on those lands into the sustainable production and distribution of agricultural bounty; and to provide education focused on living sustainably.
OSALT was formed by Susan W. Clark and Will Newman II in 1995. It was a response to their thirteen-year, nationwide search to find, and buy, a small farm suitable for organic production. The knowledge gained during that search made it clear to them how difficult it is to find, and buy, farmland, and how little regard our society has for agriculture, agricultural lands, and those who practice the arts of agriculture. (See Organization for more information on the structure of OSALT.)
OSALT acquires property by gift, not purchase, so land acquisition only happens when concerned land owners, tenants and neighbors take action. This tends to yield slow, but cumulative success.
The first property to be protected by OSALT was Ariadne Garden, a double city lot in NE Portland, in 1995. The second was Sue and Will's farm, Natural Harvest Farm, a 20 acre farm, in 1999. In late 2006 Multnomah County donated Greeley Forest Garden, 0.6 acres near the east end of the Fremont bridge. In January of 2006, a consortium of residents, neoighbors, Friends of Tryon Creek State Park, the City of Portland, Metro, and Oregon State Parks purchased and protected Tryon Life Community Farm, a 6+ acre farm in the city limits of Portland.
OSALTR is currently working with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Multnomah County to acquire a property on NE Emerson in Portland. This is a residential lot that is contamonated with lead. We will work with a number of partners to clean up the site, then dedicate it as a community garden, part of Food in the CIty.
OSALT has been notified by a number of people that they have named OSALT in theirs wills as the recipient of their land, and OSALT continues to actively encourage the donation of other properties, and to accept property throughout the state.
For more information about properties protected by OSALT see Lands in Trust under the Lands menu. For information on a particular property click on the property name under the Land menu.
