Donated land guarantees green space in Moscow

While many vacant lots are being developed in Moscow, a 4-acre piece of hillside west of Berman Creekside Park will forever provide natural green space and small-scale farming.

The Palouse Land Trust recently accepted a conservation easement on the land.

Palouse Land Trust Executive Director Lovina Englund said Katrina Berman, who died in 2012, owned the land. It was Berman’s wish that the property she and her family lived on since the 1950s remain in its natural state.

Englund said Berman’s estate and the land trust have worked over the years to make her wish a reality.

“We’re fulfilling that vision that she had,” Englund said.

Between the new easement and Berman Creekside Park is a parcel which also is a conservation easement Berman donated to the city.

No buildings or improvements will be allowed on that property except for amenities like benches and paths for the public to enjoy. Meanwhile, the 4-acre easement, located north of Styner Avenue, is under private ownership.

Englund said Berman was known as a quiet and humble person.

“What a remarkable community-minded vision she carried,” Englund said. “Without her foresight, the park and Paradise Path would never have come into existence. It’s an incredibly well-used parkway, especially during the pandemic year when everyone was struggling and looking to get out in nature. The ripple effect of her vision that started more than 30 years ago continues today and will last forever.”

Englund said conservation easements extinguish the development rights on a property, making land more affordable and helping sustain future farmers’ access to the land.

“These conservation easements are helping these small-scale agricultural producers stay rooted in the local community,” she said.

The new 4-acre easement is the third largest conservation easement in the Moscow city limits behind the 25-acre Fosberg easement on Mountain View Road and D Street and the 9-acre DeSantis easement (Rabbit Hills Preserve) that is part of the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute on the northeast side of town.

Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.