Help Protect Bonaparte Meadows

A local effort to protect one of Eastern Washington’s only peat wetlands — for water, for wildlife, for plantlife, for generations.

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Why Bonaparte Meadows Matters

A rare peat wetland at the headwaters of Bonaparte Creek, storing carbon, holding water, and anchoring a complex, thriving web of life.

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A Rare Opportunity

Bonaparte Meadows is one of Eastern Washington’s rarest habitats, a peat-rich, alkaline fen storing carbon, holding water, and sheltering wildlife at the headwaters of Bonaparte Creek. Here, you can help protect:

• Rare Habitat – As an alkaline peat wetland – one of only five in Washington – Bonaparte Meadows supports uncommon plants and plant communities and is a haven for birds, mammals, amphibians, and many diverse wildlife species. Every living thing in this wetland, from the willows thickets to the spotted frogs and dragonflies, is an important thread in the web of life.
• A Natural Climate Solution – Worldwide, peatlands store more carbon than all other habitat types combined. When peatlands stay wet, they hold that carbon for millennia. But when they’re drained or disturbed, the balance flips, and carbon returns to the air. Help us keep this peat in the ground.
• Water Storage – This wetland functions as a natural reservoir and living filter. Wetlands hold water when it is plentiful and release it slowly in dry seasons As summers get hotter, snowpack melts earlier, and snow gives way to rain, wetlands become more important than ever. Protecting this place builds resilience and water security in our arid landscape.

• The Opportunity to Restore – Together, we can protect large tracts of intact wetland and act onthe opportunity to restore disturbed parts of the fen. This peat has formed over thousands of years. Now is the time to protect this wetland, and begin restoring it to its full function and capacity for future generations

We have until July 2026 to secure the funding to conserve Bonaparte Meadows. Your gift helps raise $1.5 million to protect this rare peat wetland forever.

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How Your Gift Helps

One chance to keep this rare peat wetland whole, protect it forever, and beginning to heal.

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Your Gift at Work

Bonaparte Meadows is at a succession point: the current owners are ready to pass it on, and we have one chance to keep this rare peat wetland whole and protected for future generations. With your gift, you help:

• Protect the land forever – Purchase Bonaparte Meadows and place it under permanent conservation, preventing future peat mining and intensive subdivision.
• Keep water and carbon in the ground – Keep the peat and meadow intact so it continues to store carbon, hold groundwater and snowmelt, and feed cool, clean water into Bonaparte Creek.
• Support restoration and long-term care – Begin healing areas where peat was removed and lay the groundwork for thoughtful, relationship-based stewardship into the future.

We have until July 2026 to secure the funding to conserve Bonaparte Meadows. Your gift helps raise $1.5 million to protect this rare peat wetland forever.

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Keeping Land Connected

Protecting Bonaparte Meadows keeps its peat wetland, meadow, and forest connected as one complex, functioning ecosystem.

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One Connected Landscape

Bonaparte Meadows links peat wetland, wet meadow, springs, and upland forest in one continuous landscape at the headwaters of Bonaparte Creek. If it’s carved up, that connection is lost for good. Protecting the whole property now keeps habitat intact, peat in the ground, and water moving naturally through the meadow. With your gift, you help:

• Keep a whole headwaters system intact – Protect peat wetland, meadow, springs, and forest as one connected landscape so wildlife can move and adapt.
• Strengthen a natural fire and climate refuge – An open, wet meadow between forested slopes can help slow fire and holds water and carbon in the ground as summers get hotter and drier.
• Protect downstream water and fish habitat – Keeping Bonaparte’s headwaters healthy supports cool, clean flows into Bonaparte Creek, which provides habitat for resident fish and, the Okanogan River where salmon and steelhead depend on infusions of cold water.

We have until July 2026 to secure the funding to conserve Bonaparte Meadows. Your gift helps raise $1.5 million to protect this rare peat wetland forever.

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Protect Bonaparte Meadows

A Rare Opportunity

Bonaparte Meadows sits high in the Okanogan Highlands, where Bonaparte Lake spills into a broad, open wetland before spilling into Bonaparte Creek. For thousands of years, the mosses and sedges that make up this wetland have been slowly building a deep bed of peat here. That peat works quietly in the background: storing carbon, soaking up snowmelt and rain, and releasing cool, clean water that flows to the Okanogan River.

This rare alkaline fen (one of only five in all of Washington) is home to highly-adapted plant species found only in this habitat type, and provides a refuge to countless native birds, fish, amphibians and mammals.

How to Help

Bonaparte Meadows is one of Eastern Washington’s only calcareous peat fens — a rare wetland fed by mineral-rich groundwater that stores carbon, holds water late into summer, and supports plants found almost nowhere else.

We have until July 2026 to raise $1.5 million to bring Bonaparte Meadows into permanent protection by Okanogan Land Trust , keeping this rare peat fen intact forever and supporting its long-term care.

Both one-time and monthly gifts can be made using the “Donate Online” button below.

  • Give a one-time gift today to help fund the protection of Bonaparte Meadows.

  • Set up a monthly donation to support long-term stewardship and restoration.

  • Pledge to boost matching opportunities by responding when challenge gifts are announced.

  • Share this campaign with your friends, family, and online communities. #BonaparteMeadows

  • Sign up to receive campaign news and updates, including opportunities to volunteer.

Considering a larger or multi-year gift? Scroll down to learn about leadership giving opportunities for Bonaparte Meadows.

Leadership Gifts & Partnerships

Help Secure Funding for Bonaparte Meadows

Bonaparte Meadows is among only five calcareous peat fens in Washington State, a groundwater-fed wetland that accumulates peat over millennia, quietly stores carbon, buffers water supplies, and supports rare plant communities—an ecosystem that, once damaged, cannot realistically be restored.

We are seeking leadership gifts from individuals, families, foundations, and businesses who can help secure this place in one bold step. A gift of $10,000 or more can anchor the campaign, unlock matching opportunities, and sustain the careful restoration and stewardship work that will follow the purchase.

  • Close the funding gap with a leadership gift toward the fee-simple purchase of Bonaparte Meadows and its permanent protection.

  • Create an anchor or challenge gift for the purchase, encouraging community giving and helping unlock additional private and public funding for the acquisition.

  • Make a multi-year pledge toward the campaign, allowing us to confidently move forward with the purchase while planning for restoration and long-term care.

  • Underwrite critical transaction and due diligence costs so more campaign dollars go directly to securing the property.

$1500000

Campaign Goal

745

acres

Talk With Us About a Leadership Gift

Before You Go

Download the Bonaparte Meadows campaign brief (coming soon!) to share with family members, board members, or potential funding partners. 

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Mailing Address
PO Box 325
Okanogan, WA 98840

Physical Address
203 2nd Ave S
Okanogan, WA 98840

Phone
509-557-6306

Email
info@okanoganlandtrust.org

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