Finnriver, Jefferson Land Trust celebrate Chimacum Ridge with cider collaboration

By Sequim Gazette Staff • August 10, 2024 1:30 am
Photo by Kerry Tremain / Sunrise lights up Chimacum Ridge. This photo is featured on the label of Finnriver’s Chimacum Ridge Toasted Fir Cider, a celebration of the Chimacum Ridge Community Forest which rises to the south of Finnriver’s organic orchard.
Photo by Kerry Tremain / Sunrise lights up Chimacum Ridge. This photo is featured on the label of Finnriver’s Chimacum Ridge Toasted Fir Cider, a celebration of the Chimacum Ridge Community Forest which rises to the south of Finnriver’s organic orchard.

Thanks to local nonprofit Jefferson Land Trust, Finnriver Farm & Cidery’s 50 acres of organic farmland is protected forever, as is a significant portion of the surrounding agricultural land, numerous stretches of Chimacum Creek and some of the nearby forestland — including the soon-to-be-created, 918-acre Chimacum Ridge Community Forest.

A collaboration between Funnriver and the Land Trust looks to further those efforts.

Finnriver hes developed the Chimacum Ridge Toasted Fir Cider, with $1 from each bottle sold going toward Chimacum Ridge Community Forest project.

“We’re so excited about the Chimacum Ridge Community Forest and the way it creates and grows more interconnections among our ecosystems and communities,” Finnriver founder and owner Crystie Kisler. said in a press release.

“And we appreciate the efforts to establish a community-oriented model that deeply engages the neighborhood. We love telling stories through cider and this release is another local story we are excited to share.”

The Jefferson Land Trust has protected about 18,500 acres, 1,500 of which are productive local farmland. The Chimacum Ridge Community Forest project, set to open to the public in 2025, continues a long-term effort to sustain and celebrate the inter-connectedness of the Chimacum Creek watershed.

“We’re proud of our longstanding partnership with Finnriver Farm & Cidery,” Jefferson Land Trust Executive Director Richard Tucker. “It’s gratifying that our work to protect farmland in Jefferson County has played a role in the success of such a popular local business — one that’s a destination for residents and visitors alike

“And we’re so pleased to have the opportunity to partner on a cider that celebrates Chimacum Ridge Community Forest in such a delicious way.”

Chimacum Ridge is forested with mixed stands of mostly 40-year-old Douglas-fir, and naturally regenerated western red cedar, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce. Additionally, the forest contains food and medicinal species like salal, mushrooms, serviceberry, evergreen huckleberry, Oregon grape, and elderberry. About 27 acres of freshwater forested wetlands are on the property.

Look for Chimacum Ridge Toasted Fir Cider in bottles and on tap at the Finnriver Chimacum Cider Garden and the Finnriver Tumwater Taproom.