The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust is looking for a new manager to steward the historic Matsuda Farm.

After ten years owning and operating the farm, the Land Trust is looking for a leasing manager who can lease some or all of the farm and handle its day-to-day management.

The Land Trust’s primary expertise is in preserving and restoring land, said Land Trust Executive Director Theron Shaw, and with that work done at the farm, it “is poised for a farmer who wants to lease the property and take it to its next level of production.”

The Land Trust team wants to hear proposals from the community for the farm’s next chapter — such as expanding an existing farm, helping young people learn farming hands-on, or bringing together island families to farm together.

Land Trust staff are also interested in other ideas for the property, such as using the space to graze sheep or try new seeds. Anyone with a novel idea for the property can contact Interim Farm Manager Abel Eckhardt at abel@vashonlandtrust.

The Land Trust will remain the owner of the property and would work with the new leasing manager to continue using regenerative agriculture and habitat restoration.

Matsuda Farm is one of the last remaining historic Japanese American farms on Vashon, and in 2015, Miyoko Matsuda worked with the Land Trust to have the organization purchase the last 12 acres of the farm so that it could maintain its legacy of producing food for the community.

The Land Trust has used Matsuda Farm to produce food for Vashon schools and use regenerative agriculture methods. Staff have also overseen habitat restoration at the pond, repairs and renovations at the Matsuda residence, new fencing, irrigation and greenhouses and trials of new crops and seeds.

The Land Trust will start accepting proposals for the farm in April, hoping to select a new leasing manager by summer’s end and have that manager operating on the farm by the start of 2026.

Learn more by visiting vashonlandtrust.org.