A new breed of settlers have been attracted to the Methow Valley in recent years, looking for their piece of rural paradise. They usually don’t bring much expertise in land management, but they have a sincere desire to preserve the agricultural look and heritage of the place. Often the farmland they buy has been left fallow for years, leaving plenty of room for noxious weeds to take up residence. Sam Lucy has built a business to address this problem, reclaiming abandoned farmland using crops rather than chemicals to bring weeds under control and the soil back to fertility.

Sam moved to the Methow Valley in 1992, but unlike many newer residents, he brought a lifetime of farming experience with him. The seeds of Rendezvous Reclamation were sowed six years ago, when Sam was doing custom planting work for a local rancher with a weed problem. “The regular way to deal with knapweed is to spray,” he explains, “but I thought there might be another way.” Time and again he had seen healthy crops crowd out weeds – particularly grains. Using his employer’s equipment, he experimented on his own 20 acres that were infested with diffuse knapweed. He says, “I disced up the ground, seeded some spring rye, then stood back and watched my knapweed field become a beautiful field of rye. Boy wasn't that neat!” As it turned out, spring rye had been grown all over the valley for hay for many years.

While Sam was conducting experiments on his own ground, he continued as a hired hand elsewhere in the valley. “Various folks would stop by while we were plowing other fields in the spring and ask if we could come do their field,” he recalls. Sam knew that he couldn’t own a home, raise a family, and eat year-round in the Methow Valley on seasonal farm-hand wages so in 1998 he decided to launch his own business, named Rendezvous Reclamation. “It took a leap of faith,” he admits. “I'm quite sure I wouldn't have the guts to do it again, but here I am, and most of my equipment is nearly paid off.”

“Like many mountain valleys in the West, abandoned farm fields are as common as March snow squalls,” explains Sam. What is happening here, however, is that second home owners – mostly from Seattle – are buying up these lands and building their vacation homes. They are then left with the need to care for their “open space.” Sam notes, “Many of these folks actually have a good land ethic, and want to see their weed patches brought back to health. And many of these folks are wise to the dangers of chemicals, despite constant reassurance from the local county weed board.”

Rendezvous Reclamation is Sam’s alternative idea to the 50 year chemical war on weeds that he has seen promoted by federal, state, and county agencies here in the West. He explains, “As I became more aware of all the chemicals used in conventional food systems throughout the Columbia Basin and all across the wheat country, I was alarmed. Then when I saw the onslaught of chemicals used by the Forest Service, State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Department of Transportation, and certainly the county, I was flabbergasted! I thought aerial broadcast spraying was a thing of the past. That's how naive I was! I knew there had to be a better, longer lasting, more ecologically sound way to promote healthy landscapes.”

Thus far Rendezvous Reclamation has served 40 clients, managing land that ranges from two to 70 acres.  Many of Sam’s clients want their ground returned to a so-called “native state.” A typical restoration will involve Sam discing, or in some cases, plowing up the land. Then he seeds a crop of straight aggressive grain, either spring rye or triticale. Sam explains, “This gets a jump on the knocked-back weeds, has good biomass volume, and is fairly drought-resistant. The first year is like magic, but then the work begins.”

In the second year the cover grain is turned under and Sam evaluates the weed situation in the fall. Then he plants a blend of native bunchgrasses and fescues on a roughed up seedbed, and hopes for next year's rain. He reports, “On ground that is not irrigated, rain is the obvious wild card – the one that makes all the difference. I had the luxury of starting all this at the beginning of a four year drought. This year we got some rain, and plantings I did even four years ago suddenly began showing strength.”

Because grasses take at least a couple years to establish, Sam keeps volunteer grain and weeds clipped off with a mower, which keeps them from going to seed until the grasses have taken over. For many weeds, there are now proven bio-controls available, such as a couple different knapweed weevils that he sometimes uses in place of mowing.

Sam grows crops for harvest on some of the land that he manages. “Each year I try to pick up another field for actual crop farming,” he explains. “I grow a rotation of certified organic grains and flax alternating with green manures of clover and peas on the irrigated farm ground.” Sam and his wife Brooke are hoping to direct market some of the crops he grows soon.

“Lately I've been growing two very old grains on contract,” Sam explains. “Emmer is a spring-seeded grain that is also known as farro; it is primarily grown in Italy at this point. Spelt is a fall-seeded grain. Both are thousands of years old, and are favored by folks who have developed allergies to the modern wheats, which have been bred to the point where they are too complicated to digest.” These grains are not only beautiful in the field, revenue for emmer is twice that of wheat, in part because it is currently grown only two other places in the United States.

“At heart, I am a farmer,” says Sam. “Our services offers several advantages to landowners: they get to keep their water rights; they get to keep their land under agricultural use status which is a significant tax break; they get their land well cared for; it looks beautiful; and they are responsible for keeping local agriculture alive. Agriculture is a vital part of the beauty of the valley for all, and the idea of getting back to local foods is becoming an increasingly palatable idea.”

Sam believes the very best scenario is one in which viable farms once again become part of the Methow. He suggests, “Perhaps more young farmers will be attracted to the valley if a market is proven for creative crops. It isn't necessarily re-inventing the wheel, but more getting back to the old wheel.  Conservation easements are a beginning, but by themselves, they certainly cannot maintain a vibrant landscape. I like to think that family farms can remain the backbone of a rural landscape.”

“My main motivation remains the land, myand his love for the land,” says Sam. “I hate the thought of tireless spraying programs that have no long-term gains at all, particularly during the spring when it’s nesting season. I love the thought of a land full of creepy crawlies, bird song, poignant smells, and a view that brings a smile. There is no thrill in herbicides and deadened landscapes. I'm very, very fortunate to be able to work with and for many folks who feel the same. By promoting a system that works with, instead of one that battles nature, I truly hope to help keep the land healthy for all our children.”