Top Steptoe Butte bidders plan to preserve native land

Apples lie at the foot of a lone tree on Steptoe Butte land sold last week to two couples intending to preserve it. In the background are more apple trees once tended by descendants of James Cashup Davis.

The apple land has sold.

Kent and Elaine Bassett of Bellevue bought the 437-plus acre Steptoe Butte parcel at auction in St. John Oct. 5, with partners Ray and Joan Folwell of Pullman.

The price was $638,000, including a 10 percent buyer's fee.

Kent, an ophthalmologist, graduated from Pullman High School in 1969. His father is Day Bassett, retired WSU professor in ag engineering.

The purchase...