Steptoe Butte land subject of sale interest

A section of Steptoe Butte land bought by two couples in October, 2016, to preserve as native prairie is the subject of interest by Washington State Parks and the Department of Natural Resources for a potential purchase.

Owners Kent and the late Elaine Bassett of Bellevue bought the 437-plus acre parcel at auction with partners Ray and Joan Folwell of Pullman.

Since then they have hired a contractor to monitor invasive species, collected payments from the communication tower leases on the land and looked into options for a buyer who fits their intentions, one of which is to recoup their $638,0...