Group of people gathered around a memorial site outdoors, with flowers laid on the ground, trees, and a clear blue sky in the background.

CEMETERY DETAILS

Being Buried at Or Laying a Loved One to Rest at White Eagle

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Being Buried at White Eagle

Since 2008, we have offered families and communities the opportunity to bury their loved ones in a wilderness setting - 20 acres of ponderosa pine and oak forest, with a seasonal wetland and wildflower meadow in the heart of the cemetery.

Set within 1,200+ acres of permanently protected land, on the edge of Rock Creek Canyon near the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, we are a half hour drive from the nearest town, Goldendale Washington.

At 2700 ft elevation, there is fresh breeze in the pines and an incredible view of Rock Creek Canyon, but it means that we occasionally need to close to tours, visits, and at-need burials during the winter season.

We’d love to welcome you on a pre-arranged visit. Please contact us to find a suitable time.

People at a gravesite scattering flowers, remembering a loved one buried there, surrounded by trees in a wooded area.
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A small plant garden with various green plants, some with yellow flowers, growing in dry, brown soil.
A forest with tall pine trees and a dug hole in the ground.
A peaceful farm scene with a dirt path, green grass, horses grazing behind a fence, trees, and a double rainbow in the sky.
Scenic view of a valley with rolling hills and dense green trees under a partly cloudy blue sky.

A MEMBER OF THE GREEN BURIAL COUNCIL

White Eagle Memorial Preserve was one of the first few conservation burial grounds in the US, certified by the Green Burial Council, and one of the founding members of the Conservation Burial Alliance.

Here is more information about our Guidelines

Step by Step Process

We work with funeral homes, death care support professionals, and families directly, to provide meaningful natural burial experiences. If you are facing a death in your family or community, or planning for your own, we can walk you through the process. Here’s what it looks like:

LET US KNOW

Call or email us to let us know that a burial will be needed. You can also visit us in advance to choose the site, meet the team and ask any questions you have face to face. All visits must be pre-arranged. Contact whiteeagle@ekone.org

BEGIN PLANNING

We will ask you about the kind of burial vessel being used, how many guests to expect, whether anyone attending has mobility challenges, and whether guests want to help with pallbearing and closing the grave.

PLANNING SUPPORT

All kinds of burial services happen at White Eagle, from the more formal officiant-led programs, to informal sharing of favorite stories - sometimes guests wear their person’s favorite colors, or hats and scarves, sometimes they bring food that their person loved to share for a picnic style reception.

HAND IN HAND THROUGH THE PROCESS

Graveside, we hand lower the shroud or casket into the grave, with as much or as little ceremony as you choose. We close the grave by hand, reserving the flowers and forest decorations to help beautify the grave mound. Afterwards, you are welcome to spend time around the grave or at the canyon edge, or bring picnic and potluck foods to share. We have a large picnic table and chairs. There is no time limit for any of this process - it all takes the time it takes…

DRESSING THE GRAVE

On the day of the burial, we go up to the grave place to dress the grave ahead of the service. In the spring and summer we bring baskets of flowers, sage, grasses - in the winter we work with lichen and pine cones to create a beauty nest. We invite and encourage guests to help dress the grave mound after we have closed the grave, using flowers and elements of the forest.

FIND A DATE

We will find a good time and day for the burial, and follow up with details about what to expect. We can talk through elements of service, including music and readings, and whether there will be a celebrant in your party to lead a service or if you need burial service support from us.

WELCOMING GUESTS & SUPPORTING YOU

Once guests arrive, we support you step by step - we invite you to help engage with each aspect of a burial if you would like to - if not, we are here to help. We greet guests in the Ekone Valley and caravan (or hike) the final half-mile up to the White Eagle parking area, then we move the shroud or casket from the funeral director’s vehicle or a private vehicle onto our wheeled cart, and walk out together through the forest to reach the grave site.

MORE ABOUT NATURAL BURIALS AT WHITE EAGLE MEMORIAL PRESERVE

Group of people participating in a graveside memorial or funeral service outdoors in a wooded area, with some individuals pushing a wooden cart.

Pricing and Financial Information

We offer - 

  • 3 year Payment plan option 

  • Discounts for additional site purchases 

  • Cremated remains interment sites 

  • Pet burial sites

Please see our Price List & Guidelines for more information, or get in touch to discuss your specific circumstances.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our Conservation Burial Grounds certification considers the low density of our burials and their impact on the forest. To maintain this balance, we designate large sites and a balanced ratio: married or partnered couples who have purchased two sites next to each other may choose to be buried close to one another, in neighboring sites.

  • If you are working with a Funeral Director, they will prepare the body, or you can work with a death midwife, who can walk you through how to prepare the body yourselves.

  • 1. No matter where your loved one dies, you’ll need to get a Death Certificate and a Burial Transit Permit/Final Dispensation Authorization from Clerk/Registrar’s office in the County where the death occurred. A Funeral Director can do this for the family, or you can do this personally. Contact your local funeral director for their costs to receive and transport and file paperwork – these should be “a la carte” options.

    2. You can bring your loved one to WEMP directly – you’ll need to purchase dry ice or techni-ice, and a carrying board or stiff cardboard box - or you can work with your local funeral home, or Columbia Hills Memorial Chapel in Goldendale. The Goldendale funeral home charges a receiving fee, and mileage costs for transport.

    3. If you live far enough away from WEMP that a plane ride is necessary, do some pre-planning and check with your favorite airlines for their specific criteria about transportation.

  • We host “direct burials” with few or no guests too - our Stewards handle the pallbearing and closing of the grave. And we can take photos to send to family who can’t attend.

  • We can inter the cremated remains of your pets with you at the time of your burial, or within your site. Whole body pet burials need to happen outside the perimeter of the cemetery, per Washington State law. If you find a site on the outside edge in the cemetery, we can bury your pets next to you, just beyond the cemetery border.

  • Burial guests are welcome to stay as long as they like after a burial, although we do ask that all activities complete before dark.

    We encourage guests to bring and enjoy a picnic style reception after the burial service. There is a picnic table next to the upper parking area, and we have extra tables and chairs we can provide, although if there are a lot of guests, it is helpful if folks also pack chairs to bring with them. We don’t have indoor space that we can offer, however - the Ekone Ranch facilities are often already being used by programs.

Finding White Eagle Natural Burial Ground

White Eagle Memorial Preserve is based at Ekone Ranch, 2.5 hours from Portland and about 4 hours from Seattle in Washington State. It takes just under 30 minutes to reach us from Goldendale, WA, the nearest town.

We encourage and welcome visitors and tours; however, the Ranch & Cemetery are busy places, and we are unable to accommodate drop-in visitors.

Please schedule ahead of time and let us know your planned arrival timing, then text us (206-383-3285) as you are coming through Goldendale to let us know your actual arrival timing, so we can be in the right place to greet you!

Google maps and other maps apps can lead you down a goat trail “shortcut” - so please see step by step directions here.

Step by step directions