February 2019

2019 Riparian Planning Considerations Training

CTD and NRCS are excited to partner in offering a week-long training opportunity focused on riparian planning. We have over a dozen presenters lined up from NRCS, CD’s, WDFW, local tribes and more. This course is based on the Riparian and In-stream Considerations in Conservation Planning course offered in the Fall of 2016. This year’s course will focus exclusively on planning riparian restoration projects with an event on the Westside and Eastside.

Course information

Location/Dates (Choose one):

Olympia (April 15-19) NRCS Field Office | 1835 Black Lake Blvd. SW Olympia, WA 98512

Pullman (May 13-17) WSU Research and Technology Park | 1610 NE Eastgate Blvd Pullman, WA 99163

Objectives are to build understanding of:

1. Watershed processes that may impact riparian restoration projects

2. NRCS Riparian inventory assessment tools

3. NRCS Stream inventory assessment tools

4. Livestock and animal waste management techniques and considerations

5. Writing comprehensive riparian vegetation specifications

Course format:

Pre-class webinar, classroom, and field

Target Audience:

The training is designed primarily for planners who have less than 5 years’ experience, have familiarity using NRCS’s 9-step Conservation Planning Process and have riparian planning as a portion of their responsibilities.

Prerequisites:

• NRCS Conservation Planning Course, Part 1 (NRCS-NEDC-000019)

• NRCS Buffer Practices Webinar (sent with registration)

A mandatory pre-course webinar will be held in April to introduce you to course material including the agenda, pre-course homework, and several pieces of course content. We will be sending the dates out for this webinar soon.

To register: Contact Robin Buckingham at rbuckingham@piercecd.org or (253)-845-9770 x128. A registration form will be sent to you.

This course is a prerequisite for the Riparian Planner Certification offered through CTD. Find more information about that and other CTD certifications at the CTD website.

Nutrient Management for Pastures Bulletin Released

Announcing the release of a new Extension Bulletin: Nutrient Management for Pastures: Western Oregon and Western Washington (EM9224). This excellent new resource provides nutrient management information for optimum pasture/forage production.

Training Reflection: Working Effectively with American Indians

by Robin Buckingham

I’ll be honest – this training was very difficult. Leaving Kingston at the end of the week, I felt drained. It’s hard subject matter and, while the instructors did their best to keep guilt off the table, it’s hard not to feel it. However, while it may have been challenging, this training was also incredibly important and impactful. I learned a lot from our cadre of instructors and other classmates but am struck by three main take-aways below.

Know your history… and your present.

Understanding the role of Treaties, the relationship of American Indian nations/tribes to various governmental agencies, the history of broken trust between American Indians and the non-Indian world are all crucially important to working with Tribes/Nation governments or individuals. But don’t stop there, go deeper. Learn about the specific tribe you’re working with. Spend time with members of the tribe if you’re invited. There’s a lot of trust to rebuild.

How are your bones?

This phrase sticks with me. One of the cadre members, Martin Bales, used it to explain how social expectations can differ between American Indians and non-Indians. His point was that, in general, American Indians place a greater emphasis on spending time on what may be going on in someone’s life than rushing straight to the business you may be there to discuss. This can be surprisingly hard to adjust to if it’s not your usual approach to business situations. Be cognizant of the way you interact with others – particularly American Indians. It may be a source of mutual connection. Or it may be something you must work to bridge.

Don’t give up or, worse yet, never even try.

It may feel like there are a lot of potential road blocks and pitfalls to navigate when trying to work with American Indians. And that’s because, seemingly, there are. Cultivating relationships will take deliberate effort, differing priorities will require negotiation, and above all, it will take time. But that’s not a reason to avoid trying to engage. Aside from being potential allies in conservation, there are historical reason to make sure this community, and all others, are fully served by our work.

2019 UW Botanical Symposium - March 6

Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS) is sponsoring the UW Botanical Symposium, an extensive network of professional, academic, and amateur botanists who are actively engaged in the conservation, management, and study of Washington’s diverse flora. Their expertise ranges from how best to manage biodiversity, to understanding climate change impacts on plant communities, to naming and classifying the flora’s rare, common, and invasive elements. Registration is open. Symposium information page.

2019 Technical Assistance Grants

NACD is pleased to announce the availability of $9 million in technical assistance grants for conservation districts.

Like the first round of technical assistance (TA) grants, this funding will help conservation districts build capacity and enhance their ability to provide conservation planning and technical assistance to customers. These funds, provided in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), will be administered by NACD to conservation districts in high-priority workload locations across the nation. The highest priority locations will be identified by state/territory conservation partnership leaders based on three criteria:

• The conservation districts’ natural resource concerns;

• Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and conservation planning workloads; and

• Staffing requirements given these workloads.

For tribal conservation district applications, NACD asks state/territory partnership leaders to inform tribal leaders of this opportunity and advise them to send their submissions directly to NACD Director of Projects and Partnerships Rich Duesterhaus at rich-duesterhaus@nacdnet.org.

Of the $9 million available to conservation districts through this grant opportunity, $2,700,000 will be allocated to hire district employees to assist landowners in implementing EQIP contracts. Additionally, $3,150,000 is available for conservation districts that require increased capacity to provide conservation operations technical assistance (COTA) planning funds, and another $3,150,000 is available for conservation districts requiring greater access to CSP.

Overall, NACD anticipates about 180 years of staff work will be funded through these agreements with conservation districts. Staff costs will vary across the nation given differences in position type and cost of living.

For more information, please visit the NACD website, or contact your NACD regional representative with questions.

If you have an idea for the newsletter, a project or photo you'd like featured, or just want to say hello, email communications@wactd.org. We'd love to hear from you!

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