Submitted by Kenna Fosnacht for Lewis Conservation District
As a response to the Dust Bowl, President Roosevelt created Conservation Districts in the 1930s to help farmers improve their practices. Today, Washington has 45 conservation districts across the state. The Lewis Conservation District (LCD) is a grant-funded, non-regulatory group that works directly with landowners to protect natural resources in Lewis County. Three staff members live in Lewis County and have been working with LCD for over 20 years, providing a wealth of local knowledge.
LCD offers a variety of free technical and financial assistance to help keep the water, air, soil, wildlife habitat, and farmland healthy. This includes site visits to walk your property and create a custom plan to address your resource concerns. One of the unique qualities of conservation districts is the wide variety of projects that they implement. Some examples include planting trees for wildlife habitat, irrigation water management planning, farm planning, and removing fish barriers on streams.
One of the priority agricultural programs is the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP). The purpose of VSP is to support the long-term viability of agriculture while protecting critical areas. Critical areas include wetlands, wildlife habitats, aquifer recharge areas, geologically hazardous areas, and frequently flooded lands. Created in response to the Growth Management Act, the success of VSP will help prevent forced regulations for critical area protection. The program promotes farmer-led conservation and encourages positive practices like pasture rotation, heavy-use areas, nutrient management, and wildlife habitat creation. For example, LCD has partnered with the Carbon Capture Foundation to get over 5,000 cedar and Douglas fir trees planted.
This year, LCD partnered with several farmers to add permanent fencing along salmon-bearing streams to prevent animal access and reduce erosion. Currently, almost 600 farmers in Lewis County have participated in the program. Any size farm can participate, ranging from a small hobby farm to dairy farms. Please contact LCD if you are interested in working together to protect our agricultural community.
Another program is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which was designed to enhance water quality, fish habitat, and stream stability. This involves planting buffers of native trees and shrubs along salmon-bearing streams. Currently, the program has over 800 acres of land enrolled in Lewis County. Landowners receive annual rental payments for enrolling their property for ten or 15-year contracts.
Additionally, the Lewis Conservation District equipment rental program includes several options to assist with your farm. The most popular rental is the poultry processing trailer that includes a plucker, scalder, and cones. LCD recently purchased a new 6-foot no-till drill for improving soil health, reduction compaction, pasture restoration, and planting cover crops. They also have a 10-foot no-till drill available. Both can be rented through The Farm Store in Chehalis. There are also two sizes of manure spreaders available for rent that hold either 1.3 or 6.7 cubic yards. Finally, we rent out soil probes and hay probes and will assist you with mailing samples to the lab. Please see the LCD website for the cost and information on how to rent.
Recently, the Lewis County Stream Team was created to provide educational and hands-on restoration opportunities for students and community members. Join our email list if you are interested in planting trees along local streams, learning more about native species, and enjoying guided nature walks. Stream Team is sponsored by the Office of Chehalis Basin and the Centralia Coal Transition Board. We are excited to collaborate with local schools and businesses. Please contact Kenna.Fosnacht@lewiscdwa.com to join our email list or if you are interested in hosting a tree planting project on your property.
For more information, visit the Lewis Conservation District website at or call 360.996.4560. Our office is located at 2057 SW Salsbury St, Chehalis. We look forward to hearing from you!
