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- New Commission VSP staff
- Joint VSP Technical Panel & Statewide Advisory Committee meeting on February 10 at 9 a.m.
- Request for applications for Columbia River Basin projects – applications due Feb 8, 2022
- Second VSP monitoring symposium webinar recording available
- Reminder on the use of VSP cost-share
- Reminder: County and Conservation District VSP staff updates
- Chris Pettit named new Executive Director for SCC
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Feb. 10 @ 9 am
Joint VSP TP & SAC meeting
Meeting ID: 859 7490 0192
Passcode: 434300
Feb. 8 - Applications Due
Request for applications for Columbia River Basin projects.
Get more information below.
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The Conservation Commission is pleased to welcome Paige DeChambeau to our VSP team! Paige will join us as the Outreach and Engagement Manager, and will work on a number of communications-related projects for us.
Paige can be reached at pdechambeau@scc.wa.gov. Welcome Paige!
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We also suggest checking the Technical Panel meeting web page and Statewide Advisory Committee meeting web pages for updates.
The Commission, after consultation with the Statewide Advisory Committee and Technical Panel, has set aside a portion of each month’s joint meeting in 2022 to have a dialogue with each of the 27 VSP counties about VSP implementation.
Each county is invited to participate however they see fit. Examples of participation methods include, but are not limited to:
- a conversation with the Statewide Advisory Committee and Technical Panel
- a presentation by the county (with or without PowerPoint)
- a tour (virtual or actual) of county VSP projects
Counties are free to attend, or not attend, these meetings, and are free to bring whatever issues they want to bring to the Technical Panel and Statewide Advisory Committee for comment. Issues might include monitoring, data collection, 5YR report data entry, outreach and education, etc.
Learn more here
There continues to be lots of staff turnover at county planning departments and conservation districts. Please help us keep your information up-to-date by remembering to send the Commission updates when new staff take over VSP responsibilities.
This will be useful when the Commission tries to contact a county or conservation district related to VSP. Updated staff contact information should be sent to Karla Heinitz or to Bill Eller.
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If your County workgroup decides to use VSP funding to implement the County’s approved plan, here are a couple of reminders.
- The county workgroup will need to approve any cost-share program used in the implementation of VSP.
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Washington State Conservation Commission cost-share policies would need to be abided by, regardless of who is administering the cost-share program (conservation district or some other implementing entity (such as the county)). Since WSCC funds are being used as the basis for the cost-share funding, WSCC policies apply.
- If a conservation district is implementing the VSP cost-share program on behalf of a county workgroup, and if the county workgroup has not set a rate of reimbursement, or if the county workgroup wants to use the conservation district rate, then the conservation district rate of reimbursement is used.
- If a county is implementing the VSP cost-share program without the assistance of a conservation district, the county must pass a rate of reimbursement resolution (see the Grant and Contract Procedure Manual).
- If the entity administering the cost-share program and otherwise involved in contracting with landowners for project implementation using VSP funds has not already been trained in the Conservation Commission cost-share policies and procedures, that entity must be so trained before funds can be used from the Commission. Please contact the Commission staff below to schedule a training.
- VSP projects that are funded using any Commission funds will need to be reported in the five-year report under RCW 36.70A.720 (2) (b) (i) and (c) (i).
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The EPA has released a Request for Applications for projects in the Columbia River Basin that address: (i) eliminating or reducing pollution, (ii) cleaning up contaminated sites, (iii) improving water quality, (iv) monitoring to evaluate trends, (v) reducing runoff, (vi) protecting habitat, and/or (vii) promoting citizen engagement or knowledge.
“Eligible entities include state governments, tribal governments, regional water pollution control agencies and entities, local government entities, nongovernmental entities, or soil and water conservation districts.” Themes addressed in the RFA relate to VSP and may be of interest to watershed work groups seeking to increase monitoring capacity.
The deadline for applications is Feb. 8, 2022. More information can be found on EPA’s website.
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The second quarterly VSP monitoring symposium is available. The second monitoring symposium was held on, January 26, 2022. A recording of that symposium is available on the Commission’s VSP implementation web page.
The VSP monitoring symposia are intended to provide a shared framework for VSP monitoring themes - such as critical area functions and values, stakeholder participation, and the implementation of conservation practices - to support VSP work groups with monitoring and reporting.
If you have questions or comments, please reach out to Levi Keesecker at or at 360-789-3650.
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Pettit will begin to lead the agency that helps to coordinate conservation districts and voluntary conservation programs starting in March.
During the Jan. 2022 business meeting, Chris Pettit was announced as the new executive director for the Washington State Conservation Commission (SCC). He will begin Mar. 1 and will officially take the reins from interim director Kirk Robinson starting Mar. 16, 2022. They will work together from Mar. 1-15 to ensure a smooth transition.
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Bill Eller | beller@scc.wa.gov | 509-385-7512 | VSP Program Manager
Paige DeChambeau | pdechambeau@scc.wa.gov | Outreach & Engagement Manager
SUBSCRIBE TO THE VSP NEWSLETTER
New subscribers should access this link and choose the subscription for the “Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP)” under the Programs and Policy tab or click the button below.If you have any questions on how to sign up, please contact Bill Eller or Paige DeChambeau.
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Copyright 2022 - Washington State Conservation Commission |
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