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Budget, contracts, and end of fiscal year on June 30, 2023
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Upcoming Joint meetings
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Monthly vouchering reminder
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Equipment request form
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Next round of VSP capital funding cost-share available in July
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Webinar recordings available:
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VSP 101 Training for new county VSP staff and work group members
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SCC-County Contract for 2023-35 Biennium Budget webinar
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Info Session for Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) & Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)
SCC is excited to offer a VSP calendar tool to share meetings and events.
Add event to calendar
     
Depending on your software, you may need to "turn on calendar" or drag/copy meetings over to your calendar.
Throughout June, SCC communications staff will be transitioning VSP web resources to an updated version of the website. Links to the past version of the site should remain usable, however, please email Sarah Wilcox if you see any issues as we make the update. The new site will still be connected to SCC's main webpage but will have a new address: www.vsp.wa.gov
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Webinar about SSB 5353 reopening VSP to the 12 non-VSP counties
June 15, 9 - 10:30 a.m. Online only.
Designed for county commissioners, county staff, and conservation district staff of non-VSP counties, this webinar will walk through the process of opting into VSP.
Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 829 5889 1365
Passcode: 088914
Quarterly reports due
July 10
Quarterly reports are due for work performed from April 1 – June 30, 2023.
Joint Technical Panel and Statewide Advisory Committee meeting
July 13, 8 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Spokane and online.
All counties, staff, and work group members are invited to attend. This meeting will focus on presentations from Ferry, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Lincoln, and Spokane counties. See 2023 upcoming Joint meetings below for information on meeting structure.
Physical location: Spokane Conservation District, 4422 E. 8th Ave, Spokane Valley, WA 99212
Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 897 9871 4535
Passcode: 298752
Two-year status reports due for all VSP counties
Aug. 30
All VSP counties have the same deadline for submitting the report. See reporting info and submittal form for more details.
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Budget
The Legislature funded VSP for the 2023-25 biennium at the same operating level as last biennia, but also included new operating and capital funding.
The budget includes funds for implementation for each county, administration of VSP through SCC and other agencies, and funding for WDFW’s High Resolution Change Detection.
The budget was signed by the Governor on May 16. SCC leadership and staff continues to develop the budget allocation for the 2023-25 biennium but has set the allocation per county. SCC will allocate $240,000 to each county for the 2023-25 biennium for VSP implementation--a slight increase from last biennium. Funding for counties to continue VSP implementation continues to be available as we transition from one biennium to the next.
County contracts
SCC will be sending the 2023-25 biennium contract and cover letter shortly. The contract and cover letter will be sent only by email this biennium. Emails will be sent to each person listed as the responsible individual in last year’s 2021-23 biennium SCC-county VSP contract. SCC will also send the contract and cover letter by email to those technical service providers that SCC is aware of that implement VSP on behalf of the county.
If you are responsible for VSP implementation in your county, and if you or your county do not receive the email by June 16, 2023, please immediately contact Nicole Boyes (564-669-3149) to remain eligible to be reimbursed for VSP expenses.
Funding status and close out
If you are interested about the specific funding status of a particular VSP county, please contact that county directly. County VSP contacts can be found by clicking on the appropriate county on the map here.
Please remember that none of the funding awarded for this current biennium (2021-23) can carry over into the upcoming biennia. The current biennium ends on June 30, 2023, and all projects need to be complete with funds spent by that date.
June 2023 vouchers are due to SCC on July 10, 2023
Counties and conservation districts (CDs) need to make sure that CDs submit all of their 2022-2023 expenses to be included on the County’s final voucher for June 2023.
Counties or CDs need to submit their close-out forms with their June 2023 voucher and include unused VSP operations funding as well as unused VSP supplemental funding.
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In 2023, Joint VSP Technical Panel (TP) and Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) meetings will be online and in person at a central location for presenting counties. All county work groups, CDs, and interested stakeholders are welcome to attend.
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July 13, 2023: Spokane & online
Counties presenting: Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, and Spokane
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Oct. 12, 2023: Pullman & online
Counties presenting: Benton, Franklin, Whitman, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin
Meeting format
- Presentations from the specific list of counties.
- Time on the agenda for each presenting county will serve as a check-in with the TP and SAC as the county prepares for their next 5-yr report.
- A presenting county is invited to participate however they prefer, including, but not limited to a conversation with the TP and SAC, a presentation by the county (with or without PowerPoint) or a virtual tour of county VSP projects.
Time set aside on the agenda for specific counties is not the only time that a county can attend or communicate with the TP and SAC.
This schedule does not replace communications that are on-going between any VSP entities at the local or state level, but to provide a dedicated “check-in” opportunity for any county that wants to make use of it. Subject to availability, any county may present any issue at the Joint Meeting. Counties are welcome to inquire about time on the agenda.
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Counties and those that work with counties on VSP are in danger of missing out on reimbursement for VSP implementation expenses incurred. Monthly reimbursement requests for all county VSP contracts (as well as any other contracts) are required. If no expenses have been incurred during a month, a voucher should still be done showing zero expenses incurred. Please remember to voucher monthly for VSP expenses.
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An equipment purchase is a conditionally allowable expense and must be included in the Scope of Work and must have prior written authorization from the Conservation Commission (SCC) financial staff or program manager for all equipment purchases totaling over $1,000 for requests in fiscal year 2023 and increasing to $2,000 on July 1, 2023.
SCC has created an on-line form for counties and technical service providers who contract with counties, to use when purchasing equipment with VSP funds.
The form is already updated for the next biennium.
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Funding rounds are closed as this fiscal year comes to an end, but the next round of funding will open in July 2023. SCC encourages counties and CDs to use this time to put projects into CPDS so that they are ready-to-go for the first review by the committee on July 11.
Please remember that all projects awarded during this fiscal year 2023 must be completed by June 30, 2023. Projects that are not wholly finished by then cannot be reimbursed.
This next round of funding will provide an opportunity for on-the-ground conservation projects that protect the five critical areas (including salmon habitat) while maintaining agricultural viability. Complete details are available in the VSP Guidelines and tips for successful VSP project proposals - Oct. 2022.
At the SCC May Commission meeting, the commission supported an increase in the landowner cost-share cap in the 2023-25 biennium from $50,000 to $100,000. More details will be coming from the SCC financial department in July.
Examples of funded proposals have included projects such as: waste transfer, pumping plants, fencing, heavy-use areas, waste storage facilities, riparian forest buffers, trails and walkways, roof runoff structures, sprinkler systems, access control, irrigation system/micro irrigation, livestock pipelines, tree/shrub site preparation, wetland enhancements, livestock water facilities, drainage ditch coverings, and more.
Notice of successful funding awards can take up to 3-5 business days to reach project applicants (committee meets first Tues. of the month). Please make sure the correct contact person and email is listed in CPDS for the project. Please also confirm that the contact person is someone at either the county or the conservation district, and not the landowner.
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VSP 101 Training
This webinar was tailored toward new VSP staff responsible for tasks like implementation, contracts, processing expense vouchers, cost-share, monitoring, adaptive management, outreach, education, and reporting. (May 4, 2023)
VSP SCC-County Contract for 2023-35 Biennium Budget webinar
The webinar reviewed the new contract for the 2023-25 biennial budget between VSP counties and SCC, provided a template that a VSP sub-contractor/technical service provider might use when contracting with a VSP county for implementation and summarized the budget for the 2023-25 biennium. (May 16, 2023)
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Info Session for Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) & Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)
The webinar introduced and summarized lessons learned and best practices from multiple watershed scale monitoring efforts conducted by CEAP across the US; and approaches and frameworks used by the ACPF to assist conservation districts, NRCS staff, and other partners with planning, prioritization, monitoring, and outreach at the nexus of agriculture and ecosystems. (May 30, 2023)
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Sign up here and choose the subscription for the “Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP)” under the Programs and Policy tab.
If you have any questions please contact Bill Eller or Sarah Wilcox.
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Copyright 2023 - Washington State Conservation Commission |
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