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December 2023 VSP Newsletter

In this issue:

• Upcoming events:

  • Dec. 7: VSP Joint Technical Panel and Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting – VSP survey discussion postponed

  • Dec. 12 VSP monitoring symposium: Identifying and prioritizing erosion hot spots in the Palouse

• Welcome new SCC Executive Director, James Thomspon

• County VSP budget reminder

• Billing reminder for new monitoring funds

• County monitoring plan reminder

• New to VSP? Check out online trainings and webinars

• List of capital funded projects from fiscal year 2023

• WDFW Riparian Workshop - Dec. 15

Check out VSP resources at: https://www.vsp.wa.gov/

Upcoming events:

VSP Joint Technical Panel and Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting

Dec. 7, 2023, 9 a.m. - 11:45 a.m., Lacey, WA and online

Please join us for a VSP Technical Panel and Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting.

‍Please note that the agenda has been amended. SCC has postponed the discussion about the VSP survey results at the Dec. 7 meeting to allow for time for SCC's new Executive Director, James Thompson, to become familiar with VSP. Providing the new executive director this extra time will allow SCC to find a way to thoughtfully address concerns and synthesize survey feedback. For questions and concerns regarding this process, please contact Interim Executive Director, Sarah Groth.

At this meeting, VSP staff will still review and facilitate a discussion about the joint regional TP and SAC meetings with the VSP counties and set the 2024 schedule of regional joint TP and SAC meetings. 

In-person location: Washington State Farm Bureau Building, 975 Carpenter Rd NE #101, Lacey, WA 98516.

Online: Zoom link

Meeting ID: 871 2194 5796
Passcode: 242856

VSP monitoring symposium: Identifying and prioritizing erosion hot spots in the Palouse

Dec. 12, 2023 @ 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., online

This virtual session will showcase approaches to identifying critical sources of erosion in
agricultural areas. Ryan Boylan will demonstrate how the project was developed as well as applications to watershed-scale monitoring and VSP. The second portion of this session will provide updates on various projects, programs, and data sets that relate to VSP monitoring.

Register for Zoom link

Welcome new SCC Executive Director, James Thomspon

James Thompson began his role as SCC executive director on December 1, 2023.

Daryl Williams, Chair of the SCC Board of Commissioners, expressed his enthusiasm about James leading SCC, stating, “The commissioners are thrilled to welcome James as the new executive director. In a highly competitive field of outstanding candidates, the board was compelled by James' extensive experience and unwavering passion for conservation. We are confident that his energy and fresh perspective will contribute significantly to the continued advancement of meaningful conservation initiatives across our picturesque state.” Hailing from Castle Rock in Cowlitz County, Thompson brings a wealth of experience, having grown up in his family's community newspaper businesses and later working as a contract logger on high-lead timber harvest operations. This hands-on experience has provided him with a profound understanding of skills and strategies in natural resource management, allowing him to navigate specific regional settings, evolving forest conditions, markets, and ownership of timber resources.

County VSP budget reminder

As per the Conservation Commission (SCC)-County VSP contract, the county is required to submit a VSP budget to SCC. The budget should be provided to Nicole Boyes at nboyes@scc.wa.gov.

The budget should be designed to ensure all requirements related to VSP implementation are accounted for during this contract period, and to ensure the two-year status and five-year review and evaluation reporting requirements will be met. The county must:

• Provide the budget to SCC no later than 120 days from the date of signature of the contract by the County.
• The budget must be designed to meet all contract and statutory deliverables for VSP implementation. 
• Please note important line items: 
  • If the county uses operating funds for cost share, it must be included in a budget line item.
  • If the county allows a CD operating as its VSP technical service provider to use operating funds for District Implemented Projects (DIPs), it must be included in a budget line item.
  • A line item of $47,000 must be included in the budget for monitoring and reporting efforts.

Billing reminder for new monitoring funds

Please note that if you are billing time and expenses to the new $47,000 monitoring funds, you will need to specify in the billing that those expenses are for Outcome 2 Monitoring. Thanks!

County monitoring plan reminder

SCC requires the completion of a monitoring plan for each VSP county. The monitoring plan will be required to be provided to SCC no later than July 1, 2024.

To assist counties with the creation of a monitoring plan, SCC has created the Watershed Monitoring Project Development Guide for the Voluntary Stewardship Program in Washington, Volume III (Monitoring Guide). SCC encourages the county to use the Monitoring Guide in creating the plan but will not require its use. The monitoring plan shall be designed to facilitate the collection, analysis, and reporting of information for VSP.

The monitoring plan may be submitted via email to Levi Keesecker at lkeesecker@scc.wa.gov. 

New to VSP? Check out online trainings and webinars

You may access many online VSP trainings and meetings at the VSP webpage: 101 training materials.

List of capital funded projects from fiscal year 2023

VSP first received capital funding for projects in the supplemental budget for fiscal year 23, running from July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023.

WDFW Riparian Workshop

Friday, Dec. 15, 9-11 a.m.

You are invited to join a virtual workshop about a riparian analysis data platform currently being developed by WDFW. The riparian data platform will unify input data streams to allow for aggregation and comparison across resources and spatial extents.

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Copyright 2023 - Washington State Conservation Commission