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January 2024

In this issue:

• Upcoming events:

  • Jan. 18: Survey results presented to SCC commission

  • Feb. 6: VSP stakeholder meeting

  • March 12: Joint VSP Technical Panel & Statewide Advisory Committee meeting 

  • 2024 Joint meeting dates

• Joint TP & SAC meeting information

• County monitoring plan reminder

• Please use "Outcome 2" for monitoring billing

• Check out 2023 monitoring symposiums

• Public review coming soon! Washington Shrubsteppe Restoration & Resiliency Initiative Long-Term Strategy

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

Upcoming events:

Survey results presented to SCC commission

Jan. 18, 2024, Lacey and online

The VSP survey, conducted in October 2023, will be presented to the Conservation Commission at the January meeting on January 18, 2024. After consideration by the commissioners, the survey will be presented again at the VSP stakeholder meeting on February 6, 2024.

VSP stakeholder meeting

Feb. 6, 2024, at 9 a.m., Spokane and online

The purpose of this meeting is to solicit and receive feedback on the VSP program as a whole, and specifically to focus on two agenda items the October 2023 VSP stakeholder survey and possible changes to the VSP capital funding guidelines. 

Commission staff will present the results of the October 2023 VSP stakeholder survey and future actions to be taken by the Commission as a result of the survey. Commission staff will also solicit ideas for possible changes to the VSP capital funding guidelines and present some possible changes that the Commission has already received from VSP stakeholders.  Commission staff will compile those ideas for consideration by Commission commissioners.  If the Commission decides to pursue any changes to the VSP capital funding guidelines, the possible changes will be presented to VSP stakeholders as per the Commission’s Policy on Policies for a 45-day comment period before adoption by the Commission. 

The Commission’s new executive director James Thompson will be attending in-person, so please take advantage of this opportunity to interact with him on the VSP.

AGENDA

This meeting will be conducted both in-person and online. The public is welcome to attend. Members of the VSP Technical Panel and Statewide Advisory Committee are encouraged to attend in person but can attend online. Lunch will NOT be provided.

Physical location: Spokane Conservation District, Scheele Training Room, 4422 E 8th Avenue Spokane Valley, WA 99212

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85965742463?pwd=RWJSZHAzbm12QitXeHRHYnd6a3puZz09 

Meeting ID: 859 6574 2463

Passcode: 859072

Joint VSP Technical Panel & Statewide Advisory Committee meeting

Save the Date: March 12, 2024, at 9 a.m., Lacey (location tbd) and online

The following counties are invited to present San Juan, Skagit, Mason, Thurston, Grays, Pacific, Lewis, and Cowlitz. See full article below about Joint TP and SAC meetings and 2024 dates to learn more. Agenda to follow.

2024 Joint meeting dates

Please save the dates for the 2024 Joint TP & SAC meetings.

• March 12, 2024 - Lacey and online
• April 9, 2024 - Wenatchee and online
• June 11, 2024 - Spokane and online
• Aug. 13, 2024 - Walla Walla and online
• Oct. 10, 2024 - Lacey and online

Joint TP and SAC meeting information

Throughout 2024, 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. Catch the first scheduled Joint meeting of 2024 in Lacey!

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. 

Background:

Counties are free to attend, or not attend, these meetings, and are free to bring whatever issues they want to bring to the TP and SAC for dialogue. Issues might include monitoring, data collection, five-year report data entry, outreach and education, etc. 

The time on the agenda for each county will serve as a “check-in” for each county with the SAC and TP as they prepare their next five-year report. The concept for this dialogue time for each county is that each county would have a dedicated time to meet with the TP and SAC on an on-going basis. The purpose of this meeting is to reinforce the communications, focused primarily on issues related to the next five-year report, between the state agencies on the TP, counties, county work groups, and technical service providers and the stakeholders represented on the SAC. 

The 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.

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.

Please use "Outcome 2" for monitoring billing

Some of the additional funds the legislature made available to the SCC for VSP are designated for monitoring efforts. The allocation for each county for the entire biennium comes to $47,000, which was amended into all VSP contracts as Amendment 1.

Amendment 1 identified the $47,000 Monitoring award as Contract Outcome 2 and should be billed as "outcome 2" for all of your VSP contracts. Work related to monitoring that counties want to be paid out of the $47,000 should be billed to "outcome 2."

Check out 2023 monitoring symposiums

Missed a monitoring symposium or new to VSP? Check out recorded webinars of 2023 monitoring symposiums. 

• Identifying and Prioritizing Erosion Hot Spots in the Palouse

• Assessing Wetland Functions and Values

• Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) & Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)

• WSDA monitoring data and methods for surface water, crops, soil health, and dairy nutrient management

Public review coming soon!

Washington Shrubsteppe Restoration & Resiliency Initiative Long-Term Strategy

Mark your calendars! The public review period for the Washington Shrubsteppe Restoration & Resiliency Initiative (WSRRI) is scheduled for Jan. 22 – Feb. 16. A link to the document will be provided soon. This correspondence serves as an early reminder that the review period will begin shortly.

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Copyright 2024 - Washington State Conservation Commission