REMINDER: Please Obligate VSP Capital Upfront Funds
by December 31, 2025
Each county’s $40,000 allocation of Upfront Capital funding must be obligated to a project (or projects) and receive written approval and confirmation by December 31. Any funds not obligated by December 31, will need to be returned so they may be combined with any other remaining funds for the April 2026 competitive round of funding. If you have questions about project eligibility or how to submit a project for approval, please contact Mike Poteet.
Please complete these three tasks by December 31, 2025:
1. Obligate funds to a local project(s) – meaning:
a. they have been approved by your work group, and
b. entered in CPDS under VSP Capital Competitive, plus any requested TA.
2. Notify via email, Mike Poteet, MPoteet@scc.wa.gov; that the project has been entered in CPDS and is ready for review.
a. Please await an approval email (within two business days).
3. Projects must score 20 points in eligibility criteria, as stated in the VSP Funding Guidelines.
VSP Training Reimbursement
The VSP Guidelines adopted July 17, 2025 require all trainings or professional development activities that incur a cost to receive prior approval from either the VSP Workgroup or SCC VSP Coordinator, Mike Poteet. Please be sure to contact Mike for training approval if needed.
The Guidelines state:
“There are two levels of allowable VSP trainings with separate approval pathways:
1. Trainings under $500 can be approved by the SCC VSP Coordinator without approval from the work group, OR approved by the work group without SCC approval; and
2. Trainings over $500 must be approved by the county work group, but no additional approval from SCC will be required.
If approved by the work group under numbers one or two above, a copy of the work group’s minutes showing the approval must be submitted to SCC at time of invoicing. The two pathways for approval allow flexibility when new trainings have registration deadlines that don’t allow for consideration and approval by work groups.”
Round 3: VSP Capital Funding
Please submit all Round 3 capital projects through CPDS and fill out all applicable criteria accurately.
The third competitive round of VSP Capital awards will accept applications in CPDS through December 1, with projects being pulled for review on the morning of December 2. There will be $600,000 available in Round 3, with plans to notify applicants of their status by the week of December 15. Any VSP capital funds that are remaining after Round 3, including returned funds that are not allocated from each county’s $40,000 in Upfront Capital, will be available on a competitive basis in April 2026, per the Funding Guidelines.
Photo: Douglas County VSP showcasing beaver dam analogs (BDAs) along Foster Creek.
Untitled. Photo By: Leslie Michel, WSDA Soil Scientist.
SCC Technical Panel Updates
We are pleased to welcome Victoria Fischella and Levi Keesecker as new members of the SCC Technical Panel for VSP.
Levi will serve on the Technical Advisory Panel, joining from the SCC as the Ecosystems Manager & Science Hub Lead. And Victoria will serve as Technical Advisory Panel Support Staff, joining from SCC in her role as VSP Specialist. Together they bring valuable perspectives and technical expertise to our statewide efforts.
We look forward to their contributions as we continue working collaboratively with the Technical Advisory Panel to support VSP counties of Washington.
Technical Panel Capacity During 5-Yr Reporting Period
As the Technical Panel and support staff focus on the upcoming five-year reporting process, we anticipate having limited capacity over the next several months. During this time, we appreciate your patience and understanding as the VSP team prioritizes review and reporting activities.
For future VSP-related inquiries please direct your questions to Mike Poteet. Thank you for your continued collaboration and support.
All VSP Monitoring Plan Review Requests:
On Hold Until August 2026
As the 5-Year Reporting Period ramps up this November, SCC VSP staff and the Technical Panel Coordinators will pause reviews of VSP Monitoring Plan requests until August 2026.
This temporary hold is necessary to allocate adequate staff time to the intensive review process for twenty-five 5-Year Reports, as required under RCW 36.70A.720(2)(b).
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