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Highlights of upcoming events and volunteer opportunities are listed below. To view the entire calendar for the quarter, click on the PDF link to the right.

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This year’s Pierce Conservation District Annual Meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 8 from 5-8 p.m. at the Evergreen State College campus in Tacoma. Event highlights will include a small reception, guest speaker Becky Selengut who is a local “foodie”, a review of this year’s accomplishments, and an awards ceremony to honor our volunteers and partners. Please contact us early to reserve your space.

Band-Aids to Get Your Farm Through the Winter
Thursday, December 8, 6:30-8 p.m.
King Feed, Eatonville
Is your farm a mud pit? Then this is the class for you! Get some band-aid tips to help you survive this winter, and ideas for real solutions to install this summer. Come catch this informative powerpoint presentation on how to minimize or eliminate mud to improve you and your livestock’s lives. Find out how to grow more grass and fewer weeds to save money on feed costs and herbicides. Find out how manure composting can save you money on disposal and fertilizer costs, and how it can re-claim lost space. Contact King Feed to register at 253 846-6500.

Small Farm Dairies for Pleasure and Profit
Friday, January 20, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Puyallup
Join the Pierce Conservation District, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), and WSU Extension to learn the steps necessary to operate a small dairy. We’ll review livestock breed specifics, facility requirements and safety standards, herd management techniques to maximize milk productivity, and finally the benefits enjoyed from milk and cheese produced on your own farm.

Emergency Farm Preparedness
Sunday, January 22, 1-3 p.m.
Summit Library, Tacoma
Will you be prepared to take care of your livestock the next time a natural, human-made, or technological disaster strikes our area? The Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART) is a grass-roots, non-profit volunteer organization, created to support animal disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and sheltering efforts directed at helping animals affected by emergencies. Come learn from WASART Operations Leader Greta Cook about their program, how you can get involved, and how to prepare in advance to “shelter in place” or be prepared to evacuate with your pets and livestock. Learn what simple things you can do to be prepared and self sufficient before the next disaster strikes.
A suggested $10 donation to WASART to attend class.

Realtor Workshop: What You and Your Client Should Know About Shoreline Property
Tuesday, January 24, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Gig Harbor
The Pierce Conservation District is facilitating this workshop brought to you by WSU Extension, Pierce County Surface Water Management, and Washington Department of Ecology. Realtors and brokers can accrue 7.5 clock hours by attending this class. We will review the geology of the Washington coastline, buffers, building restrictions, and low impact development options that reduce total pervious surface and minimize erosion and impacts caused by surface water runoff.

Biosecurity: Is Your Herd or Flock Safe from Diseases?
Saturday, February 4, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Puyallup Public Library
During this workshop, participants will learn farm disease prevention, monitoring, tracking, reporting, and identifying the symptoms of potentially contagious livestock and poultry illnesses from various speakers from WSU Extension and the WSDA. This is not a doom and gloom workshop, but is instead for the backyard or small farmer who has concerns regarding current challenges to how backyard farming is conducted.

The Trinity of Small Farm Management
Saturday, February 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Key Center
As mud builds up in paddocks and pastures, the risk of impacting our local surface water with bacteria and nutrients swells like wet neoprene boots. Join the Pierce Conservation District in a discussion about the importance of keeping livestock out of our water and how to do so. We’ll go over mud, manure, and pasture management techniques that keep your boots dry and your pastures and wallet green. A free class notebook is provided to participants who register.

Purchasing Farm Property
Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Gig Harbor
Don’t buy the farm when purchasing farm property. In this classroom workshop, speakers will cover topics including federal loan programs for farms and disaster recovery, farm credit services, insurance, due diligence, mentoring, and transferring ownership.

The Pierce Conservation District will conduct a “by-mail” election on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, for a position on its Board of Supervisors. District Supervisors serve in volunteer, unpaid positions for three year terms. Their primary duties are to provide policy, fiscal and administrative oversight for the District, and to represent the District in its relationships with other entities. Election law is detailed in Chapter 89.08 RCW, along with the responsibilities for District Supervisors and Conservation Districts in general.

Elected Position: You must reside within District boundaries to be a candidate for this position. Candidates wishing to have their name on the ballot for this position must file a nomination petition with the Pierce Conservation District or the Washington State Conservation Commission no later than February 28, 2012, at 4 p.m.

Voting in Conservation District “By-Mail” Elections: The Pierce Conservation District uses the “by-mail” election process.  There are two methods for participating in the District election;

• In Person: You may appear in person at the Pierce Conservation District office between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday March 27th, 2012, and vote in person. You will be required to show identification to verify that you are a qualified voter. To be considered qualified you must be a registered voter who resides within District boundaries.
• By Mail: You can request a ballot to be mailed to you by providing your name, mailing address, residential address, and legal signature to the District Elections Officer (listed below). To have your ballot counted you must be a registered voter who resides within District boundaries. Ballots must be requested by 4 p.m. Tuesday March 6th, 2012, to be placed upon the list to receive “by-mail” ballots for the 2012 election.

Appointed Position: The person in this position serves on the Pierce Conservation District Board from appointment until 2015.  You must reside within District boundaries to be a candidate for this position. Candidates wishing to be considered for this position must file an application with the Washington State Conservation Commission. Applications must be delivered or postmarked to the Commission no later than end of business day on Friday, March 30, 2012.

For further information about District elections, to request nominating petitions, appointed position application or ballots, or for any other question about the District in general, contact the District Elections Officer;

Selena Corwin, District Elections Officer
253-845-9770 ext. 101
pccdadmin@piercecountycd.org

Plant Salvage Opportunities
For details about upcoming
Plant Salvage opportunities with the WNPS please visit their website: www.ssstewardship.org

Sheila Wynn has been an explorer of the natural world since age, three catching her own perch in Moses Lake where she grew up. After earning a degree in biology from the University of Puget Sound, Ms. Wynn has had the opportunity to work in many areas of the environmental and resource fields for almost two decades. She has owned her own business, worked for non-profits, worked for Thurston Conservation District for three years and has spent the last decade working for Pierce County in Planning and Land Services and Public Works Surface Water Management. Ms. Wynn comes to us because of her deep desire to see a more sustainable community in Pierce County and her strong land ethic. Aldo Leopold is one of her heros. She lives with her husband Mike, 4 year old son Keenan, 2 rescue dogs, and 28 chickens on 4 acres in Pierce County's rural seperator. This is where they are working hard at experimenting with beyond green and sustainable living. She is excited to take part in the great thing's Pierce Conservation District is doing and looks forward to partnering with them and all those who support conservation.

On April 12, the DuPont City Council voted unanimously to join the Pierce Conservation District and participate in the $5 per parcel tax assessment. This increases the District’s municipal partners to 10, with residents of unincorporated Pierce County, Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, Sumner, University Place, Gig Harbor, Fircrest, Milton, and now DuPont able to utilize District and Stream Team programs, as well as apply for community grant money through the Green Partnership Fund.

The City of DuPont enjoys many natural resources that enhance its residents’ quality of life, including Sequalitchew Creek and marine shoreline in the Nisqually Reach. The Sequalitchew Creek Watershed Council is based in DuPont and is made up of citizens pursuing various ways to restore and care for this stream that begins on Joint Base Lewis-McChord and runs straight through the town before emptying into Puget Sound. The city’s Chloe Clark Elementary School also participates in several environmental projects and natural resource lessons throughout the year, including invasive plant removal and stream exploration.

Stream Team and the District are excited about this new partnership with DuPont, and look forward to working with the citizens and city staff to provide technical assistance, outreach and education, and natural resource projects.

Although lower fuel prices continue to depress plastic recycling markets, the Pierce and Thurston Conservation Districts have partnered with Wilson Recycling in Shelton in a program to collect and recycle a limited array of agricultural plastics waste that would otherwise be burned, buried, or end up in a landfill. The Conservation Districts did the leg work setting up public drop-off locations at local feed stores and private pick-ups at local livestock farms and stables, and continue to promote and advertise the program. Wilson Recycling has found markets for hay twine and straps, haylage wrappers, shrink wrap, and woven polypropylene sacks (such as fertilizer, feed, and seed bags) and provides the stands and bags in which to collect the items, and they provide a regular pick-up service for the participating businesses.

In Pierce County the drop-off locations are: King Feed in Eatonville, EPH Hay in Graham, The Graham Hay Market, Stan Banks Hay in Graham, Servine Feed in Roy, Sumner Animal Grub, Black Star Feed in Eatonville, and the Pierce Conservation District office in Puyallup.  Country Farm and Feed in Enumclaw is also participating.  Please contact the Thurston Conservation District for Thurston County drop-off locations.  Public drop-off is not a required component of the program; agricultural businesses can have receptacles for their own private use. Please call Rene' Skaggs at the Pierce Conservation District at (253) 845-9770 x 106 or email renes@piercecountycd.org if you would like more information on having a receptacle at your facility.