Conservation District Election

The Thurston Conservation District is one of 48 conservation districts in Washington State.  Each conservation district is led by a five-member board of volunteer supervisors -- three elected locally and two appointed by the state’s conservation agency, the Conservation Commission. District supervisors set the agenda for what their district will work on each year.  Supervisors are expected to attend one regular monthly board meeting, currently held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 3:00pm.  Attendance at meetings of other groups and organizations that interact with the District is also expected. 

Due to the broad authority given to conservation districts by their enabling legislation, they can tackle just about any problem related to the natural environment. Consequently, the Thurston Conservation District has a variety of programs structured to meet the environmental and conservation needs of Thurston County.  Some of the district’s programs include:

• Providing technical assistance to county residents regarding all types of vegetation and soil management issues, wildlife habitat enhancement, and stream and wetland restoration and protection.
• Developing conservation plans and providing technical assistance to small and large farms, especially those that are in priority watersheds or are striving to meet regulatory requirements.
• Sponsoring and providing administrative, office, overhead and direct financial support to the South Sound GREEN program to provide quality environmental education in south sound schools.
• Partnering with other conservation and environmental education groups and organizations, like SS GREEN, Stream Team, Native Plant Salvage Project, WSU Cooperative Extension, Natural Resources Youth Camp, the Environmental Education Technical Committee, the cities within Thurston County and Thurston County, to provide a wide variety of educational information, outreach programs, and workshops on natural resource issues.
• Participating with various watershed councils to act as a resource for watershed specific environmental education programs and activities.
• Working closely with other jurisdictions to address non-point pollution from agricultural land uses in the Henderson and Nisqually shellfish protection districts.
• Serving as the Lead Entity for the Deschutes WRIA 13 to work with the community to develop a salmon enhancement strategy for the Deschutes and to recommend priority projects to enhance salmon habitat in this watershed.

Other districts in Washington State are involved in similar issues ranging from air quality (blowing dust), to prevention of groundwater contamination, to stream improvement for endangered salmon,to dairy waste management, to streambank stabilization, to irrigation water management, to forestland improvement, to erosion control on dryland farms. Many districts also have a proactive outreach program to schools. They understand that the best way to instill a long-term conservation ethic in our citizens is to teach it beginning in elementary school.

Polling Places for the February 17, 2004 Election

Polling places will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Voters may vote at any polling site.

Click on the link below for more information:

Thurston Conservation District Homepage