Prairies and Oak Woodlands Conservation Ordinance

Protection of Puget Sound Prairies - Habitats & Species

South Puget Sound prairies and oak woodlands are among the rarest habitats in the United States – but they are vanishing rapidly. Today, only about 10 percent of the spatial extent of the original South Puget Sound prairies remains.  And of that, less than 3 percent is considered high-quality prairie habitat.  Most of the remaining habitat lands are owned by private property owners.

 A few of the larger prairies can be seen easily – such as the Mima Mounds – while others are scattered among forests, farms and houses.

Many prairie-dependent species are have been listed as "endangered" or "threatened" by either the state Department of Fish and Wildlife or the US Fish & Wildlife Service.The future of the species will become even more uncertain as the few remaining habitats become fragmented. These species include: golden paintbrush (plant); Taylor's checkerspot butterfly; streaked horned lark; and the Mazama pocket gopher.

What's Happening Now - Interim Prairie Ordinance

The state Growth Management Act requires Thurston County to protect several types of "critical areas," among them:  fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas such as prairies.  The county protects these areas through its "Critical Areas Ordinance,"  which dates back to 1994 and is now being updated. In the meantime, Thurston County has already adopted interim (temporary) regulations to protect prairies until the Critical Areas Ordinance is updated. These interim regulations were originally approved in 2009, and have been renewed several times since then.

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Draft CAO - Prairie and White Oak Protections

• Myths, Misconceptions and Permitting Statistics - April 1, 2011 Powerpoint
  • Click here for an print version dated Sept. 26, 2011. 
• FAQs about Prairie Protections and the Critical Areas Ordinance
• Are species really threatened?
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife fact sheet on why protecting candidate species makes sense for landowners
  • More information about the species
• Fact sheet describing potential amendments
• Display (2.5 MB PDF)
• Map - Oak & Grassland Habitat Soils Associated with Prairie Habitat (4.16 MB PDF)*
• Map - Soils Associated with Mazama Pocket Gopher Habitat (3.6 MB PDF)*
• Audio from open house events held in October 2010.
• Read the draft ordinance (process is underway)
• Current Prairie and Oak Habitat Best Available Science and Source Review (PDF)

*NOTE: To see details on the maps featured above, zoom in to the areas of interest. If you would like to print zoomed in areas of interest, please follow these instructions.  Thurston County makes every effort to ensure that these maps are a true and accurate representation of the work of county government; however, the maps are not 100 percent accurate for every parcel. They do, however, provide information for residents interested in learning about land and how it's designated.

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Contact Us

Interested Parties: If you would like to be added to our Web Mail list, please click here. Staff contact: Andrew Deffobis, Associate Planner. Phone: (360) 754-3355, ext. 5467. E-mail: deffoba@co.thurston.wa.us.