2010 ANNUAL REPORT FEATURE ACCOMPLISHMENT
Roll-out of Updated Soil Survey of San Juan County, Washington
Workshops held to explain soil
classifications and new surveyResource Challenge – The San Juan County soil survey was updated from its 1962 edition and released in December 2009. While agricultural soils were well defined, upland soils needed better classification. Five years of soil test data were analyzed, reported and made available on Web Soil Survey. Soil data are required for all county land use decisions. We now have updated information that better informs these processes.
Project Summary and Results – Upon publication of the new San Juan County Soil Survey, the Conservation District worked with USDA-NRCS soil scientists to make the data more useful and available to residents and professionals. The District worked with the Assessor’s Office and the San Juan County Public Works GIS Department to organize workshops for landowners and for professionals. The updated soils information was also presented at the only countywide event, the San Juan County Fair, for farmers and interested members of the public. Compact disks containing the new data were handed out to San Juan County residents as well as soil information sheets. Results are that San Juan County landowners, San Juan County staff and land use professionals have access to new and relevant data about soils throughout the county and land use decisions will be better informed.
Key Project Partners
USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service
San Juan County GIS Department of Public Works
San Juan County Assessor’s Office
WSU Agricultural Research Center
US Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Agriculture Resources Committee of San Juan County
2009 ANNUAL REPORT FEATURE ACCOMPLISHMENT
Keeping Agricultural Resources in San Juan County
Resource Challenge
The San Juan Islands Conservation District and the county’s Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) continue to partner closely on farmland preservation. However farmland, and the ecosystem services it provides, is still being lost at an alarming rate in San Juan County. In 2002, the number of agricultural acres was 17,145 compared to approximately 45,463 acres of farmland in 1954.
Project Summary and Results
During 2009, the District responded to six requests for emergency Farm Plans resulting from the “Early Warning System” put in place in 2008. Farm Plans are now required by the State and SJC Assessor’s office in order for a property to remain in Ag Open Space. Best Management Practices recommended in the plans reduce soil erosion, increase water quality and quantity, and protect key wildlife habitats, as well as increasing the operation’s productivity. The county’s Public Benefit Rating System is being reworked to enable farmland to qualify for Open/Open Space designation. Agricultural lands were mapped in 2008/2009 based on soils and aerial photo analyses. These maps were displayed during the San Juan County Fair, and viewers were asked for corrections. “Mapping Agricultural Land in SJC, WA” the final report for this project, recommends future possibilities for ag resource zoning. In addition, the ARC worked with a county planner to include language for “no net loss of agricultural resources land (ARL)” and “retaining water for agricultural use on ARL lands” in the Land Use and Water Elements of the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
Key Project Partners
Agricultural Resources Committee
San Juan County Assessors Office
San Juan County Council
San Juan County Land Bank
SJC Community Development & Planning
San Juan County WSU Extension
WA Office of Farmland Preservation
WA State Conservation Commission
2008 ANNUAL REPORT FEATURE ACCOMPLISHMENT
Fostering Farmland Preservation
Resource Challenge
Farmland is being lost at an alarming rate in San Juan County. In 1954, there were approximately 45,463 acres of farmland in San Juan County. By 2002, the number of acres had shrunk to 17,145 acres. Development pressures are non-stop and the value of land in the county is exorbitant.
Project Summary and Results
Farmland preservation is a top priority for the San Juan Islands Conservation District and the Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) of San Juan County. In January 2008, the ARC received a grant from the Office of Farmland Preservation to conduct an education campaign on agricultural conservation easements. The campaign consists of four components: media outreach, agricultural landowner contact, community presentations, and an agricultural land inventory with associated one-on-one networking. To date there have been four public workshops, five newspaper articles, a collaborative county-wide farm and food questionnaire, a wind-shield survey of farmlands on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez islands, and over a dozen face-to-face visits with farmland owners. In addition to these efforts, the ARC developed an “early warning” system with the county assessor to notify the committee when farmland was under threat of being removed from the Agriculture Open Space tax relief program. The results of our efforts so far are an increased awareness and understanding of conservation easements and tax relief program options by farmland owners. Mapping of agricultural resources in the county is also well underway.
Key Project
Partners
Agricultural
Resources Committee
Office of Farmland Preservation
San Juan County Assessors Office
San Juan County Council
San Juan County Land Bank
San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild
San Juan Preservation Trust
WSU Extension – San Juan County
2007
ANNUAL REPORT FEATURE ACCOMPLISHMENT
Keeping
Farmland Sustainable by Fostering the Agricultural
Resources Committee (ARC) of San Juan
County
Resource Challenge: To protect, preserve and restore
agricultural resources in San Juan County.
Project Summary
San Juan Islands Conservation District (SJICD) established
a collaborative partnership with San Juan County to achieve
mutual objectives in farmland preservation and protection.
SJICD signed an Interlocal Agreement with the County that
makes the services of the ARC available to SJICD in order
to foster the creation of effective agricultural programs
and practices. This unique partnership between the SJICD
and the ARC ensures conservation and protection of natural
resources in San Juan County.
Project Results
The ARC has a part-time coordinator funded by SJICD and
secured funding for the remainder of 2007 from the County.
The County Council identified the protection of
agricultural resources as one of their top four priorities
for 2008. The ARC launched a program to promote the use of
farm products by local food establishments and has defined
three areas of focus – farm marketing, farmland
preservation and farm regulation.
Innovation/Highlight
Partnering with an agricultural advisory group demonstrates
the unity of SJICD and the agricultural community and works
toward the protection of key resources – land, water and
food.
Key Partners Involved
Agricultural Resources Committee
San Juan County Council
San Juan Economic Development Council
San Juan County Land Bank
San Juan County Environmental Health
WSU Extension – San Juan County
San Juan Islands Conservation District Information (2007)
History: SJICD has served the entire county since 1964 and
is based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Separate soil
conservation districts were established originally in 1947
on Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Islands.
Land Area: 174.9 square miles or 111,936 acres (smallest in
Washington) on 172 islands. (Ferry-served islands are San
Juan, Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw.) SJICD includes the False
Bay, Eastsound, Blind Bay, and Fisherman Bay Watersheds.
Only county in the United States comprised entirely of
islands.
Land Cover: The District is composed of mostly private
lands with some state and federal holdings. Forests with
shallow soils and abundant wildlife habitat dominate the
land (70% is forested) plus a small amount of grassland
that is largely used as agricultural land.
Shoreline: 414 miles within northern Puget Sound (longest
of any county in the nation).
Population: A majority of the population (15,900) lives
within the three towns of Friday Harbor, Eastsound, and
Lopez Village on three main islands. The county has the
second fastest growth rate in Washington State with the
population of year-round residents increasing 40% between
1990 and 2000 while growth in housing has increased 60%.
During the summer months, the area is a popular tourist
destination for its scenery and recreation.
Mission Statement
To work with landowners and residents to develop
sustainable land use practices that protect and conserve
San Juan County’s soil and water for wildlife habitat,
forestry, farming, residential, and other uses.
Natural Resource Priorities and Goals
- Maintain water quality and quantity by preserving natural hydrology; increase and maintain healthy soils; preserve and restore wildlife habitat; and maintain and preserve agriculture and forest lands to sustain the rural character of the landscape.
- Implement conservation best management practices on a broad scale throughout San Juan County.
- Achieve significant preservation/restoration outcomes on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands.
- Support and promote preservation and expansion of sustainable agriculture countywide.
- Develop natural resources database necessary to prevent degradation of the natural environment.
Information - Education Priorities and Goals
- Gain wide acceptance of conservation and stewardship as primary community values.
- Engage individuals, businesses, and the community in active conservation efforts and practices through outreach and education, including website information, newsletters, articles, workshops, county fair, and other events.
- Educational resources inventory maintenance.
Critical Geographic Areas
The entire district is a critical geographic area.
Natural Resources Information: More Work to Do
- Increase the contributions of sustainable agricultural and forestry practices to ecosystem health.
- Increase the protection of water quality and increase water quantity and recharge through training in low impact development (LID) techniques.
- Protect and continue monitoring 14 priority watersheds threatened by rapid new development converting agricultural and forestland to residential and commercial uses.