San Juan Islands Conservation District Board Members
Vicki Heater, Appointed 2009
Background - Water Quality
Vicki has been associated with the San Juan County Conservation District since 1994. She is an environmental health specialist with the SJC health department and is lead staff for the county's drinking water program. She is also watershed lead for WRIA 2 and developed the San Juan County Watershed Action Plan under the Non-Point Rule (400-12 WAC) and is currently working on water resource planning under RCW 90.82. She has been actively involved with the San Juan County Pony Club since 1986 and teaches riding and horse management. She and her husband live on 24 acres, which includes a small farm and 20 acres of forestland.
Henning Sehmsdorf, Elected 2010
Background - Sustainable Farming
Henning and his wife, Elizabeth have owned and operated S&S Homestead, a sustainable, organic meat and produce farm on Lopez Island for over thirty years. Their mission is to develop and maintain an environmentally and economically sustainable farm that will: 1) grow organic soils and pastures; 2) produce high quality organic foods for both family and the community and improve local food security and control; 3) recycle farm wastes to produce farm fertility inputs; 4) train apprentices and interns in sustainable and organic farm practices; and 5) promote the growth of small-scale, community-based farming in San Juan County and beyond. Henning is currently engaged in a project supported by a SARE grant to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of growing organic grain on small acreages using appropriately scaled harvesting equipment.
Pete Walmsley, Chair, Elected 2009
Background - Budget/Finance
Peter is a third generation Western Washington native, and he grew up in Seattle. Peter's grandparents were small farmers on Suice Creek north of Lake Meridian, and his wife Dixie's grandparents were small farmers near Mt. Vernon. Pete has a BS from California State, and an MBA from the University of Washington. Peter was formerly Chief Finance and Administration Officer for a large health insurance company, and President of a subsidiary HMO. He has been active in various volunteer organizations on Orcas Island for many years and served two terms as a Commissioner for the Port of Orcas. He is also an active Master Gardener for San Juan County WSU Extension. Pete is also the 2010 NW Area Association of Conservation Districts Supervisor of the Year!
Shannon Hoffman, Appointed 2011
Background - Stormwater
Shannon is dedicated to natural resource conservation. Shannon was elected in 2008. She has worked as a stormwater technician for San Juan County Public Works as well as Community Planning and Development. She now runs her own business as a stormwater consultant. She lives on Lopez Island.
Stephen Belluomini, Elected 2011
Background - Geology
Stephen is the Principal Geologist for SNR Company San Juan County office with responsibility for providing hydrogeology and engineering geology consulting. He serves on the SJC Stormwater Technical Advisory Committee. He serves as emergency response critical staff for the California Natural Resources Agency, and he also provides geotechnical support to the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Water Resources for the court-mandated San Joaquin River Restoration Program for salmon recovery and habitat restoration. He and his wife live in the West Valley on San Juan Island.
San Juan Islands Conservation District Associate Board Members
John Ryan, Agricultural Engineering, Lopez Island
Jerry Rasmussen, Civil Engineer, San Juan Island
Bill Humes, Warm Valley Farm, Orcas Island
Staff
Carol Maas, Office Manager
Elections, Financial and Public Records Officer
c {dot} maas {at} sanjuanislandscd {dot} org
Bruce Gregory, Natural Resources Planner
Farm and Forest Resource Planning
NRCS Hoophouse Coordinator
b {dot} gregory {at} sanjuanislandscd {dot} org
Bruce has been a resident of San Juan Island for over twenty years, and he and his wife, Colleen Howe, have owned and operated Mitchell Bay Farm & Nursery for eighteen years.
Bruce is a member of the Agricultural Resources Committee of San Juan County, the San Juan County Noxious Weed Control Board, is the secretary for the San Juan County Economic Development Council and is a member of the Island Grown Farmer’s Cooperative (a local non-profit livestock cooperative that helped create and build the first USDA inspected Mobile Slaughter Unit in the United States). He also serves as a board member of the Northwest Agricultural Business Center in Mt. Vernon, WA.
For the last several years, Bruce has participated in the VOCA/Winrock International Farmer-to-Farmer Program that provides agricultural advice to fruit growers in Kyrgyzstan. He has a bachelor’s degree from Idaho State University and is a USDA Certified farm plannner with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
D. N. Kinsey, ASLA, APA Natural Resources Planner
Low Impact Development and Green Infrastructure Planning
Certified Washington State Real Estate Instructor for Construction, Land Use and Ethics
d {dot} kinsey {at} sanjuanislandscd {dot} org
Danna is from the San Juan Islands. She grew up on a local cattle ranch, was a 4-H'er and a commercial fisherman in Puget Sound and Cook Inlet, Alaska.
She completed the masters degree program in Landscape Architecture at Cornell University and has her undergraduate degree in Regional Planning and History from the University of California, Davis. In 2009 she trained in Low Impact Development technologies (WSU/PSP). Her career includes working as a Resource Planner for the US National Park Service in Design, Planning and Construction, as a supervisory Park Ranger Naturalist for Grand Teton National Park and teaching at Cornell University. She is also a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, American Planning Association, Washington Native Plant Society, International Society of Arborculture and the Agricultural Resources Committee of San Juan County.
Tom Slocum, District Engineer
Tom is the Washington conservation districts’ Northwest Region engineer, providing licensed professional engineering services to San Juan Conservation District and its counterpart districts in Skagit, Whatcom, and Island counties. Tom’s background includes over twenty years of experience in the environmental field working with public agencies and consulting firms at the local, national, and international level. Tom is particularly interested in natural habitat restoration projects and has assisted individual landowners, non-profit organizations and public agencies in obtaining funding for, permitting, designing and managing construction of scores of such projects. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University, and a law degree from Seattle University.