Native Plant Sale 2011 Pre-Order Today

2011 NATIVE PLANT SALE
ORDER FORM AVAILABLE
A minimum purchase of $25 and a $25 deposit is required for all orders.

Plants are bare‐root or plugs, 1‐2 years old and from 6‐36” in height, sold in bundles of 5 plants, unless noted.
Plants are conservation stock, not nursery stock and some plant loss should be expected.
Pick‐up is Saturday February 26th from 9‐12 at the Orcas Island Grange or on Lopez at Sunset Builders

Quantities Limited! Order by Feb. 1st for pick‐up Sat. Feb. 26th 2011
Sponsored by WSU Master Gardeners, WSU Extension & San Juan Islands Conservation District

Special Assessment Renewal


DATE: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
TIME: 10:45 am
LOCATION: San Juan County Council Chambers 55 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA

ABOUT: Public Hearing regarding the San Juan Islands Conservation District's request to renew Special Assessment funding of $5/parcel for 10 years commencing January 2011.
Public Hearing:Special Assessment Renewal Request
j.byington@sanjuanislandscd.org or visitwww.sanjuanislandscd.org
FRIDAY HARBOR, Washington, Aug. 22, 2010 -- San Juan County Council will hold a public hearing at the Council Chambers in Friday Harbor on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 10:45 am to consider a request from the San Juan Islands Conservation District for renewal of a $5/parcel special assessment for 10 years to support activities and programs to conserve natural resources in the San Juan Islands and thereby benefit all county residents.

Revenue collected from the special assessment would total approximately $73,000 per year. The Conservation District proposes to use the special assessment to fund farm and forest planning, low impact development technical assistance, a local cost-share initiative, education and outreach activities, and operations overhead. With a steady source of funding, the Conservation District will be able to use the special assessment to leverage other grants from federal and state sources to continue other work.

The San Juan Islands Conservation District has operated in San Juan County since 1964, after consolidation of the San Juan, Lopez and Orcas Soil Conservation Districts which were established in 1947 under a federal directive. In Washington state there are 47 conservation districts. The Conservation District is not a part of county government; it is a special-purpose district. Chapter 89.08 of the Revised Code of Washington allows for a special assessment to fund conservation district activities.

The Conservation District is led by three elected and two appointed volunteer supervisors who each serve 3-year terms. They are local people with expertise in farming, forestry, water resources, environmental remediation, and natural resources conservation.

The Conservation District works with any landowner who chooses to work with the District  to identify conservation concerns and problems and to implement voluntary solutions. All services are free.

Since 2006, the SJI Conservation District received special assessment funding of $5/parcel. That 5-year term expires in December, 2010, and a renewal request was submitted to San Juan County Council in July.

For more information, contact Josie Byington, SJICD Office Manager at 360-378-6621 or

Representative Jeff Morris to speak about Renewable Energy at the San Juan County Fair

Representative Jeff Morris will speak about Renewable Energy at the San Juan County Fair.
Wednesday, Aug. 18th
3:00 pm Renewable Energy and Agriculture Ag Tent
4:00 pm Renewable Energy for San Juan County and Washington State Sustainable Green Tent

Deadline for popular conservation cost-share program set for Friday, August 13, 2010

Deadline for popular conservation cost-share program set for Friday, August 13, 2010

 SPOKANE, Wash. (June 21, 2010) – Agricultural producers have until August 13 to apply for financial and technical assistance through Washington’s most popular conservation program, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced today. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary, technical and financial assistance program designed to help farmers improve irrigation efficiency; manage nutrient run-off and/or animal waste; improve the health of native plant communities; and reduce soil loss. In most instances, producers who participate in the program pay for roughly half of the costs of the conservation measures or practices. Read more on how to apply...

San Juan County Soils Presentation San Juan County Fair Public Presentation, Thursday, August 19th at 11:00 am

San Juan County Soils Presentation

San Juan County Fair Public Presentation, Thursday, August 19th at 2:30 pm
Friday Harbor Fairgrounds

Presenter:
Chuck Natsuhara, Soil Scientist, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Topics: How the Soil Survey update was created and changes from the 1962 Soil survey maps.

Presented by: The San Juan Islands Conservation District in cooperation with The United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Green Certified School

Green Certification for Schools

A program that evaluates school operation, use and type of products with a goal of promoting environmental consciousness and to safeguard the health of the children.

For more information contact the Green Schools League at 813.317.0383 or at
www.greenconsultingfirm.com

Public Hearing: JUNE 8th at 10:00 AM

Please join us for a Public Hearing on TUESDAY, JUNE 8th, 2010, 10:00 AM regarding the request by the San Juan Islands Conservation District for renewal of parcel assessment.

Location: The San Juan Island Grange (152 First Street N, Friday Harbor).

Call for more information, (360) 378-6621

San Juan Islands Conservation District Supervisor Election Results (5/20/10)

The Washington State Conservation Commission governing board voted on Thursday, May 20, 2010, to certify elections. All “supervisor-elect” candidates became officially elected supervisors on May 20, 2010. Information on appointments will follow. The unofficial tally in the San Juan Islands Conservation District election for the Board of Supervisors was Henning Sehmsdorf: 262 votes, Ed Kilduff: 229 votes.

The San Juan Islands Conservation District Board of Supervisors is comprised of three elected positions and two appointed positions. Each supervisor serves a 3-year term.

For published elections procedures and further information visit the Washington State Conservation Commission web site at 
http://www.scc.wa.gov/
 
For more information contact the Elections Officer at (360) 378-6621

Thank you to all the voters who participated in our annual Conservation District Election

Thank you for taking the time to vote in our annual San Juan Islands Conservation District Election- either by mail-in ballot or in-person at our polling station today!

Mail-in voting has been underway since 3/8/2010. To be valid, mail-in ballots must be postmarked 3/16/2010 at the latest.

Poll site voting occurred on 3/16/2010, from 10am to 2pm, at the SJI Conservation District office at 540 Guard Street, #150, Friday Harbor.

We counted ballots on 3/16/2010, starting at 6pm, in the conference room in 540 Guard Street, Friday Harbor. A count of the last mail-in ballots will occur 3/22/2010 at 1pm in the same location, and we will announce the final results following that.

Observers are permitted during poll site voting and counting. Due to the size of the conference room, we will limit the number of observers in the room at one time to 10 people.

The San Juan Islands Conservation District is a local organization committed to protecting and enhancing the natural resources of San Juan County ecosystems for the future of us all. Your Conservation District is dedicated to providing natural resources education, information, and technical assistance free of charge to citizens of, and organizations, in San Juan County. Services offered by the San Juan Islands Conservation District include: water quality monitoring, habitat preservation, farm & forest plans, and low impact development.

FREE Soils Workshops-San Juan County Soil Survey by USDA-NRCS

Dates:
Public Presentation, April 6th, 7:30 pm
San Juan Island Public Library Meeting Room, 1010 Guard St, Friday Harbor

San Juan County, Junior Districts, Researchers, April 7
th, 9-11:00 am Council Chambers, Legislative Building, 55 Second St, Friday Harbor

Discover your Soils with Regional Soil Scientists:
Chuck Natsuhara, Soil Scientist
USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service, Puyallup WA

Erik Dahlke, Soil Survey Office Leader,
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Olympia WA

Topics:
How the Soil Survey update was created and changes from the 1962 soil maps.

Available data, how to access it and answers to your soil questions.

Plus a FREE USDA-NRCS Soil Survey CD and Demonstration. 

Presented by: The San Juan Islands Conservation District in cooperation with The United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service

FREE Composting Workshops for the San Juan Islands-March 2010

The SJC Public Works Dept, WSU Extension and the San Juan Islands Conservation District sponsors free composting workshops annually in the early spring on Orcas, San Juan and Lopez Islands with funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

SATURDAY, MARCH 13th 9:00am to 11:30am, LOPEZ ISLAND Elementary School

SATURDAY, MARCH 13
th 1:15pm to 3:45pm, ORCAS ISLAND Senior Center

SUNDAY, MARCH 28
th, 1:00pm to 4:00pm, SAN JUAN ISLAND Mullis Senior Ctr

Contact San Juan County Public Works Solid Waste Division at 360.370-0503 for more information.

State Bioenergy Primer tackles energy, environmental and climate challenges

This Primer explores was to tackle energy and climate change challenges.
Use of biomass resources to develop bioenergy: bioheat, biopower, biofuels and bioproducts
www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/documents/bioenergy.pdf