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1. What is a Conservation Plan?

Conservation Plan recommends best management practices (BMP'S) to assist you, the landowner, to manage the objectives and goals you have for your natural resources. Best management practices protect our natural resources (wildlife and fish, animals, water, plants and soils), making your farm more cost effective, efficient and attractive.

Each Conservation Plan is tailored to an individual piece of property. Each piece of land has unique characteristics such as number of acres, soil type, and type of animals or crops raised. A Conservation Plan is developed to meet your needs whether your farm is 1 acre or 100 acres. The landowner's goals and objectives for the farm are taken into consideration when the plan is developed. Different alternatives are discussed with you to help you take advantage of opportunities to make better use of soil, water and plant resources, or to aid the fish and wildlife through habitat improvement.

A working and functional Conservation Plan is actually a constant evolving management plan developed with and for the land user. A Conservation Plan includes an inventory, site map, aerial photo, recommendations, and options. A Conservation Plan uses the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Best Management Practices to save you time and money in the protection and efficient use of your natural resources.

The key to the success of Conservation Planning is cooperation between the District and the land user.

2. How do I get a Conservation Plan?

Conservation Plans are available through the Pierce Conservation District (PCD) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The primary role of the Pierce Conservation District is to encourage, provide information, education and provide assistance to help landowners manage and use their natural resources wisely. The guiding philosophy of the Conservation District is that decisions on conservation problems should be made on the local level, by local people, with technical assistance provided by the available agencies.

When you request a Conservation Plan from PCD, your name is placed on a list. A PCD Resource Technician or a Conservationist from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will contact you to schedule an appointment with you at your farm. An inventory is taken of your farm and the available resources. This includes an inventory of the soils, plants and water resources, wildlife and fisheries habitat, available acreage for animal use, type and number of animals being raised, farm buildings and machinery, and how the farm is being managed.

3. What is included in my Conservation Plan?

Your Conservation Plan will be developed based on the inventory. The Conservation Plan will recommend changes to reduce the impact your farm has on water quality or other natural resources. It will discuss ways you also can increase productivity. Some recommendations in your plan could include pasture renovation, installation of gutters and downspouts on barns, stream fencing, the planting of native tree species along streams, creating sacrifice areas for livestock in the winter, cross fencing pastures and manure management.

After the Conservation Plan is developed, the PCD Resource Technician or the Conservationist from NRCS will review the plan and recommendations with you. You then decide when to implement the best management practices. The landowner may choose to schedule the implementation of all recommendations in one year, or spread the work out over several years. A record of decisions and an application schedule is developed based on the landowner's decisions. The plan is then finalized and the landowner is given a copy. As the goals or needs of the landowner change, revisions to the plan can be made to meet those needs by contacting the Pierce Conservation District. When you begin to implement your Conservation Plan, we can provide you with further technical assistance as the need arises.

4. What is the Agriculture Community of Interest?

The Agriculture Community of Interest (AgCOI) envisions a future in which healthy, safe, secure, and sustainable food production is inextricably linked to the economy and to the quality of life of the local community.

We are a community-based collaboration actively focused on supporting an economically-viable and environmentally-sustainable agricultural community in the Puyallup Watershed and greater Pierce County. Find out more at PWI.org