Volunteer: Orca Recovery Day 2022

October 15, 9:30am-1:30pm at Remlinger Farms in Carnation

Join KCD for the fourth annual Orca Recovery Day. This day of caring volunteer event is an opportunity to help restore a section of the Langlois Creek by planting native trees and shrubs. Langlois Creek provides a home for coho salmon, and is accessible by chum, winter steelhead, bull trout and odd year pink salmon. 

This project is in cooperation with Remlinger Farms, King Conservation District, Snoqualmie Valley Watershed Improvement District, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. We thank Remlinger Farms for participating in making a healthy riparian habitat on their farm which leads to healthier salmon populations. This will, in turn, support our Southern Resident Orcas! Our event is just one of more than 40 events taking place across the Salish Sea in support of our Southern Resident Orca. 

Come and support this restoration project in your community!

Café Juanita owner/chef creates new fish refuge

Holly Smith, owner, and Executive Chef of Café Juanita, teamed up with the Adopt A Stream Foundation (AASF) and King Conservation District (KCD) to restore fish habitat at the lower end of Juanita Creek in Kirkland WA. See Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s database SalmonScape for a an interactive map that highlights stream systems across the state.

See a video of salmon (pic.twitter.com/12lpqo70Lj) in Juanita Creek as posted by @nicoleKIROFM @KIRONewsradio on 9/23/2022

Shore Friendly Workshops and Beach Walks

Want to know more about the unique location of your home and how to improve ecological function while supporting your needs? Join Shore Friendly King County for a Shore Friendly Workshop near you. Get insight on geology, ecology and vegetation management specific to your beach or bluff property.

• October 8 : Des Moines
• October 21 : West Seattle

Shore Friendly King County brings Shore Friendly tools and assistance to homeowners in King County. Collaborative members in include staff from King Conservation District, Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group, King County Water and Lands Resources Division, King County Vashon Maury Basin Steward, Water Resources Inventory Area WRIA 8 (Lake Washington), Water Resources Inventory Area - WRIA 9 (Green Duwamish and Central Puget Sound).

WaterWorks Grant Program Seeks Grant Ranking Committee Members

King County’s WaterWorks Grant Program is currently recruiting eight new members for the Grant Ranking Committee. This volunteer advisory group reviews, ranks, and recommends grant proposals for funding. Committee members are appointed by the King County Executive and King County Council. Over $2 million are awarded every two years for a variety of projects that improve water quality in the King County WTD service area. Committee applicants must reside in the King County Wastewater Treatment Division Service Area and have interest or experience in water quality issues. There are seven Council District representative and one Water Quality Technical Specialist appointments open. Appointment terms are for three years, and committee duties include attending meetings during grant review years and reading grant applications. For more information visit the recruitments page and scroll down for WaterWorks.

Send any questions or your completed application by October 31 to Elizabeth Loudon at 206-477-4297. For the Council District positions, you may also contact your Councilmember offices directly.

KCD Board of Supervisors

Are you interested in becoming a KCD Board Supervisor? KCD Board Supervisors help steer KCD and the conservation work we do. It is important to us that our board reflects the diversity of King County and its conservation needs. If you think that your voice can help KCD build clean water, healthy forests, and strong local food systems, consider applying to run in the 2023 Board Election. KCD will hold an election in early 2023 for position #3 on the Board of Supervisors. This is an elected position selected through a district-wide election. Candidate filing will happen in late 2022. Full details will be set by a board resolution expected in October.

WCC Member Recruitment

KCD WCC Crews are an essential part of our work enhancing riparian shorelines across King County - they're also a lot of fun! There's still time to join, If you're interested, or know someone who might be you have until the end of October to apply!

Our KCD restoration crew focuses on restoring rural shorelines, urban shorelines, and urban forests throughout the service term. Winter tasks include preparing and planting at new restoration sites, and summer tasks include maintaining new and old sites through invasive plant control, erosion control, and herbivory protection. And members get to experience a variety of other project types during the year, in addition to assisting at the KCD plant nursery.

Know someone ages 18 to 25, or folks with military service, ready to launch their career and serve their community? Please reach out to Justin LeMay (360)280-1086 jusl461@ecy.wa.gov.

WCC AmeriCorps Member Position Description (PDF)
WCC brochures in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF)

Forest Stewardship Technician Applications Being Accepted Now

In partnership with the Mt. Adams Institute (MAI), King Conservation District (KCD) will sponsor a VetsWork AmeriCorps Intern to serve as a Forest Stewardship Technician February 6, 2023 to December 15, 2023. The position is split between the urban and rural forest stewardship programs. The Intern will receive in-depth training on forest management principles and skills for assessing forest conditions.

Email the following application materials to Katie Schmidt:

• Resume
• Cover Letter (one page; one for each position)
• Three Professional References (former supervisors - military, civilian, or academic)
  Include - Name, Title, Relation to you, email and phone number.
• DD 214 – (with Honorable Discharge)
  • A “General Under Honorable” discharge will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Must be long form “Member 4 copy” (has 30 total boxes of information).

Learn to Grow Your Own Groceries!

No matter if you only have a tiny apartment deck, small garden space, or plenty of acreage you can grow fresh food in a healthier, more environmentally friendly way.

Join Snohomish Cooperative Extension starting October 12, 2022 for the first class in the Growing Groceries Education Series, classes designed to help you learn how to grow your own food.

All classes are online via Zoom on Wednesday evenings from 7:00pm – 9:00pm. Have to miss a class? No problem! A link to an online recording will be sent to everyone registered along with links to resources and more!

• October 12 : Starting a Vegetable Garden
• November 9 : Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants
• December 7 : Raising the Onion and Beet Families
• January 11 : Irrigation and Weed Management
• January 18 : Pruning Fruit Trees
• January 25 : Pea/Bean Family and Cover Cropping
• February 1 : Raising Berries in Western Washington
• February 8 : Seed Starting and Raising Transplants
• February 15 : Raising Broccoli and Buckwheat Families
• February 22 : Raising the Tomato/Potato Family
• March 1 : Using Hoop Houses and Greenhouse
• March 8 : Raising the Cucumber/Squash Family
• March 15 : Raising Carrot, Lettuce, and Corn Families
• March 22 : Raising Culinary and Tea Herbs
• March 29 : Pests, Predators and Pollinators

With an overall focus on limited space/resources, and the combined challenges of western Washington weather and soils, this series of speakers and topics will help beginners and long time gardeners, learn more about growing food using healthy and sustainable practices. Take all 15 Growing Groceries classes for $50 or take the classes you want at $5 per class.

Sponsored by WSU Snohomish County Extension Growing Groceries and Master Gardener programs. For more information, contact kate.ryan@wsu.edu, 425-357-6024.

Discovery Farms® Steering Committee Seeks Members

Do you manage livestock manure? Are you interested in learning about and promoting farm best management practices?

Consider joining a steering committee of local farmers for Washington Discovery Farms® Dry Manure Storage Research Project. This project evaluates the effectiveness of different dry manure storage management options at protecting surface and groundwater resources. KCD is looking for local livestock managers to help us ensure the information gathered during this project is both useful and accessible to farmers managing manure.

Steering committee members will meet approximately three times a year over the two-year project timeline to provide valuable feedback and guidance on research, education and outreach. Participants manage livestock manure (cattle, pigs, sheep, horses etc.), live in King County and should be willing to participate for the duration of the study.

If interested please respond to laura.redmond@kingcd.org or call 425-773-9189.