Comments to Washington Association of Conservation Districts
Theme: Expanding the Partnership
Remarks by Jeffrey Koenings, Ph.D., WDFW Director
December 3, 2002

It's certainly a pleasure to be here today, in part to get out of the continuing "fog" of Olympia and, as most people from the eastside tell me, getting out into the sunshine will clarify and refocus my thinking!

Thank you for the invitation and I certainly have long thought that the conservation districts and WDFW are partners.

We are partners in working together for the purpose of getting conservation on the ground!

How do we do that?

The first step is recognizing that the missions of WDFW and the conservation districts are very similar: protecting Washington's natural resources. Conservation districts implement and promote good land and livestock stewardship. WDFW protects, promotes and enhances fish and wildlife.

Specifically, WDFW is responsible for protecting Washington's fish and wildlife and making sure that the best available science to accomplish this task is available to everyone who has an interest in Washington's natural resources, including Washington's conservation districts.

Right now the challenges and opportunities presented to landowners for voluntary conservation of the natural resource values, on and near their land holdings, are tremendous. However, leadership will be necessary to spread the news of the conservation tools available and to implement the new regulations and programs for landowners.

This is critical because more than 50% of Washington is private property and in order for any of us to be successful protecting Washington's natural resources, private landowners have to be players. Conservation districts can be a very effective way for private landowners to get the information and other resources to help them be successful producers and stewards of our natural resources.

WDFW has a good relationship with conservation districts as we have been working together as partners for a long time. It has been through the districts that WDFW has been able to share our knowledge and science with landowners and producers.

The second step is recognizing we have different roles and responsibilities that compliment each other. We need to recognize the different expertise of each agency and use it to build practical solutions to mutual concerns.

One example of a successful partnership we have (and a model to duplicate elsewhere) is in the Palouse/Rock Creek Conservation District in Whitman County. For more than 10 years, we have had WDFW biologists working out of the Conservation District Office. These biologists provide fish and wildlife expertise, help landowners establish habitat on their lands and in conjunction with the districts, provide assistance on farm bill programs especially the Conservation Reserve Program. Having our biologists co-located with the conservation district provides one stop shopping for landowners in that area.

This great example is not just limited to Whitman County. In many areas of Washington we have staff that are working closely with conservation districts. We just hired a new biologist who will be located in the Lincoln County Conservation District office. They will be doing work similar to our staff in the Palouse/Rock Creek District.

After recognizing similar missions and different roles and responsibilities, the third step is to get the funding necessary to implement solutions. An example-a year and half ago we successfully applied for a Section 6 grant in the amount of $358,000 from the USFWS to help the Foster Creek Conservation District with development of an agricultural HCP for 19 species on over 1000 ownerships in Douglas County. I believe this is one of the only agricultural HCP's under development in the country. In addition, a lot of our staff has worked closely with the Foster Creek Conservation District, and many, many landowners on this HCP.

Another example, WDFW has an interagency personnel agreement with NRCS that provides a WDFW fish biologist in their state office in Spokane. This WDFW biologist provides valuable technical assistance to both NRCS and to the conservation districts. More agreements such as this can help provide a link between the conservation districts and WDFW in terms of bringing best available science into conservation planning and implementation.

All of these efforts have helped us establish approximately 1,300 habitat and public access agreements with private landowners primarily in eastern Washington.

The fourth step is to partner with landowners, understanding their needs and our role in being good neighbors. I recognize that the pressure on private landowners that still make their living from the land is great and not just to meet certain environmental standards but to keep from selling their property to survive. We need agricultural producers to stay in business and that is why we are strong advocates for providing financial incentives for farmers who create environmental benefits. As more people are forced to sell to survive, the ability to protect our natural resources will become even more difficult.

To recap: How do we work together to conserve our land and wildlife resources? By recognizing:

1. Similar missions: protect our natural resources from the ground to the critters;
2. That we should capitalize on our different roles and responsibilities by using each others expertise to solve mutual problems;
3. The need to obtain funding through unique venues open to each party to solve mutual concerns; and finally,
4. The critical role private landowners play in implementing conservation measures and provide incentives to make necessary changes.

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