Programs for Agricultural & Farm Land
Conservation Planning and Assistance
Receive planning services and one-on-one site visits to improve your ag property.
Thurston Conservation District
Thurston Conservation District can help individuals by providing no-cost expert recommendations to enhance habitat! We provide community resources, planning services and one-on-one site visits, along with support to apply for cost-share funding assistance to put projects on the ground! TCD staff help with projects that range from conservation, agricultural practices, and habitat restoration projects to educational initiatives.
Contact: tcdadmin@thurstoncd.com 350-754-3588
Emergency Conservation Program
Receive funds to improve your ag land after a natural disaster, like flood or drought.
Farm Service Agency
This program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to restore farmland damaged by natural disasters and for emergency water conservation measures in severe droughts.
Contact: Kaitlin Davies / / kaitlin.davies@wa.usda.gov
Farmable Wetlands Program
Get help improving wetlands on your ag property.
Farm Service Agency
The Farmable Wetlands Program (FWP) is designed to restore wetlands and wetland buffer zones that are farmed. FWP gives farmers and ranchers annual rental payments in return for restoring wetlands and establishing plant cover.
Contact: Kaitlin Davies / / kaitlin.davies@wa.usda.gov
Thurston Conservation District Cost-share Funding
Get help applying for funding to improve and enhance your ag property.
Thurston Conservation District
TCD helps community members apply for cost share funding through a variety of local, state and federal sources to put conservation projects on the ground as a component of our ongoing conservation assistance relationship.
Contact: tcdadmin@thurstoncd.com 360-754-3588
CTA-Conservation Technical Assistance
Receive guidance solving resource concerns affecting your ag property.
Natural Resource Conservation Service
This program provides free technical assistance to farmers, foresters, and ranchers looking to solve an environmental resource concern affecting their land. While no cost-share is associated with this program, it can be a great place to start if you have a riparian area at your farm / ranch / forest that you are wondering how to restore.
Contact: Tara Donohoe / / Tara.Donohoe@usda.gov 360-704-7752
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
Get paid to fix water problems on ag lands, like fencing livestock out of streams.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
EQIP reimburses program participants for treating natural resource concerns on their agricultural property. There is no size limit for participation nor do you need to be the owner of the property. As long as the land is part of your crop, forest, or livestock operation and you have a lease giving you control, you may apply for assistance. Correcting fish passage barriers (e.g. failing culverts or bridges sagging into the creek), fencing livestock out of streams and providing alternative watering sources, and riparian buffer planting are some of the activities this program can provide cost reimbursement for.
Contact: Tara Donohoe / / Tara.Donohoe@usda.gov 360-704-7752
Open Space Tax Program
Receive a reduction on your property taxes in exchange for maintaining your rural property.
Thurston County
Owners of five specific classifications of properties may apply for a reduction of their County property taxes in exchange for maintaining their land in a rural, undeveloped state. The Community Planning department processes the applications for two types of classifications, designated forest land and open space (farm and agriculture, timberland). The Thurston County Assessor’s Office handles the application process for the agriculture, farm, and forest land classifications. The tax determination decision for every application is made by the Assessor’s Office.
Contact: Andrew Deffobis / / andrew.deffobis@co.thurston.wa.us 360-786-5467
VSP- Voluntary Stewardship Program
Receive a site-specific stewardship plan for your ag property.
Thurston Conservation District
The Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) is an alternative approach for counties in Washington State to protect and voluntarily enhance environmentally critical areas while maintaining and improving the long-term viability of local agriculture. Instead of enacting further critical areas regulation for agricultural activities, the VSP allows a technical assistance provider to work with agricultural operators to develop voluntary, site-specific stewardship plans. The Thurston Conservation District is the technical service provider for Thurston County.
Contact: Marguerite Abplanalp / / mabplanalp@thurstoncd.com 360-754-3588
Programs for All Land Types
Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force
This program works in the Chehalis River Basin to improve salmon habitat.
Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force
The mission of Chehalis Basin Fisheries Taskforce (CBFTF) is to produce salmon for sport and commercial fisheries; enhance steelhead and searun cutthroat trout resources; and restore, enhance, and protect stream habitat critical to these anadromous species. CBFTF is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing salmonid populations for citizens and communities in the Chehalis River Basin.
Contact: cbftf@reachone.com 360-482-2347
CTA-Conservation Technical Assistance
Receive guidance solving resource concerns affecting your property.
Natural Resource Conservation Service
This program provides free technical assistance to farmers, foresters, and ranchers looking to solve an environmental resource concern affecting their land. While no cost-share is associated with this program, it can be a great place to start if you have a riparian area at your farm / ranch / forest that you are wondering how to restore.
Contact: Tara Donohoe / / Tara.Donohoe@usda.gov 360-704-7752
Family Forest Fish Passage Program
Get funds to replace culverts on your forestland property.
Washington Department of Natural Resources
The Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP) assists private forestland owners in removing culverts and other stream crossing structures that keep trout, salmon, and other fish from reaching upstream habitat. Road culverts and other structures that are aging, too small, or improperly installed can block fish from reaching their spawning grounds, and young rearing salmon from reaching the ocean. The program funds the replacement of eligible barriers with new structures.
Contact: Laurie Cox / / laurie.cox@dnr.wa.gov 360-902-1404
Forest Stewardship Program
Receive guidance and funds to improve forest health on your property.
Washington Department of Natural Resources
The Forest Stewardship Program helps forest landowners evaluate and improve forest health, reduce threats from wildfire, insects, disease and invasive vegetation, improve fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, aesthetics and recreational potential, increase tree growth and economic productivity from timber and other forest products and qualify for financial incentives and recognition programs. Provides onsite consultation for forest landowners by a stewardship forester and/or stewardship wildlife biologist.
Contact: Matthew Provencher / / matt.provencher@dnr.wa.gov 360-819-7143
Salmon Recovery Grants
Get paid to improve streams on your property.
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office
This program provides grants to restore degraded salmon habitat and protect existing, high-quality habitat.
Contact: Josh Lambert / / josh.lambert@rco.wa.gov 360-867-8781
South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group
Get funds to replace a culvert or clean-up a river or marine shoreline.
South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group
SPSSEG works with willing landowners to plan and implement shoreline (river and marine) restoration projects ranging from culvert replacement, bulkhead removal and riparian restoration.
Contact: Jerilyn Walley / / jerilynw@spsseg.org 360-412-0808
The Confederate Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation Environmental Program
This program manages natural resource on and off the reservation, for the people of the Chehalis Tribes.
The Confederate Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation
The Environmental Program effectively manage the physical and cultural qualities of the air, water, earth, plants and wildlife, both on and off reservation, for the people of the Chehalis Tribes.
Contact: cdnr@chehalistribe.org 360-273-5811
Conservation Planning and Assistance
Receive planning services and one-on-one site visits to improve your property.
Thurston Conservation District
Thurston Conservation District can help individuals by providing no-cost expert recommendations to enhance habitat! We provide community resources, planning services and one-on-one site visits, along with support to apply for cost-share funding assistance to put projects on the ground! TCD staff help with projects that range from conservation, agricultural practices, and habitat restoration projects to educational initiatives.
Contact: tcdadmin@thurstoncd.com 350-754-3588
Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program
Partner with local agencies to receive funds and guidance to improve shorelines on your property
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office
The program provides funding and technical assistance to organizations working to restore shoreline and nearshore habitats critical to salmon and other species in Puget Sound. Private landowners are not eligible but can partner with local, state, and federal agencies; tribes; conservation districts; nonprofits; and colleges to conserve their land.
Contact: Josh Lambert / / josh.lambert@rco.wa.gov 360-867-8781
Floodplains by Design
Partner with local organizations and receive funds to improve water on your property.
Washington Department of Ecology
Our Floodplain Management Division administers the FbD grant program under a biennial funding cycle. We award these grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for collaborative and innovative projects throughout Washington. Projects must support the integration of flood hazard reduction with ecological preservation and restoration, but may also support other community needs, provided they are part of a larger strategy.
Contact: Scott Mckinney / / smck461@ecy.wa.gov 360-407-6131
Nisqually Indian Tribe Natural Resources
This program manages natural resources in the Nisqually watershed.
Nisqually Indian Tribe
The Nisqually people have traditionally lived off the land and rivers, sustaining our civilization through the respect and protection of our natural ecosystem. The Nisqually Department of Natural Resources maintains these pristine native lands and waterways important to the survival of fish, plants and wildlife, and in turn our cultural heritage. Natural Resource Programs include: Salmon Recovery Program, Salmon Enhancement, Environmental Management, GIS, Harvest Management Program, and Shellfish Management Program.
Contact: David Troutt / / troutt.david@nisqually-nsn.gov 360-456-5221
Shore Friendly Thurston
Receive funds and guidance to improve your marine shoreline.
Thurston Conservation District
Thurston Conservation District’s Shore Friendly Thurston program is designed to connect waterfront residents of Thurston County with the technical support and resources to make informed, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly decisions about their shorelines. We offer free, non-regulatory site visits and assessments to help you identify problems or opportunities specific to your stretch of the shoreline. Our goal is to give you the tools to make the most cost effective, safe, and environmentally friendly decisions for your shoreline.
Contact: Karin Strelioff / / karin@thurstoncd.com 360-754-3588
Squaxin Island Tribe Natural Resources
This program manages natural resources to protect, restore, and enhance fish, shellfish and wildlife resources that benefit the Tribe.
Squaxin Island Tribe
The Squaxin Island Tribe is a historic steward and a conscientious co-manager and protector of natural resources, working in cooperation with numerous federal, state and county government agencies and organizations. Learn more here.
Contact: 360-426-9781
Water Type Classification Surveys
Contract Wild Fish Conservancy to perform water type classifications on your property.
Wild Fish Conservancy
The non-profit Wild Fish Conservancy is available to be contracted to perform water type classifications for landowners. Water type classifications are used to determine protective stream buffer widths that are required by critical areas ordinances. The state-sanctioned process of water typing is described in WAC 222-16-031.
Contact: Jamie Glasgow / / jamie@wildfishconservancy.org 206-310-9302
Conservation Easements and Land Preservation Programs
Permanent Conservation Easement Programs
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Wetland Reserve Easement (ACEP-WRE)
Get paid to improve agriculturally degraded wetlands on your property.
Natural Resource Conservation Service
This program can provide large-scale restoration of agriculturally-degraded wetlands in exchange for development rights. To be eligible, the property must contain a degraded wetland and be part of your agricultural operation (crop, forest, or livestock). NRCS pays for the restoration of the wetland in exchange for extinguishing both the development rights and the farmer’s agricultural production in that location. If you have 40+ acres of land that are wet or flooded for most of the year that you no longer want to farm, and you enjoy quietly observing the wildlife a wetland attracts, then this is the program for you!
Contact: Tara Donohoe / /Tara.Donohoe@usda.gov 360-704-7752
Conservation Easements with Private Landowners
Get paid to protect your property within the Chehalis River Basin.
Chehalis River Basin Land Trust
We welcome talking with property owners who wish to conserve their ‘special places’. Today, we work hard to conserve and protect over 4,500 acres in the Chehalis River basin. This work is not free and we need your help financially to make it happen, but there are several ways to make that happen. Easements are a legal document, filed with the county, and are perpetual. This document is an agreement between the landowner and the Trust; it can take years to reach agreement and sometimes never happens. Contact us to start the process.
Contact: office@chehalislandtrust.org
Forestry Riparian Easement Program
Get paid for leaving timber stands on your property.
Washington Department of Natural Resources
The Forestry Riparian Easement Program (FREP) is a voluntary program that reimburses landowners for the value of the trees they are required to leave to protect fish habitat. The program provides compensation for a minimum of 50 percent of the timber value and applies to trees adjacent to streams, wetlands, seeps, or unstable slopes.
Contact: Tami Miketa / / tami.miketa@dnr.wa.gov 360-902-1415
Washington Water Trust
Get paid to protect and improve stream flows on your property.
Washington Water Trust
We lease and buy water from water rights holder, temporarily or permanently to leave instream, to improve and protect flows, especially during periods that are critical to the survival of imperiled salmon and steelhead. At the right time, at the right place, even just a small amount of water left instream can have an immensely positive impact.
Contact: Jason Hatch / / jason@washingtonwatertrust.org
Conservation Easements
Get paid to improve and protect your property.
Capitol Land Trust
We work with landowners who are interested in discussing the possibility of placing a conservation easement on their property. We hold conservation easements on working lands (farms, dairies, timberlands).
Contact: Laurence Reeves / / Laurence@capitollandtrust.org 360-943-3012
Conservation Futures Program
Get paid to sell developing rights for your property.
Thurston County
Conservation Futures is a land preservation program that allows landowners to sell property or future development rights to a qualified conservation organization such as a land trust, which buys them with funds provided by Thurston County government.
Contact: Andrew Deffobis / / andrew.deffobis@co.thurston.wa.us 360-786-5467
Shoreline and Riparian Conservation Easements
Get paid to protect fish and wildlife habitats on your property.
Nisqually Land Trust
This program is for shoreline landowners interested in permanently protecting fish and wildlife habitats on their property. Conservation easements are voluntary, legally-binding agreements made with private landowners that protect specific conservation values on their property. Each conservation easement is unique and is crafted to address the conservation goals of the landowner. The Nisqually Land Trust’s service area is the Nisqually River Watershed and the shorelines surrounding the Nisqually Aquatic Reserve.
Contact: Kim Bredensteiner / / nltsteward@nisquallylandtrust.org 360-489-3400
Non-Permanent Conservation Easement Programs
CREP: Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
Get paid to improve salmon habitat on your property.
Thurston Conservation District
CREP is a partnership between the state and federal governments that was created to restore and protect critical fish habitat. Administered by the Farm Service Agency, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a voluntary program designed to benefit both farms and fish. The program compensates farmers for creating a healthy riparian corridor in streamside areas of their property.
Contact: Sasha Porter / / sporter@thurstoncd.com 360-754-3588
Washington Water Trust
Get paid to protect and improve stream flows on your property.
Washington Water Trust
We lease and buy water from water rights holder, temporarily or permanently to leave instream, to improve and protect flows, especially during periods that are critical to the survival of imperiled salmon and steelhead. At the right time, at the right place, even just a small amount of water left instream can have an immensely positive impact.
Contact: Jason Hatch / / jason@washingtonwatertrust.org