The Snohomish Conservation District is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of the Sound Steward Awards. These outstanding individuals and organizations are leading the way in conservation, demonstrating passion, innovation, and a deep commitment to protecting our natural resources. We celebrate their efforts and hope their stories spark inspiration for positive change in your own corner of the world.

Imagine that with every heavy rain, as runoff pours into the valleys from the uplands and rivers begin to rise, you had to calculate whether you could get home in time to move your animals to safety. Until recently, this was Michelle Canfield’s reality each winter, with her sheep pastured in the Snohomish floodplain.

Snohomish Conservation District’s Youth Education Team has been hard at work delivering Wheat Week educational curriculum to students throughout Snohomish County and Camano Island. This series of five lessons is available free of charge to 4th and 5th grade classes and focuses on the relationships between resource conservation and agriculture in Washington state.

Woods Creek is one of the highest priority watersheds for salmon recovery in Snohomish County, but salmon runs have been declining. High water temperatures, lots of fine sediment, and a lack of large woody debris in the creek are threatening the salmon populations.

In a world where we rely on supermarkets to supply our food and regularly eat produce from around the world, it can be easy to feel disconnected from our local food systems. Our Farm to School program aims to reintegrate students, teachers, and families into our local food systems by teaching them about nutrition, local produce, and gardening.

If you're a farmer looking to transition to low or no-till practices, the cost of new equipment can be a major hurdle. At Snohomish Conservation District, one of our goals is to help farmers overcome these kinds of challenges.

If you drive eastbound along Hwy 530 to Arlington, you’ll pass Andrew’s Hay and Farm Store, owned and operated by Andrew Albert. Andrew grew up in the area and spent his high school summers practicing farming. 

On Saturday, April 26, twelve committed seniors from Monroe High School gathered at the restoration site adjacent to Rotary Field in Sky River Park, eager to make a difference. For three hours on a beautiful spring day, these students rolled up their sleeves to plant Nootka rose and red-flowering currant, manage invasive species, and distribute wildflower seeds across the site.

Waterproof waders. Neoprene boots. White and yellow hard hats. Sturdy gloves. These are some of the items you might see our Washington Conservation Corps members wearing as they support the District’s restoration programs.

We celebrated our 40th Annual Plant Sale in early March with over 40,000 plants sold! We welcomed over 1,200 visitors who came to pick up their pre-ordered plants and shop at our walk-up sale.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a masterpiece to the 8th Annual Youth Art Contest for the theme “Native Flowers!”

In December 2024, Snohomish Conservation District partnered with Puget Sound Conservation Districts, Department of Ecology, Conservation Commission, and Bonneville Environmental Foundation to host a workshop focused on restoration practices that encourage a more resilient ecosystem in the face of a changing climate.

If you’ve driven along Old Snohomish Monroe Road, you may have noticed Canfield Farms, a picturesque sheep farm perched on a steep slope. These acres in the floodplain provide fertile ground for crops and pastures; however, over the past several years they have become more frequently inundated with water during periods of heavy rain.

This position will help develop culturally appropriate outreach to increase awareness and participation in free natural resource programs for Snohomish Latino Farmers. They will help identify linguistic and cultural barriers, ensuring that natural resource conservation programs are accessible to farmers and historically underserved populations. The Cultural Ambassador will work with Snohomish Conservation District staff for 10 - 12 months.

The Snohomish Conservation District (SCD) is excited to launch the Equity in Conservation program. This program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Equity in Conservation program will help support our efforts to engage with Latino and Spanish-speaking farmers and agricultural workers in Snohomish County and Camano Island. 

Indigenous Educator, Lindsey Crofoot, enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska from the Xutznoowu tribe, Deisheetaan clan and Colville Okanogan descendant, had a direct tie to the land from an early age. However, the many hours she spent in the forest and on the water hunting and fishing with her father didn’t fit the commonly romanticized stereotype. Instead, Lindsey’s experience was emblematic of a painful reality for many Indigenous people. 

October was Urban and Community Forest Month! To celebrate, Snohomish Conservation District and the City of Marysville hosted a tree-planting ceremony at Comeford Park on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

On Saturday, October 19, we celebrated Orca Recovery Day at beautiful Skykomish River Park. Volunteers of all ages put in the work to install over 75 native plants at the park. These trees and shrubs will help filter stormwater and improve the water quality of the nearby Skykomish River.

Our Southern Resident orcas survive primarily on one food source: Chinook salmon. When we think about protecting the health of orcas, one of the most important factors is keeping this food source plentiful for them. Unfortunately, Chinook populations have diminished greatly since the 20th century, leaving Southern Resident orcas searching for food.

Wild, thorny, and reaching, native Gooseberries harken the promise of life in early spring to birds and insects. Commercial Gooseberries offer the same with early clusters of intricate flowers enticing the bees out of hibernation. In summer, translucent lanterns of fruit offer complex flavors in the field and in the kitchen. 

In the not too distant past, indigenous people cultivated openings within surrounding forests. They fostered dappled canopies of fruit and nut trees, sun-loving and shade-tolerant shrubs rich with berries, and medicinal and edible plants, roots, and fungi.

Beavers can construct dams that can flood yards and homes, block culverts, and damage trees as they forage for food and building supplies. Yet despite these challenges, there are many ways for property owners to peacefully coexist with beavers and benefit from their presence. 

The life cycle success of a salmon depends directly on the water quality of our streams and rivers. They thrive in cold, clean, and clear water. However, in locations along French Creek, which feeds into the Snohomish River, the water is often warmer than it should be for salmon and other fish, particularly during the summer. 

This summer, Snohomish Conservation District’s Science Station returned to Camano Island! With help from Washington State Parks, we were able to move our Conservation Station from its old home by the gas pump at Cama Beach to the serene shores of Camano Island State Park.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a new grant award aimed at supporting climate resiliency projects in Washington State, funded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is recommending over $200 million in funding for 32 transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects this year, as well as an additional $66 million in funding in future years.

What does six-foot tall rye mean to you? For Vince Caruso of Caruso Farms, it means experimenting with cover crops.