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.

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.

You can count on Pacific Northwest winters being cold, wet, dark, and windy. During many winters you can add snowy and icy to that description. For horse owners this usually means struggles such as slogging through mud to do chores with less time to ride or exercise horses. As it is with most everything, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

We celebrated I Love Lake" Day with the City of Lake Stevens at Lundeen Park this past weekend!

Sarah and Jeremy Vecchi worked with Snohomish Conservation District to implement a manure management system that protects water quality and transforms their horse manure into a valuable asset: compost!

If you explored nature as a child, you might remember those enormous metal pipes filled with ankle-deep, frigid water that cross beneath roadways. These pipes, called culverts, are still common along streams and creeks throughout Washington.

If you were a salmon traveling upstream, your chance of making it to your spawning bed hinges on many factors including the temperature and abundance of water. As a result, continuous streamside tree canopy and resident beavers are critical players in a salmon’s success. Trees shade and cool the water temperature, while beavers’ infrastructure supports consistent streamflow and helps create cool, deep pools. 

In addition to its three riparian buffers, Polestar Farm is home to upwards of 20 beaver dams, creating a wetland nested within the forest. The slowed water caused by a beaver dam helps keep horse waste and other pollutants from entering the stream quickly, and also recharges groundwater.