Conservation District brings Bennett on as coordinator

Wahkiakum Conservation District (WCD) Voluntary Stewardship Program Coordinator Brooke Bennett, having grown up in Oregon, "loves rivers and being on the water." With WCD's mission being "protect and improve natural resources, guide resource development, and provide the highest quality of life for present and future citizens," the entity "offers technical and financial assistance to farmers and landowners in Wahkiakum County," according to Bennett. Having studied ecological engineering at Oregon State University, Bennett eventually moved to Wahkiakum County because she "wanted to start farming" and "enjoys growing vegetables and raising animals" in her spare time. With the Wahkiakum County commissioners voting to opt in the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP), additional state funding dollars were brought in to support WCD in running the program, according to Bennett. The coordinator position was then made available and she applied. "On top of managing VSP, I offered the district the additional benefit of having an engineer on staff for in-house design services," said Bennett. "My experience closely aligns with the types of projects WCD works on, such as streambank stabilization, fish habitat, riparian enhancement, and flood management."

Having "worked on projects all over Oregon and Washington" in her previous role, Bennett, considering the potential of working for WCD, "thought about how impactful it would be that her day to day work would be within the community that she lives in" and that she "could drive around and see projects" she's worked on. "Doing all the behind-the-scenes engineering work is fun and interesting to me; but, at the end of the day, there's a difference between creating your plan set and then sending it off to a client versus creating a plan set and knowing the landowner, handing it off to them, and hearing their direct feedback," said Bennett. "It'll be a lot more involved."

According to Bennett, the VSP focuses on critical areas and agricultural (Ag) plans, specifically ensuring Ag viability. "The conservation district itself is non-regulatory," said Bennett. "I would describe it almost as a meeting ground for all of the landowners. We're able to connect them with projects and funding and kind of be an in between with state organizations like fish and wildlife (WDFW)...I think a lot of conservation district projects that have already happened in the county are going to be incredibly similar to projects in the future I'll be working on actively."

Among Bennett's future responsibilities will be "getting out into the field, getting to go to construction sites, doing site tours with landowners, checking out potential products, and doing a lot of prep work to get the voluntary stewardship program launched in the county." Bennett said, "I was pretty excited to lock into a few watersheds and really focus on them and know them super well and keep building that knowledge over time." Currently, Bennett is "doing a lot of prep work to get the voluntary stewardship program launched in the county" and "working on planning public information meetings for the spring."

For more information on VSP, visit scc.wa.gov/districts/wahkiakum-conservation-district.