The Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) supports collaboration with agricultural landowners to practice farm-friendly options for protecting some of our more fragile natural resources — or “critical areas” — in places where agricultural activity is practiced.
Rather than leading with regulations and enforcement, VSP uses financial incentives to voluntarily engage agricultural landowners with actions that protect critical areas and plan for the successful future of their agricultural practices.
VSP is a statewide program and is enacted county by county. Thurston Conservation District is the technical service provider for Thurston County.
What are Critical Areas?
- Fish & wildlife habitat conservation areas
- Wetlands & wetland buffers
- Frequently flooded areas
- Geologic hazard areas (including steep slopes)
- Critical aquifer recharge areas
Why Participate?
- Gain a better understanding of the critical areas on your land and how to work with them to improve efficiencies, see higher yields, and increase production
- Flexible – allows farmers, ranchers, gardeners and livestock owners to manage in a way that meets their needs
- Focuses on results rather than regulations. Proactively be a good steward of your land for generations to come
- Highlights the role agriculture plays in the stewardship of our natural resources
- Protect your farm from violations and regulation
- Active participation in the VSP opens landowners up to potential cost share opportunities
- A successful Voluntary Stewardship Program supports a voluntary approach to land stewardship for all Thurston County residents. Success is dependent upon landowner participation.
What Technical Assistance Will be Offered?
Thurston Conservation District is the primary provider that helps landowners develop Individual Stewardship Plans (ISP) under the VSP. These plans are free, site-specific and tailored to individual operations to help identify conservation practices that can be implemented on the ground to both support natural resources and their agricultural goals.
Participating landowners collaborate with Thurston CD staff to develop an action plan. This process is collaborative and site-specific throughout. Free educational opportunities offered by the Conservation District also serve as a companion to individual’s plans.
Participation in the VSP also opens landowners up to potential cost share opportunities.
What will be Recommended for my property?
Technical staff will recommend agricultural activities and conservation practice options based on Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation planning procedures. These include such things as cover cropping, exclusion fencing, integrated pest management, or prescribed grazing. Plans and recommendations are adapted to each operation individually.
Getting Started
Fill out the intake survey embedded below. A Thurston Conservation District staff person will be in touch to begin planning services.
Please note, private landowner information is not shared with Thurston County or others. Program data is aggregated at a watershed level and anonymized before being reported or shared. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.
Check out Thurston CD’s podcast Conservation Starters.
Listen to the episode below and learn more about the Voluntary Stewardship Program on a local and state level.
Program Testimonial
Keith, a VSP participant in Rochester, shared the tangible impact of the projects that have resulted from his engagement with VSP and the Thurston Conservation District:
“A lot of my neighbors are unaware of how easily the river could change its path during a big flood. The additional tree planting could be all it takes to prevent several neighbors and my farm from becoming casualties of a future channel change on the mighty Chehalis River. So many times in my life, my brothers and I would plant trees along the river when erosion would start. It is an incredible amount of work . It has been very enjoyable to watch others do the work and do it well. I love to see more shrubbery and trees between my field and the creek. I especially love to see my fence instead of a massive blackberry invasion smashing my fence to the ground.”
Other Resources
- VSP Fact Sheet
- Washington State Conservation Commission
- Thurston County Resource Stewardship Department
