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Board meetings
- November 10 - Okanogan CD Office
- December 8 - Okanogan CD Office
Office Closures
- November 11 - Veterans Day
- November 26 -Thanksgiving
- November 27 - Native American Heritage Day
- December 25 - Christmas Day
Free Yard Waste Disposal Events Throughout October!
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Methow Valley: Sun Mountain Ranch Club, Town of Winthrop, Town of Twisp
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Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation: Nespelem, Elmer City, Coulee Dam (Last day to sign up is 10/16/26!)
Learn more and sign up on our website
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Executive Director Note
By: Craig Nelson
Wildfires and drought struck Okanogan County again. Maybe that isn’t quite fair regarding drought because it really has been continuous for a few years now. The lack of winter snowpack more significantly impacted this summer’s streams and ponds. The wildfires impacted all of us in different ways. Our hearts go out to those impacted by the loss of property, livestock, and income. We are also mindful that even those who live miles from the nearest fire lines were inundated by hazardous smoke and other impacts.
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We are helping those directly impacted by wildfire with property assessments and inventory losses. The information collected will be shared with emergency managers and used to seek funding assistance to replace livestock fencing, irrigation system components, stock water systems, and support weed control and seeding to stabilize slopes. We are leading efforts to create a funding program for wildfire recovery across Washington State, but the process takes time. Legislative action won’t come until early 2027, at the earliest. We remain committed to seeking appropriate funding to support wildfire mitigation, fuels reduction, and forest health work, which we believe are the long-term solutions to wildfires.
Jordana Ellis, our Programs Director, had the foresight two years ago to apply for funding to develop a county-wide drought mitigation plan. Our team tirelessly coordinates with many local and state partners to finalize that plan, which we will share later this fall. This plan identifies communities, both physical and social, that are most vulnerable to drought impacts and includes actions that can be implemented to help these communities be more resilient during drought.
| | Thank you and goodbye, summer interns! | | |
Jack Earnest
Jack was a fellow through the WWU Sustainability Pathways this summer. He hit the ground running traveling throughout the county to support the eight school gardens. He took on weeding and harvested over 250 lbs of produce! We wish him all the best in his last year at WWU and will be cheering him on in his future career.
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Austin Nelson
As the IT Intern, Austin received IT requests from all staff of varying topics and difficulties. He handled each issue with an unwavering enthusiasm for learning and resilience towards roadblocks. Thanks to his commitment, we resolved many long-standing issues, giving us the time and energy to handle future IT concerns.
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Interested in Biochar?
Biochar is a way of burning organic material that creates a fantastic soil amendment and emits less carbon and particulates than traditional pile burning. By burning at a high temperature with very little oxygen, emissions are greatly reduced. The highly porous and carbon rich biochar left behind clings to water and nutrients when applied in the soil.
This fall, the Okanogan Conservation District is partnering with the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) to create biochar demonstrations for local contractors and partners to learn hands-on how to create biochar.
We are also working with local landowners to cost-share on the creation of biochar on their property. This program aims to learn more about the science behind biochar emissions while also introducing biochar to our county. Interested in learning more or getting involved? Contact Sam Nurmi (sam@okanogancd.org or 509.429.4326)
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30 years of Monitoring Plant Communities
This summer, through a partnership with the WA Department of Natural Resources, staff monitored plant communities and ground cover in Okanogan County rangeland. This project has continued periodically over the last 30 years, providing valuable long-term data on grazing effects and local ecosystems. This season, we made significant headway on monitoring plots through July and into August. Unfortunately, we paused work during the Sinlahekin fire, and it burned through several sites. While the fire season changed our plans, it will be interesting to monitor how these rangeland plants regrow post-fire.
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Rent our No-Till Seed Drill!
As we approach fall, consider adding planting native seed to your post-harvest to-do list. Natives plants do well when planted in the autumn because it allows them to immediately take advantage of snowmelt moisture in the spring. Even better, when planted with a no-till drill like the district's 4-foot Kasco model, germination rates dramatically improve and seed use decreases. Contact our Range Planner, Thomas Leicester (509.429.3486), to schedule your seed drill rental today!
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Preparing for Drought in Okanogan County
District staff worked hard this summer on the Department of Ecology funded Local Drought Preparedness Plan (LDPP) for Okanogan County.
Our partners at Washington State University developed a risk assessment for the drought plan that identified Okanogan County’s vulnerabilities, sensitivities, hazards, and exposures to drought. We held three community meetings: one in Twisp, one in Tonasket, and one hosted virtually. These served to share the findings of the risk assessment and to hear community members' ideas on how to address and mitigate the impacts of drought.
In addition to the risk assessment, the plan will include a community profile of the county and the six sub-regions, the planning process, and provide a detailed and expansive list of ideas and opportunities that address the risks associated with drought in Okanogan County.
District staff and their community partners will continue their hard work through the fall to complete the plan by the end of November and will share the document publicly by January 2027. Learn more about this project on our website!
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Spending Summer Outside
Our educational programming doesn't end when the school year finishes. We support natural resource learning throughout the summer, partnering with local libraries, school gardens, and neighboring conservation districts.
These free summer camps and lessons provide engaging outdoor learning opportunities for students who may not otherwise have them. Just this summer, our education lead, Emily Bustamante, connected with over 900 students all over the county. We hope these events are not only fun and enriching but will also inspire future land stewards and natural resource professionals.
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Students coloring outside during Foster
Creek CD's annual Camp Sagebrush
| | | Karol Miller working with Brewster summer school students in the garden | | |
Bountiful summer produce harvested
from local school gardens
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This Just In: Local Cucumbers Taste Good!
Okanogan CD and Classroom in Bloom hosted our first Harvest of the Month at Oroville Elementary School! We brought cucumbers from Willowbrook Farms for K-8 students to taste-test. 319 students tried cucumber in the lunch line, and an outstanding 88% voted that they loved or liked the cucumber slices.
To build nutrition and cooking skills, we also taught 7 cooking lessons, connecting with all kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and life skills classes. Students created yummy mixtures to fill their locally sourced cucumber boats, with second graders chopping cucumber to practice cutting skills. This first event was a huge success and we look forward to the next month where students from around the county will try local apples.
"I really liked the cucumbers, and they tasted really good. I will eat it more because it's also really healthy and really really good and tasty. My favorite vegetable is cucumber." -- Oroville Elementary student after taste testing the cucumber
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Out of the Office and into the Community
This summer we were out and about at local meetings, festivals, and events, where we connected with over 1,000 youth and adults. This included Okanogan Days, Pateros Apple Pie Jamboree, and the Okanogan Harvest Festival. Our outreach and technical staff collaborate to bring our expertise out of the office and directly into the community. We value these opportunities to meet new people, share our programs, and talk about natural resources. These new connections lead to projects and shared insights into how to care for the land.
You can follow along through Instagram and Facebook, where we share event highlights, project successes, and program opportunities.
| | Reeling in a fish at Okanogan Harvest Fest | | | Staff and volunteers in the parade at the Pateros Apple Pie Jamboree | | Aquatics & Habitats Lead, Chevelle Yeckel, sharing a resource booklet during Okanogan Days | | |
Out Fishing at the County Fair
The Okanogan County Fair was a whirlwind! A total of 1,332 children and 894 adults stopped by our booth. This year, we further developed our magnet fishing activity by creating 3D stuffed versions of local species, including lamprey, trout, and bass. Kids had to identify their catch to win a prize. It was a huge hit!
Community members also tried their hand at identifying bird songs, local plants, and animal scat. Okanogan County has a wealth of natural resources--these events provide a chance for deeper understanding to foster and celebrate environmental connection and knowledge.
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Thank you for subscribing to our quarterly updates! Due to funding cuts and the cost of printing, we switched to online-only newsletters. We love to hear your feedback! Please contact us with any suggestions for improvement or newsletter topics you'd like to see featured.
Contact: rosalie@okanogancd.org
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