Like pretty much every other business these days, Clallam Conservation District has had to make significant changes in how we operate. Our office has been closed to the public since March. We’re still closed to walk-ins but now open to the public by appointment. Please note that an appropriate facial covering is required.

The majority of our work is still done remotely, and all workshops and other in-person educational events remain on hold. However, site visits have resumed, following strict social distancing and personal protection protocols.

The last time we sent out a paper newsletter was in late 2019. For some time now, we’ve been planning to transition to an electronic newsletter format, mostly to cut costs. The challenges presented by COVID19 have gotten us there. From here on out, the winter edition with our Native Plant Sale information, and a spring edition will be the only two printed Newsletters each year. However, we have increased our eNewsletter publication schedule to monthly.

In accordance with the governor’s directives, we’ve been conducting our monthly board meetings remotely via GoToMeeting. These remote meetings are open public, just like our in-person board meetings. Visit our website for instructions on how to attend these virtual meetings.

Lastly, although we’re only half way into our current five-year plan, we’ve begun the process of updating it. This is due to the fact that the majority of our current five-member board were not involved with the development of the current plan. To get us started on the update, we’ve prepared a draft of our district resource inventory posted on our website: clallamcd.org/district-business. Your input is highly valued.

After nearly three decades of effort to obtain stable funding, the Clallam County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved providing us with $125,000 annually to implement our five-year plan. This is an increase from the $45,000 they gave us in 2019 and the $26,000 we received annual from 2001 through 2018.

The vast majority of our funding, typically over 95 percent, has come in the form of grants. Most of the grants come from the state Conservation Commission, and those grants have become increasingly competitive and much less certain in recent years.

Looking at the option of a conservation district rates and charges system that could have assessed a maximum of $5.00 per parcel (if authorized by the county legislative body), the county commissioners voted to fund us out of their general fund instead. We are delighted to receive this funding and encouraged by the vote of confidence from our County Commissioners. Thank you commissioners Johnson, Ozias and Peach!

Orca Recovery Day 2019 was a great success for Washington. Locally the District teamed up with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT), and with the help of 70 volunteers planted more than 1,700 trees along the Elwha River in the former Lake Aldwell reservoir. In time, these small trees will provide vital shade to the river and contribute large woody debris to create excellent salmon habitat, crucial to the recovery of the southern resident Orca whale, 80% of whose diet is comprised of salmon.  

COVID19 may throw a curveball in how Orca Recovery Day 2020 is conducted, but we are moving forward with planning in partnership with the LEKT. We have high hopes of topping last year’s success by planting over 2,000 trees along the Elwha River this year. Please save October 17, 2020 on your calendar and check our website or monthly eNewsletter in the upcoming months for more details. subscribe to our monthly newsletter

As the summer progresses, keep a close eye out for invasive Asian giant hornets. They tend to be much more active in July and August as worker hornets will be on the search for food away from their nests. These invasive insects are known to attack and wipe out an entire honeybee colony in a matter of hours, leaving piles of decapitated bees in front of the hive.

To protect our honeybees we need to all work together to help stop the spread of the Asian giant hornet. Please report sightings on Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) website. Residents of Clallam County are also being encouraged to set traps for these insects. Instructions can be found on the WSDA website.

Since we haven’t been able to conduct our normal spring landscaping educational events, something we started doing way back in 1990, we’ve had to adjust. I’ve been sharing how COVID19 has impacted my routine, along with some sustainable landscaping tips in our eNewsletter. While I hope we’ll be able to resume our in-person educational events this fall, until that time comes, I will continue offering sustainable landscaping insights and tips through our monthly eNewsletter. So if you haven’t yet, please subscribe.

This month I’m offering up my five favorite native shrubs for residential landscaping. It goes without saying that native plants are critically important elements for every properly functioning ecosystem. The reasons are far too numerous to list here, and no doubt go beyond our simple understanding of ecological complexities. However, not all plant species are created equally, especially when it comes to landscaping around your home.

A shrub must meet the following criteria to make my list:

• Does not spread from roots

• Has tidy, domesticated-like habits

• Is easy to grow

A tidy habit helps achieve a more orderly, less unkempt look to your yard, which is important in the area right around your home. Although it’s hard to pick favorites, my five that meet these criteria, while also offering exceptional beauty and habitat benefits are:

• Red-flowering currant

• Serviceberry

• Mock orange

• Evergreen huckleberry

• Red-osier dogwood

Red-flowering currant has an early and extended spring bloom period that attracts hummingbirds, bumblebees and other pollinators. Serviceberry, a large shrub or small tree, blooms a little later in spring, followed by blueberry-like fruits, and nice fall color. The fruits of both red-flowering currant and serviceberry are cherished by cedar waxwings and other birds. This can result in numerous volunteer plants sprouting up in your yard. Mock orange is known for its fragrant white blossoms in late spring/early summer, which as you likely guessed, smell like orange blossoms. Evergreen huckleberry is a handsome, fairly slow-growing, shade-tolerant evergreen. Red-osier dogwood is known for its red stems, but it also has nice foliage and gorgeous fall color.

Red-osier dogwood needs a clay or silt loam soil and can tolerate saturated soil. Red-flowering currant requires well drained soil. Huckleberry likes abundant soil organic matter. If planted in the appropriate soil, none require irrigation once established. Pruning mock orange maintains a more compact appearance, while periodic pruning of red-osier dogwood enhances the red stem affect. The others require no pruning but tolerate it.

Use caution with species that spread. A few shrubs can become nuisance plants in a home landscape. Tops on the list are Nootka rose and snowberry. Other shrubs to cautiously consider are tall Oregon grape, salal and thimbleberry. They all have their attributes, such as being easy to grow. In fact, except for salal, they grow (and grow) almost anywhere, which is their main drawback when planted in the wrong place. And, they all send up new plants from their aggressively spreading roots. These are desirable characteristics for groundcovers, hedgerows, and hillside erosion control. However, these shrubs can quickly turn a yard into an unmanageable jungle and they don’t respect property lines. Low Oregon grape also spreads, but is typically grown as a groundcover.

While there’s never a bad time to work on minimizing your wildfire risk, this year it may be especially important due to COVID-19. Wildfire protection experts are anticipating extra challenges this summer because of the special precautions firefighters will have to take in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection and spread. So now more than ever, homeowners need to take actions on their own to safeguard their property.

If you live in or adjacent to a wooded area, you should take special precautions to reduce your wildfire risk. Visit the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Firewise website for a home and property wildfire risk assessment tool, as well as other great resources for wildfire preparation.

And lucky for us, DNR Wildland Fire and Forest Health Specialist Jordan Van Delden was recently assigned to the North Olympic Peninsula. Although Jordan anticipates being busy fighting fires this summer, he hopes to be available to help homeowners and communities work on wildfire preparedness come fall. Jordan can be reached by email at Jordan.vandelden@dnr.wa.gov or by phone at 509-899-0101.

Helping Homeowners & Water Quality

In 2014 we launched a program to help homeowners stay in their homes while also improving water quality.  Our Onsite Septic System Repair Cost-Share Program has helped repair or replace 16 onsite septic systems located within high priority  watersheds.  This grant-funded program, implemented in partnership with Clallam County Environmental Health, is key to ongoing Pollution Identification and Correction work in the lower Dungeness watershed. Learn more

Do you have a creek or stream on your property that you would like to plant with trees and shrubs? If so the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) may be a great fit for you.

CREP is a joint federal and state program that restores streamside habitat for salmon by helping landowners plant native trees and shrubs. All of the costs for these improvements are paid by the program, including fencing and stock watering if livestock are utilizing the waterway for drinking water. In addition, the program provides funding for maintenance for five years after planting to assure success. Landowners are paid rent for allowing their land to be used for fish and wildlife improvements and receive a monetary bonus for signing up.

There are 35 CREP projects in Clallam County totaling over 10 miles of stream buffers. If you are interested in learning more visit our website, email meghan.adamire@clallamcd.org or call 360-775-3747 ext. 1.

The combination of wet, poorly drained soils and heavy animals, like horses, means that many farms deal with significant mud challenges during the winter. Horses kept in muddy paddocks have a greater risk of developing hoof problems like thrush and abscesses. Plus, standing in mud lowers body temperature, making equines more susceptible to weight loss and disease. Because it’s impossible to clean manure from muddy winter pens, runoff from these areas can pollute nearby streams, ditches, and wetlands.

Now, during the dry season, is your window of opportunity to tackle these mud-prone areas! Check out our website for a detailed technical guide that provides step by step instructions for building a mud-free paddock. We are also available, free of charge, to meet with you at your property to provide site-specific recommendations.

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Want to get the latest news on educational events like workshops and farm tours? Want to receive timely tips and articles to help you care for your livestock and land! Sign up on our Conservation On the Farm webpage.

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