King County offers rural stewardship workshops

2005 Archived News

This year King County is presenting a series of free workshops to support rural property owners in the stewardship and management of their property.

“Rural landowners want to be good stewards of their land and its natural resources,” says Katy Vanderpool, coordinator of the county’s Rural Stewardship Program. “Our program simply provides free technical assistance and other tools to help them do that. We look for opportunities for landowners to achieve their land use goals while protecting or even enhancing natural resources and roll that up into a comprehensive plan for sustainable land management.”

A Rural Stewardship Plan is a long-term commitment to protect natural resources with site-specific protection and enhancement actions. A Rural Stewardship Plan may also allow a rural property owner to modify some buffer and clearing requirements. The permit process will also be easier because difficult issues will already have been considered in the Rural Stewardship Plan. Landowners can get the free assistance of a King County Steward to help develop a plan and weigh options for meeting land use goals while protecting and managing the natural resources on their property.

Rural Stewardship Workshops are free. Landowners can learn what Rural Stewardship Planning can do for them and discuss stewardship, the planning process, and review some case studies. Participants will also have a chance to talk about their unique property goals and explore whether a plan would work for them.

Who might be interested:

Property owners in the unincorporated, rural portion of King County who are:

• Considering development, a building project or a change of use; or
• Seeking assistance with habitat restoration or protection.

Where:
Carnation Fire Station 85
3600 Tolt Ave NE
Carnation, Washington

When:
Thursday, May 26, 2005
7pm - 9pm

Pre-register Class size is limited to 40 so sign up early. Participants who sign up by May 20th and include a parcel identification number found on a property tax bill will receive area-specific aerial photos and natural resource information at the class. A parcel identification number is NOT required to pre-register!

Pre-register on the web at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/cao or call Katy Vanderpool, Rural Stewardship Program Coordinator, at 206-296-8362.