Farm viability, agricultural land preservation, healthy forests
The Clark County Council recently gave unanimous direction to move forward with repealing the Chelatchie Bluff surface mining overlay (SMO) over environmentally sensitive forest land in response to the Washington Court of Appeals ruling in FOCC’s favor on the matter, which would bring the county back into compliance with state law. To learn more about […]
What’s at stake? The loss of 519 acres of agricultural land in Clark County’s Comprehensive Plan Update to sprawling development, the delay (6 months to a year or more) of passing urgent climate, transportation, and housing policies, noncompliance with state law, and ineligibility for grants and low-interest loans from the state that could be lost […]
Do you care about local farms, healthy forests, clean water, clean air, the climate crisis, parks, walkability, housing and transportation, fish, wildlife, and creating vibrant and equitable communities? So does Friends of Clark County! That’s why advocacy around the Clark County Comprehensive Plan update process in accordance with the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) is […]
It has been a LONG road to get here, but the inaugural Agricultural Advisory Commission is kicking off this spring! The initial commission will include the following representatives: Zorah Oppenheimer representing the Clark County Conservation District  Amy Treasure representing the Cowlitz Tribe. Amy is also the owner of C&R Treasure Farms. Ruud Van Der Salm […]
Dabbler photo courtesy of Joshua Wright The Latest We are very sad to report that on March 28th, 2025, Judge Derek Vanderwood of the Superior Court of Washington denied Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and FOCC’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (PI) of the Dabbler forest Units 1, 2 and 3 in eastern Clark County. However, we […]
Challenges of Small-Scale Farming in Clark County By Justin Burger, owner of Burger Family Farms and Friends of Clark County board member Farming in Clark County is already tough, but for small farmers like me, the biggest challenge isn’t just the work, it’s navigating the complex, overlapping, and often contradictory regulations that make it nearly […]
Background In our last update, the Clark County Council had adopted the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) alternatives for the Comprehensive Plan Update. Alternatives are options for the Comp Plan that the cities and county put forward to be studied for environmental impacts in accordance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), which requires that […]
What’s at stake? The loss of 3,000 acres of agricultural land and 3,000 acres of forest in Clark County’s Comprehensive Plan Update to sprawling development and mining. What’s happening? The Clark County Council recently gave direction to amend the scope of work for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the 2025 Comp Plan Update […]
In addition to helping us and other organizations locally, our partner Futurewise advocates for sane land use legislation at the state level. You can find their advocacy page here. Futurewise’s priorities this year include Rent Stabilization, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and fighting sprawl. Sign up for updates to get their Grow Together campaign alerts so that you can act […]
As always, we are closely following the long and winding story of the PVJR and all of its tendrils. Here are the updates as well as actions our members can take this month on this issue. We appreciate all of you who have already written letters, made calls, and donated! 1) Last month, the Environmental […]