Farm viability, agricultural land preservation, healthy forests
As Clark County enters the final months of its Comprehensive Plan Update, farmland preservation has become a flash point—particularly in proposals from the Cities of Ridgefield and La Center that would de-designate agricultural land. De-designation of viable agricultural land contrasts sharply with methods used elsewhere in Washington that actively maintain or grow the agricultural land […]
Clark County’s Community Planning recently submitted to the public for review a draft of an Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which considers the impact on various elements of our environment of the three alternatives under consideration in the Comprehensive Plan Update. Found in a small section of the DEIS (in the sections on Land Use and […]
Background In Spring 2025, FOCC reached out to farmers to ask them to take a survey with the goal of collecting information from farmers who are actively producing for the local market in order to: Engage them on topics that matter to them and connect them to local resources, and; Find farmers willing to use […]
Hey Friends, The 2025 Clark County Agricultural Lands Study, conducted by independent consultants hired by the unanimous determination of the Clark County Council, reached two important conclusions that should guide decision-making related to our agricultural resource lands in the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update. First, the study found that all currently designated agricultural resource lands provide […]
Our Bold Vision for Agriculture in Clark County *Not included in its entirety are FOCC’s full comments, including a 23-page executive summary of legal and advocacy arguments, 5 packets containing 6 additional letters, soil maps, photos, and other supplementary documentation sent to Clark County for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement alternatives hearing for the Comprehensive […]
Over the past 2 years, we have worked to enlighten folks to the plight of Washington State legacy forests–those areas of forest which have grown into peaceful, moss-covered diverse ecosystems where spotted owls, endangered western gray squirrels, marbled murrelets, and many other species cohabit among the huge trees. If left undisturbed, the trees will soon […]
Watch the video explainer from the Center for Responsible Forestry, read FOCC’s letter to legislators, and then take action using CRF’s call to action! Take Action on the Ecosystem Services Bill FOCC’s Letter Dear legislators, I am writing on behalf of Friends of Clark County, a 501(c)(3) non-profit advocacy organization representing its thousands of supporters […]
20251215 Heritage Farm Survey E&S
For more background on this issue, you can review our last legacy forest update or previous articles on the Dabbler. Big sigh, deep breath…Friends, we faced our last yearly Board of Natural Resources (BNR) meeting this December 2, 2025. FOCC has written and submitted three pages of comments, which you can see here. Accompanying our […]
To Commissioner Upthegrove and the members of the Board, In September, we wrote to you with concerns about the Turnover timber sale and requested that you deny the harvest plan as it was written. We have been attempting to convey with urgency that Clark County’s remaining naturally regenerated forests such as Turnover, Dendrophobia, Copper Head, […]