Local Food Systems – Friends of Clark County in SW Washington

September 21, 2026

Your Future, Your Voice: Call to Action for the Final Clark County Council Comp Plan Update Hearing on Thursday, October 1st at 4pm

in Accountability, Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, General, Housing & Transportation, Local Food Systems, Parks, Trails, & Open Spaces, Responsible Development, Rivers, Lakes & Aquifers, Wildlife Habitats

Help us advocate for a sustainable future balancing growth, the preservation of prime agricultural land, and meaningful climate action in Clark County. What’s at stake? The loss of hundreds of acres of prime agricultural lands and meaningful climate action in Clark County’s Comprehensive Plan Update. Background Clark County is revising its Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, […]

September 17, 2026

Washington Department of Commerce Sends Letter to Clark County Regarding Compliance Issues With Draft Comp Plan Update

in Accountability, Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, General, Housing & Transportation, Local Food Systems, Responsible Development, Rivers, Lakes & Aquifers, Wildlife Habitats

August 28, 2026

Comprehensive Plan Update August 2026

in Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, Housing & Transportation, Local Food Systems

Submitted by Jackie Lane In the last newsletter update, we explained the County Council’s selection of their Preferred Alternative (you can read that article here). FOCC believes, based upon the County’s and Cities’ own documents, that the Preferred Alternative unnecessarily, and without legal justification, proposes to expand La Center’s, Ridgefield’s, and Camas’s UGAs by unlawfully […]

May 27, 2026

The Year of the Woman Farmer

in Farmland & Forests, Local Food Systems

A worldwide effort led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) within the United Nations to recognize the incredible impact of women farmers on “food security, nutrition, and economic resilience,” has now come to Clark County! Chair Sue Marshall, a woman farmer and elected official right here at home, worked with staff and the Council […]

March 17, 2026

The Agricultural Economy

in Farmland & Forests, Local Food Systems

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 […]

March 17, 2026

Friends of Clark County’s 2025 Farmer Survey

in Farmland & Forests, Local Food Systems

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 […]

March 17, 2026

The Results Are In: FOCC Call to Action on the 2025 Clark County Agricultural Lands Study

in Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, Local Food Systems

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 […]

March 16, 2026

FOCC’s Bold Vision for Agriculture in Clark County: View Part of Our Comprehensive Planning Comments to the Clark County Council

in Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, General, Local Food Systems, Responsible Development

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 […]

December 7, 2025

How You Can Contribute To Food Security In Clark County

in Local Food Systems

As you know, central to Friends of Clark County’s mission is to protect local farms and to create vibrant and equitable communities. This is why FOCC cares very much about food security, and why we work every day to advance smart land use policy and build a resilient, local food system. This past year, food […]

August 20, 2025

Food for Thought

in Local Food Systems

Submitted by Ann Foster While enjoying a lovely lunch with friends at one of Ridgefield’s local and well-known restaurants the other day, as I often do, I wondered how much of the items on my plate could be sourced locally – from within Clark County. Much of the time, it is a passing thought. The […]