Will Clark County Finally Get an Agricultural Commission? The answer may be YES!
Photo from Red Truck Farm in Ridgefield, Washington
For years, farmland advocates, including Friends of Clark County, have been asking the County to create an Agricultural Commission. Clark County has 33 citizen commissions and advisory boards that advise the council and staff on a host of issues, but we do not have one that covers agricultural matters. As a result, County staff and Council make decisions that impact farmers and farmland without expert input from the farming and agriculture communities.
In April, we made a big step forward when staff presented a memo on the potential creation of an agricultural commission to the Council and it was met with a lot of support! The next step is for staff to pull together the composition and formal documentation. Staff will work on that this month and aim to have it back in front of Council for an official vote by the end of June.
You can help us get this over the finish line! Send an email to the county manager, Kathleen Otto: kathleen.Otto@clark.wa.gov and your Clark County Councilor: https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/write-councilor. It can be as simple as: “I strongly support the creation of an Agricultural Commission.”
Submitted by Mo McKenna