Underwood Conservation District was formed to find feasible solutions to the community's natural resource concerns.
Mission
UCD engages landowners and land users throughout Skamania and west Klickitat Counties in the conservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of natural resources through voluntary stewardship.
Underwood Conservation District (UCD) provides technical assistance, cost-share assistance, project and water quality monitoring, community involvement and education, and support of local stakeholder groups within the district. The district works with willing and interested landowners in implementing conservation practices.
As one of 45 Conservation Districts in Washington state, UCD is a legal subdivision of state government that administers programs for the productive use and conservation of natural resources. Like all Conservation Districts, UCD works in close partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in providing services to the district’s communities.
UCD is supervised by a 5-member Board, which provides guidance and direction to District Staff.
Through a variety of avenues, UCD solicits public input in order to update our Annual Work Plan and Long Range Work Plan. These guiding documents are updated on a regular schedule, as appropriate. View our most recent Annual Report, highlighting our 2020-21 accomplishments (for UCD, see page 54).
Location
Office Location
Our office is located in downtown White Salmon:
171 NW Washington, White Salmon, WA 98672
(in the Park Center Building)
Please feel free to stop by during our core office hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Occasionally, you'll find all of us out and about, so please call ahead if you are making a special trip.)
District Boundary
Since its inception in 1940, UCD has grown several times. The District's boundaries now encompass the western third of Klickitat County and all of Skamania County. If you live anywhere in Skamania County, or in Klickitat County west of the Klickitat River, you are in UCD's district area. If you live outside this area, we can help you find the conservation district that serves you.
The Roots of UCD
Underwood Conservation District (UCD) was established in 1940 when concerned orchardists and farmers from the area around Underwood Mountain gathered to discuss irrigation needs, the decline of forest productivity, and the impacts that development was having on their land – increasing soil erosion and degrading water quality. The meeting resulted in a partnership between the Soil Conservation Service (a Federal USDA Agency, now called the Natural Resource Conservation Service) and private landowners, which created the locally-run conservation district.
“Many of the problems [brought to UCD], such as improvement of irrigation systems, drainage, storage or need for additional irrigation water, flood control, stream bank erosion, weed and rodent control, development of water holes on range land, and the improvement of range and woodland management practices, are community problems and can most efficiently be solved through coordinating community plans and action.”
Harry Card | UCD Board Chair, 1941
Harry Card | UCD Board Chair, 1941
UCD Board of Supervisors
UCD is directed by a board of 5 volunteers. Two members are appointed by the Washington Conservation Commission to 3-year terms. Three members are elected by district voters to 3-year terms. Board Supervisors are public officials who serve without compensation and who set policy and direction for UCD programs and projects.
The UCD Board meets on the third Tuesday of every month, at 6 PM at the UCD Office in White Salmon. Meetings are open to the public, and you are encouraged to attend! Board member elections are held in the first quarter of each year, and all registered voters in the district are eligible to vote. Please participate in our elections, and consider getting involved as a supervisor or associate supervisor!
**In accordance with the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act, regular board meetings will be held with options to attend in person, by phone and by web. For details on how to attend board meetings, please see the current meeting agenda. For questions, please contact District Director, Tova Tillinghast, at 509-637-7006 or tova@ucdwa.org.
Current UCD Board Members:
Barbara Bailey (White Salmon), Chair – Appointed mid-term 2017, Re-appointed 2018, 2021
Vacant position, Vice-Chair
Rachel Suits (Husum), Auditor - Elected 2021
Kris Schaedel (Bingen), Member - Board-appointed 2022, Elected 2023
Joe Kear (Washougal), Member - Board-appointed 2023
We encourage anyone interested in serving on the board of supervisors to contact UCD staff or supervisors to learn about the role of the board and the process of being appointed or elected. For more information on Conservation District board elections in the state of Washington, please CLICK HERE.
UCD Staff
Day-to-day operations of UCD are conducted by our dedicated and knowledgeable employees who work under the guidance of the UCD Board of Supervisors. UCD employees carry out technical assistance to landowners, conservation project activities, monitoring efforts, educational activities, and attend or facilitate meetings of various stakeholder groups. UCD currently employs 4 full-time and 2 part-time staff members.
Current UCD Staff:
Tova Tillinghast, District Director, tova@ucdwa.org
Ann Gross, Financial / Administrative Manager, ann@ucdwa.org
Dan Richardson, Climate & Community Resilience Lead / Firewise Coordinator, dan@ucdwa.org
Carly Lemon, P.E., Engineer, carly@ucdwa.org
Jan Thomas, CTD Program Manager, jan@ucdwa.org
Corrie Podolak, Project Specialist, corrie@ucdwa.org
Michael McNorvell, Wildfire Resilience Technician, michael@ucdwa.org
James Osmolenski, Farm Planner/ Technician, james@ucdwa.org
Mike Palguta, CTD Training Coordinator, mike@ucdwa.org
Get in touch:
General questions? Email info@ucdwa.org.
Firewise program questions? Email fire@ucdwa.org.
Tree of Heaven project questions? Email TOH@ucdwa.org.
Tool Library questions? Email ucdtoollibrary@ucdwa.org.
