Warm Beach Camp is pleased to receive a USDA Grant with their CREP program for hedgerow plantings along the ditches and stream running through the pastureland. Work has already begun to clear invasive, non-native Himalayan Blackberries and prepare for plants such as dogwood and ninebark. The new plants will grow to shade the waterways reducing water temperature and improving oxygenation. “Our goal is to maintain or even improve water quality as it flows through our property to the Puget Sound,” says Patrick Patterson, Warm Beach Camp General Manager.

This project is coordinated by the Snohomish Conservation District (SCD) who assisted Warm Beach Camp in obtaining the grant funds. “SCD has been an amazing partner in resource management and conservation for many years,” says Patterson. “The CREP program that SCD helped us access, will help us meet the goal of improving water quality as it makes its way through our pastureland to the Flood Control District’s collection pond, where it is then pumped into Port Susan Bay.”

SCD also consults with Warm Beach Camp on their Farm Plan and habitat improvement projects elsewhere on the property. Over the years, SCD has assisted Warm Beach Camp with fencing set-backs, drainage improvements, mud control, manure control systems, and more. This year, hundreds of native plants were recently purchased at SCD’s native plant sale for projects near the horsemanship facility. This new planted area will create a songbird habitat and visual screening for neighbors along 81st Avenue. The Snohomish Conservation District is an invaluable partner in natural resource management.

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