For agricultural landowners, the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) is our opportunity to show that Ferry County can achieve natural resource laws through voluntary cooperation, as opposed to regulation. By participating in VSP, you take credit for past and future conservation activities on your property — which helps our community avoid one-size-fits-all mandates for environmentally critical areas — and you gain access to funding for additional farm-friendly natural resource projects.

By law, all counties are required to protect environmentally critical areas, including on agricultural lands. The State gave each county a choice for how they will meet this law:
Option 1: One-size-fits-all regulations through the Growth Management Act.
Option 2: Incentive-based approach through VSP.

Ferry County opted for the VSP approach. However, we as a community must demonstrate that we're meeting goals for protecting environmentally critical areas on ag lands voluntarily or we may be forced into the regulatory approach.

VSP helps you continue to farm and ranch your way. That's why VSP is in your best interest.

Taking credit for conservation work you have done or plan to do helps our entire county avoid regulatory mandates. But, if farmers keep their stewardship a secret, Ferry County may be forced into a regulatory approach to meet critical area laws.

VSP participants gain access to funding to help cover some of the costs for eligible, farm-friendly conservation projects that you want to do.

Type of Conservation Activities Contribute to VSP:
Livestock and Range Management:
- Reseeding Mixed-Use Pasture Land (e.g., provide or improve forages for livestock)
- Prescribed Grazing (e.g., rotational grazing)
- Spring Development
- Watering Facility (e.g., off-site watering tank)

Forest Understory Management:
- Tree/Shrub Pruning
- Woody Residue/Forest Slash Treatment (e.g., prescribed burning)
- Forest Stand Improvement (e.g., thinning)
- Nutrient and Pest Management
- Pest Management (e.g., weed spraying)

- Soil Management:
- Conservation Crop Rotation

Irrigation Management:
- Irrigation System, Sprinkler (e.g., change from handline to a pivot)
- Irrigation Water Management (e.g., adjust to more efficient sprinkler heads)

Habitat Management:
- Riparian Forest Buffer (e.g., the vegetative area around a body of water)
- Access Control (e.g., fencing off area from animals)
- Tree/Shrub Establishment (e.g., reseeding)
- Restoration and Management of Rare and Declining Habitats (e.g., wildlife brush pile)
- Fish and Wildlife Structure (e.g., removal of fish barrier)
- Streambank and Shoreline Protection (e.g., root wads along streams)