The Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) is a new incentive based approach for Washington counties to participate in a watershed-based, collaborative planning process that protects critical areas while promoting agricultural viability. Prior to the creation of VSP in 2011, the Growth Management Act and Critical Area Ordinance were the main tools for counties to ensure protection of critical areas on agricultural land. VSP was created under the GMA to give counties an alternative to traditional approaches.

Whitman County is one of 28 counties that has opted in to VSP and has received funding to develop a VSP Work Plan. The work plan is a locally driven watershed plan including voluntary, incentive-based tools to protect critical areas and maintain and enhance the viability of agriculture, put together by a work group representing key stakeholders and agricultural groups within Whitman County.

The Voluntary Stewardship Program works under the assumption that complex environmental problems can be solved through voluntary cooperation. The long-term impact of the VSP could include significant changes in how environmentally critical areas are managed on agricultural land, and will be applicable to many similar challenges where top-down methods are less likely to be effective than locally driven, incentive-focused approaches.