NRCS-WA New Easement Team starts the ‘blitz’ on state easement process
By Adrian Melendez
NRCS-WA Public Affairs
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - The NRCS-WA Easement Team came together for an Easement Team blitz at the West Area Office in
Olympia, Wash., Jan 24-26.
The purpose of the blitz was to start the organization of the 106 West Area wetland easements files that are part of the 163 total that NRCS-WA currently maintains within the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program-Wetland Reserve Easements.
“File management is critical for operations and to glean the whole story of the easement while conducting stewardship,” said Carlee Elliott, State Easement Program Manager for NRCS-WA.
“Standard operations and folder organization is critical to run an efficient and effective conservation easement business,” she continued. “This will not only allow for easier file access, but also prepare NRCS-WA to go paperless and scan these documents into the Document Management System,”
The days weren’t only filled with file organization, but guest speakers also presented important information for the newly formed easement team. Alexandra James , NRCS-WA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Easement Specialist, spoke to the team about how RCPP 2018 easements are administered, existing Washington RCPP easement projects, and how they can promote RCPP easements as a team in the state.
Addie Candib, American Farmland Trust (AFT) Regional Director, and Nick George, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Partnership Coordinator, also spoke to the team about how NRCS, AFT and USFWS currently work together and future collaboration opportunities.
The NRCS-WA Easement Team is relatively new to the state and there are very few of these specific teams nation-wide. Idaho, Montana, and Oregon have similar teams to Washington. However, Carlee said Washington’s team is more focused in their roles and responsibilities, with Alexandra James’ RCPP Easement Specialist position being unique to the state as NRCS-WA teamed up with Washington State Conservation Commission (SCC) and Washington Association of Land Trusts to create a position similar to what Montana and Texas had on their team, but a better fit for the mission of Washington.
The NRCS-WA team consists of the following individuals:
- Keith Griswold, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, Located at the State Office in Spokane Valley, Wash.
- Carlee Elliott, State Easement Program Manager, State Office
- Kathy Wanner, Easement Program Analyst, State Office
- Heather Noel, Natural Resources Specialist, Acting Central Area Easement Specialist, State Office
- Scott Cook, West Area Easement Specialist, West Area Office, Olympia, Wash.
- Franklin “Brandt” Becnel, East Area Easement Specialist, State Office
- Alexandra James, (SCC) and NRCS RCPP Easement Specialist, in Olympia
A Central Area Easement Specialist will be announced soon.
Carlee said there was a recognized need for a dedicated easement team in the state to improve consistency in easement policy and statute delivery, adding the State Leadership Team researched the return on investment for easement Technical Assistance (TA) versus Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)/Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) technical assistance prior to deciding to put together the team.
“The TA return for closed easements in compared to EQIP and CSP was alarming,” Carlee said. “We looked at our easement workload from a business perspective and knew we could work smarter, be more consistent and efficient, and reduce the workload on the field offices and area offices by doing so, which allows them to focus on EQIP and CSP implementation.”
She added that the overall goal of the team is to “improve easement operations by collaboratively working together to ensure our landowners and conservation partners have the best customer experience possible to protect wildlife habitat and working family operations for future generations.”
While the easement team is just getting started, they have hit the ground running with future goals and improvements to the state easement program being:
- Statewide consistency and efficiency
- Ensure policy and statute are being adhered to
- Wetland Reserve Plan of Operations creation and implementation
- Uniform monitoring and completing national monitoring deadlines ahead of time
- Addressing easement violations
- Improving communications to easement landowners
- Reducing easement acquisition average times
The NRCS-WA Easement Team is ready and up to the task of improving the states easement program and assistance state-wide to landowners and producers.