Foster Creek Conservation District

Foster Creek Conservation District Serving the community through quality technical assistance for natural resource stewardship.

08/28/2026

Foster Creek CD presents: BMP Learning Lab!🌾

This week: conservation tillage, an umbrella term covering a collection of reduced- and no-till strategies that minimize soil disturbance and keep plant residue on the land during fallow periods.

In this 5-part video series, discover how environmental stewardship and agriculture can be one and the same thing through a range of sustainable techniques that build and protect the soils we all rely on.

🌎💧Thank you to the Washington Department of Ecology for providing the resources needed to provide these services!

Come visit Foster Creek Conservation District at the North Central Washington Fair here in Waterville! 🚜🌱🍎 At our booth...
08/27/2026

Come visit Foster Creek Conservation District at the North Central Washington Fair here in Waterville! 🚜🌱🍎

At our booth, you can see what we do at the district, learn about the roots of your favorite shrub-steppe plants, enter in the raffle, and tell us about your natural resource priorities!

The Voluntary Stewardship Program will be at the fair too! Visit the VSP table for information about the program and its critical areas of conservation.

We hope to see you there! 🎡

🐾Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday🐾Where wildlife of all species get a chance to shine!Meet the European mantis (Mantis reli...
08/26/2026

🐾Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday🐾
Where wildlife of all species get a chance to shine!

Meet the European mantis (Mantis religiosa)! 🦗

European and Chinese mantises are well-established non-native insects in the U.S. by now, largely regarded as mostly harmless, integrated additions to the ecosystems, despite their unsavory habit of outcompeting native mantises like the Carolina mantis. We often find these creatures lurking in tall grass, lying in wait for prey to come too close. When fully matured, however, these insects are also perfectly capable of flying, though they usually only do so to escape a threat.

💡Fun Fact! The European mantis has a single ear on their abdomen between their legs, like a belly button, that is best attuned to the exact frequency of a bat’s echolocation call. Despite being able to hear when a bat is near, however, they can’t effectively determine what direction a bat is coming from.

As with all wild animals, the best thing is to be kind to them and admire them from a respectful distance.

Sources:
📖 Brandywine Conservancy
📖 Washington State University Department of Entomology
📖 Washington State University Yakima County
📖 The Journal of the San Juan Islands
📖 Texas Invasive Species Institute

08/21/2026

HELPING HANDS ARE ON THE WAY! ❤️

Beginning Monday afternoon, a dedicated team of volunteers from Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) will arrive to assist with cleanup efforts in the Chelan Hills Fire-affected area. The team will be here throughout the week, bringing helping hands—and equipment including Bobcats and trailers—to assist with property cleanup.

Approximately 12–18 volunteers are traveling from Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Idaho to lend their time, skills, and support to our community.

A heartfelt thank-you to Okanogan County Long Term Recovery and Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster - WA VOAD for coordinating this incredible effort and to Christian Aid Ministries and every volunteer who is giving their time to help our community recover. ❤️

If you need cleanup assistance for your property or have questions, Yavonne Polvos, Disaster Case Manager for the Chelan Hills Fire with Okanogan County Long Term Recovery, will be on site throughout the week.

📞 Call Yavonne at 509-733-0270 for questions or assistance.

Thank you to everyone who continues to show up, lend a hand, and support our community as we recover–together.

Critical areas form the foundation of the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP), but what are critical areas and how are t...
08/21/2026

Critical areas form the foundation of the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP), but what are critical areas and how are they treated in VSP?

There are five critical areas of conservation.
1) Wetlands
2) Wildlife Habitat
3) Geologically Hazardous Areas
4) Frequently Flooded Areas
5) Aquifer Recharge Areas

VSP aims to protect these critical areas where they intersect with agriculture by encouraging the implementation of practices that benefit them. Many conservation practices that landowners voluntarily adopt protect critical areas.

Douglas County VSP not only encourages voluntary stewardship, but also directly supports it by providing cost share to landowners who have critical areas on their land to implement conservation activities.

Stay tuned for more information about critical areas and the conservation practices that benefit each one!

08/20/2026

Introducing Foster Creek CD's BMP Learning Lab! 🌱

🎥 In this video series, discover how environmental stewardship and agriculture can go hand in hand through practical techniques that build, protect, and improve the soils we all rely on.

This week's BMP highlight is on Cover Crops: Cover crops are plants grown primarily to protect and improve the soil between cash crops or during fallow periods. They can help reduce erosion, improve soil health, increase organic matter, suppress weeds, and support beneficial insects and wildlife. If you're interested in learning more about this BMP or getting funding for this BMP reach out to [email protected]!

💧 Thank you to the Washington Department of Ecology for providing the resources that make these learning opportunities possible.

🐾Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday🐾Where wildlife of all species get a chance to shine!Meet the mule deer (Odocoileus hemion...
08/19/2026

🐾Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday🐾
Where wildlife of all species get a chance to shine!

Meet the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)! 🦌

Mule deer are a very common sight on the rangelands where we work. We often come across their tracks on dry streambeds or even small herds of does while we’re out in the field! As is common for deer, they’re quite flighty whenever we find them, quick to dart off and watch from afar.

💡Fun Fact! The size of a deer’s antlers is heavily impacted by their nutrition. Deer raised in captivity with all the food they could need can end up with five-point racks even just being a year old, while even the oldest and strongest bucks can end up with only spikes or two points if there isn’t enough food to go around.

As with all wild animals, the best thing is to be kind to them and admire them from a respectful distance.

Sources:
📖 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
📖 Colorado Outdoors
📖 Wyoming Game and Fish

Join our team! FCCD is seeking another individual to serve in the role of Farm Planner, working alongside our local NRCS...
08/17/2026

Join our team! FCCD is seeking another individual to serve in the role of Farm Planner, working alongside our local NRCS and Conservation District teams. If you're interested in learning more, go to fostercreekcd.org/news-events

🌎Are you interested in getting involved with FCCD's restoration efforts on this year's Make a Difference Day, October 24...
08/14/2026

🌎Are you interested in getting involved with FCCD's restoration efforts on this year's Make a Difference Day, October 24, 2026 (Saturday)? Please let us know if you're thinking about it here!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/78VZ8RS

This survey is not a hard RSVP form - just an anonymous soft interest poll to get an idea of how many people are interested to help us plan this event in advance.

🌱💧This event is a volunteer planting event, where volunteers will connect with other members of their community to help plant native vegetation along a lower reach of Foster Creek. In-stream restoration was completed in September 2025 here, and now this reach is ready for the next phase of restoration efforts to improve dry-season surface water flow, strengthen riparian habitat, enhance water quality, and create more suitable habitat for resident wildlife. All volunteers, from experienced vets to people's first time at an event like this, are welcome and encouraged to join in. ✋

Want to know more? Follow us or visit our website for continued information on this project and other ways to get involved! 🌐

🐾Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday🐾Where wildlife of all species get a chance to shine!Meet the Western rattlesnake (Crotalu...
08/12/2026

🐾Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday🐾
Where wildlife of all species get a chance to shine!

Meet the Western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus)! 🐍

We’ve been running into these guys quite a bit out in the field, usually taking shelter in tall grass and shrubs. We’re always careful about where we step and often use sticks to rustle foliage ahead of us to give the snakes warning we’re coming and time to move. It gets the heart pumping to suddenly hear that buzzing in the field, but we haven’t come very close to getting bit either. The snakes have always warned us and/or slithered away first chance they got.

💡Fun Fact! Rattlesnakes get a new rung on their rattles every time they molt, not necessarily for each year they’ve been alive.

💡Fun Fact! Rattlesnakes give birth to live young, like humans do.

As with all wild animals, the best thing is to be kind to them and admire them from a respectful distance.

Sources:
📖 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
📖 Burke Museum
📖 NatureServe Explorer
📖 California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Address

203 S Rainier Street
Waterville, WA
98858

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+15098886372

Website

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