The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About031317_ra01County Administrators Briefing Session Commissioners Office JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners Philip Morley, County Administrator FROM: Kate Dean, Commissioner DATE: March 13, 2017 SUBJECT: Sentinel Landscape Designation STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Trust for Public Land will discuss their application for a Sentinel Landscape Designation for a portion of the Hood Canal watershed including the partnership envisioned, desired outcomes from such a designation, and the potential role for the BOCC in the application. ANALYSIS: • Sentinel Landscapes use REPI funding (Department of Defense) to preserve the working and rural character of key landscapes through the voluntary sale of development rights. Jefferson Land Trust has used REPI funding to conserve key properties in the County and sees the Sentinel Landscape designation as another tool to prevent working lands being converted to development. JLT and the Trust for Public Lands encourage the BOCC to support this designation to support the economies of farms, ranches, and forests; and conserve habitat and natural resources. The Hood Canal Coordinating Council was asked to support this designation but representatives from Jefferson and Mason Counties represented expressed uncertainty due to concerns including: 1. Loss of potential revenue due to forgoing development and; 2. Alignment of values with the Navy currently regarding protection of vital test and training missions conducted on those military installations. RECOMMENDATION: • The BOCC will hear a presentation from The Trust for Public Land to inform a discussion and potential decision whether to support the Sentinel Landscapes Designation application. REVIEWED BY: Philip M Count Ad ' istrator Date Sentinel Landscapes: Where Conservation, Working Lands, and National Defense Interest... Page 1 of 4 This is historical material "frozen in time". The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. Sentinel Landscapes: Where Conservation, Working Lands, and National Defense Interests Converge AUGUST 1, 2014 AT 6:20 PM ET BY DOUG MCKALIP, JAY JENSEN Summary: In July 2013, the Administration launched the Sentinel Landscapes partnership to accomplish three critical goals: preserve agricultural lands, assist with military readiness, and restore and protect wildlife habitat. Last July, the Administration launched the Sentinel Landscapes partnership to accomplish three critical goals: preserve agricultural lands, assist with military readiness, and restore and protect wildlife habitat. In this unique collaboration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, and Department of the Interior work with state, local, and private partners to preserve and restore natural lands important to the nation's defense mission. The basic premise is to preserve and restore habitat around the military base to ensure at -risk species can survive, while also improving military readiness by ensuring training activities can proceed unimpeded. Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), located in Washington state's Puget Sound region, was the first designated Sentinel Landscape. Located about 10 miles southwest of Tacoma, Washington, JBLM is one of the premiere military installations on the West Coast, covering over 91,000 acres to support 43,000 soldiers and airmen for maneuver training and land - warrior system testing. https:Hobamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/08/01 /sentinel-landscapes-where-conserva... 3/9/2017 Sentinel Landscapes: Where Conservation, Working Lands, and National Defense Interest... Page 2 of 4 JBLM also boasts the largest and highest quality prairie habitat in the South Puget Sound region. Once covering more than 150,000 acres, this irreplaceable ecological asset now covers only 23,000 acres, with nearly 90 percent of it found on JBLM. This prairie landscape is a large part of the remaining habitat for several animal and plant species protected under the Endangered Species Act. As development moves closer, these species take refuge on the base, restricting certain military activities like maneuver training for Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. The Sentinel Landscapes partnership ensures that at -risk species can thrive in the habitat surrounding the base without threatening military readiness. As the partnership supports the training of current soldiers and airmen, it also provides job training to veterans in the environmental field. Initiated through a new partnership between Center for Natural Lands Management and the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Conservation Corps project is forging lasting relationships between veterans and the environment and assisting in the transition of warfighters into civilian employment and life. So far in 2014, veterans have conducted ecological monitoring, weed control, and prairie and wetland restoration. Other accomplishments since the designation include: • More Lands Protected: More than 6,000 acres of potential acquisitions and easements have been identified on top of the more than 2,600 acres announced in 2013. This will expand the available habitat around the base, further reducing restrictions to training activities on JBLM. • More Dollars on the Ground: A debit -credit methodology tool, Prairie Habitat Assessment Methodology (PHAM), is completed. This tool aims to quantify credits and debits resulting from impacts to and restoration of prairie habitat in Thurston County, which will allow the trading of these credits and create an ecosystem market. The tool will continue to be tested and refined in the coming months. • Species on the Road to Recovery: Taylor's checkerspot larvae, a federally -protected species, were released in March at a new site on JBLM by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and others. These larvae were reared at the Mission CreekCorrections Center for Women through a partnership between the Washington State Department of Corrections and the Sustainability in Prisons Project. In the past year, the Sentinel Landscapes partnership has helped 'guard' our military, rural communities and natural resources by maintaining and encouraging compatible land uses around military installations and ranges—places where conservation, working lands, and national defense interests converge. https:Hobamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/08/01 /sentinel-landscapes-where-conserva... 3/9/2017 Sentinel Landscapes: Where Conservation, Working Lands, and National Defense Interest... Page 3 of 4 Building on that success, the next designated Sentinel Landscapes will be selected this fall from among six Sentinel Landscape finalists: • Fort Huachuca, Arizona • Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida • Fort Stewart/Townsend Bombing Range, Georgia • Naval Air Station Patuxent River - Atlantic Test Range, Maryland • Camp Ripley, Minnesota • Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina The White House salutes the military, veterans, and landowners who are partnering for national security, conservation and local community economies. THE FINAL STATE OF THE UNION Watch President Obama's final State of the Union address. FIND YOUR PARK Take a look at America's three newest national monuments. THE SUPREME COURT Read what the President is looking for in his next Supreme Court nominee. https:Hobamawhitehouse. archives. gov/blog/2014/08/01 /sentinel-landscapes-where-conserva... 3/9/2017 About I Sentinel Landscapes SENTINEL LANDSCAPES USDA(http://www.usda.gov) (http://www.repi.mil) ago(https://www.doi.gov) Page 1 of 3 What are Sentinel Landscapes? Sentinel Landscapes are working or natural lands important to the Nation's defense mission — places where preserving the working and rural character of key landscapes strengthens the economies of farms, ranches, and forests; conserves habitat and natural resources; and protects vital test and training missions conducted on those military installations that anchor such landscapes. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome) (USDA), Defense (http://www.repi.mil/) (DoD), and the Interior (https://www.doi.gov/) (DOI) established the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding in 2013. The Partnership is a nationwide Federal, local and private collaboration dedicated to promoting natural resource sustainability and the preservation of agricultural and conservation land uses in areas surrounding military installations. Agencies from the three Departments coordinate the Partnership at the national level through the Sentinel Landscapes Federal Coordination Committee (FCC). The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership seeks to recognize and incentivize landowners to continue maintaining these landscapes in ways that contribute to the nation's defense. Where shared interests can be identified within a Landscape, the Partnership coordinates mutually beneficial programs and strategies to preserve, enhance or protect habitat and working lands near military installations in order to reduce, prevent or eliminate restrictions due to incompatible development that inhibit military testing and training. Since the initiation of the Partnership in 2013, the FCC has designated six locations across the United States as Sentinel Landscapes. For information on the six Sentinel Landscapes, select the Explore option below or from the main menu. Priorities, engagement, and accomplishments differ dramatically across the six Sentinel Landscapes. Despite these differences, all locations fulfill the three core requirements for a Sentinel Landscape as defined by the FCC. To become a Sentinel Landscape, the FCC requires that a proposed Landscape have: 1. An anchor military installation with a military mission that benefits from compatible land uses outside of the installation's boundaries; http://sentinellandscapes.org/about/ 3/9/2017 About I Sentinel Landscapes Page 2 of 3 2. A defined landscape associated with the anchor installation where Federal, state, local, and private programs and efforts can be coordinated to support voluntary conservation and landowner involvement; and 3. Articulated goals and outcomes that promote and sustain compatible land uses for military operations while providing tangible benefits to conservation and working lands within the defined Landscape. l Explore the Sentinel Landscapes (/explore What is the value of the Sentinel Landscape designation? The designation of a Sentinel Landscape has a number of benefits for the anchor military installation(s) and the conservation and working lands—and local communities—that fall within the Landscape. Though no dedicated funding necessarily accompanies designation, individual partner agencies may choose to provide program -specific funding or give priority consideration in existing funding processes to landowners within a designated Landscape. Additionally, a designation will lead to improved recognition at the local, state, and national level for projects within a Landscape. Improved coordination across different resource priorities within a Sentinel Landscape also provides an opportunity for participating agencies and organizations to better target their collective resources and possibly develop new technical and financial assistance options tailored to address local needs. Evolution of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership 2013 2014 2015 2016 Future 2013 July Sentinel Landscapes Partnership announced. Joint Base Lewis-McChord designated as pilot Sentinel Landscape 2014 February Sentinel Landscapes workshop held Washington, DC http://sentinellandscapes.org/about/ 3/9/2017 • Noodesfisl JEFFERSON, K/TSAP & MASON COUNT/ES PORT GAMBLE S KLALLAM & SKOKOM/SH TR/BES DRAFT March 8, 2017 Hood Canal Coordinating Council 17791 Fjord Drive NE Poulsbo, Washington 98370 Richard Corff The Trust for Public Land 9015`h Avenue, Suite 1520 Seattle, WA 98164 RE: Hood Canal Sentinel Landscape Partnership Dear Mr. Corff: 9811sUff I am writing on behalf of Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) to offer our support of The Trust for Public Land's application to the Sentinel Landscapes Federal Coordinating Committee (FCC) for the designation of a portion of Hood Canal as a Sentinel Landscape. The HCCC is a watershed -based council of governments that was established in 1985 in response to community concerns about water quality problems and related natural resource issues in the Hood Canal watershed. Our Board of Directors is composed of commissioners from the three counties within Hood Canal; Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason; and representatives from the Port Gamble S'Klallam and Skokomish Tribes. We are a Washington State non-profit public benefit corporation with 501(c)(3) status. Working with partners, community groups and citizens, HCCC's mission is to advocate for and implement regionally and locally appropriate actions to protect and enhance Hood Canal's environmental and economic health. The HCCC has reviewed the application, understands the expectations of all entities engaged in the partnership, and supports the partnership's efforts to accomplish the desired goals and outcomes identified therein. If the Sentinel Landscapes FCC chooses to accept the proposed designation, HCCC will support critical habitat acquisitions that support Hood Canal salmon populations, wetlands, water quality and the economic viability of Hood Canal. Our expected contributions include: • Coordinate Conservation Partners meetings to review, update and plan conservation acquisitions in Hood Canal. • Adaptively implement and manage the HCCC's Integrated Watershed Plan (IWP) which provides a comprehensive strategic framework to advance our shared regional vision for a healthy Hood Canal. The IWP presents a long-term vision for how humans benefit from, and Hood Canal Coordinating Council - 17791 Fjord Drive NE - Poulsbo, Washington 98370-8481 coexist sustainably with a healthy Hood Canal. It integrates a full range of current and future natural resource management programs and actions across all relevant jurisdictions. • Conduct Summer Chum Salmon recovery planning efforts as the Regional Recovery Organization for this Endangered Species Act listing salmon species. • Work with watershed partners on Chinook salmon, steelhead trout and other threatened salmonid species recovery planning. • Continue to work on water quality improvements through our Pollution Identification and Correction Program and our Stormwater Program. • Contribute to the development and implementation of the Hood Canal Shellfish Initiative. • Continue to coordinate the funding of salmon habitat restoration projects within Hood Canal. To date 384 projects have been completed with an additional 55 projects actively being completed. For over 30 years, HCCC has collaborated as a council of governments with a regional focus, advancing strategic regional priorities in a way that a single jurisdiction cannot. HCCC works to provide the framework within which all our partners can work collaboratively and intentionally to more effectively protect the health of Hood Canal. Sincerely, Scott Brewer Executive Director Authorized Signatory for HCCC Hood Canal Coordinating Council - 17791 Fjord Drive NE - Poulsbo, Washington 98370-8481 A New Sentinel Landscape for the U.S.A. The Hood Canal Olympic Peninsula, WA Richard Corff, Project Manager, The Trust for Public Land Lynn Wall, Community Planning Liaison Officer, Naval Base Kitsap Sentinel Landscapes Working or natural lands that are important to the nation's defense mission — places where preserving the working and rural character strengthens the economies of farms, ranches, and forests; conserves habitat and natural resources; and protects vital test and training missions THF. �! TRYST FOR P=C 4ANY A well-rounded concept Environment Defense Preserve open space and wildiands Core Values ra:an rogra Improve 94 water quality v1d Strengthen populations and create wildlife condors Encourage compatible land use Provide assistance for land and water resource management Protect / prime sols Improve forest health Economy Protect military training routes and special Provide noise use airspace and Wet - buffers Preserve open space and wildiands Core Values ra:an rogra Improve 94 water quality v1d Strengthen populations and create wildlife condors Encourage compatible land use Provide assistance for land and water resource management Protect / prime sols Improve forest health Economy Six locations Joint Base O Lewis-McChord Sentinel Landscape FortHuachuca O Sentinel Landscape Camp Ripley Sentinel Landscape O I �I O NAS Patuxent River-Atlanbc Test Ranges Sentinel Landscape Eastern North Carolina O Sentinel Landscape i4vi O Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape 2Q,Prm ` THE N !lLtC FIrsP4* LAND �4 IL:*.a. 1 • y _ - �l a- THF. �! TRYST FOR Fueuc L • VICTORIA '0 UNT Y NON �cutara l K R LAND PORT ANGELES a, Naval 1 NORTH a- Ma dish, 1 MARYS Is'lan al ]Ili)Mhll _ Is'land Sentinel AWY Land q -EVERETT bo Y ioa NAVAL Iii _J,JI UNDERSEA �Olympic ( ARFARE NORTH 2 National Park /}:,!ENTER CREEK . and WildernessN L y'EYPORT VA �osewa�ios R.` SE KI APAT/ j aos Duckabush R, B'WN GOR '1 DAsoe. SEATTLE . B�f O RA .. E i>ufl CO A PLEX / EMERTON m NAVALBAS€ !RENTON r_ KITSAP AT - BREMERTO EAST HILL -MERIDIAN s�o -- FEDFRAI. AU6URN ; GIU Yti WAY i ARW R 1J� TACQMA - a:i)UI'JfY LJ�' L �I THE R\ i TRUSTC: (1 I YPon ,' - � FORT LEPUBLIC ..,.... Grays - t2 LANDIr+� Harbor, ("Ili ry N - Mount Ranier 10 Za r°u�,p. I""i National Park Miles �P and Wilderness THE TRUST Hood Canal Sentinel Landscape -1 million acres FORPUBLIC ❑ Hood Ganal Sentinel Landscape- /' v Pu61ic lands Tribal lands INDIAN _ N ' Olympic National Park ISLAND and Wilderness Sentinel ` Landscape boundary ca 6 Olympic u ¢ National Park :and Wilderness- UNDERSEA SEA WARFARE CENTER po as .NAVAL KEYPORT 7BASE -VTSAP AT �64sh Riva DAY® - ANGOR r Gi]NIPiE ' Q_ SEAT'" rBR ERTUN jl-...—.L+� NKITSAP A7�y��'� ` BREMEftT�N / ? THE TRUST FOR FED. LAND N j 0 5 10 ..w� Miles Already famous as a natural destination ON REOMOND 0 5 1fl �y ....� Miles N a THE Threatened incompatible • .ment LAND POS NG — I 1 Hood Canal Sentinel Landscape Natural Resources Conservatbn 5a j' _ �ff� nAGAZIN `. ❑ Area boundary F l j— 1 Public lands : INDIAN ISLAND Tribal lands _ Olympie National Park Sentinel and Wilderness Landscape REPI-fu nded conservation boundary 6 �Dlyrnpic u ¢ National Park NAVAL ,:and Wilderness UNNERSEA WARFARE CENTER NAVAL KEYPORT T'SAptr er ANC R v64'sb Rivas DJ OR yAiNCsE�;.-/ J .: MPL A SEATTLE RR ERTON _ NAVALE KITSAP PREMIER v N 0 5 10 ....� Miles Strategic investments supported by REPI since 2011 1 7 f FED ON . REDMOND Hood Ganal Sentinel Landscape Public lands 5 -- Tribal lands ti Olympic National Park and Wilderness REPI-funded conservation Strategic projects Strateg is focus areas ° Olympic -r-J National Park and Wilderness' fVIAAGAZIA NDIANk ISLAND t f -- Sentinel Ii- r Landscape t ; boundary t r mji + rrr +y ; +, 6 r � a t t a - r t NAVAL NDERSEA WARFARE t t CENTER p o5e1Ja �. f NAVAL J KEYPORT 'BASE {� T KSAP AT ANCOR b R47 DA 6 RANGE SEATTLE ERTON t yN11VAL BASE i KITSAPA7 �.� ♦ir�♦ THE TRUST FOR LAND f � r f r f �D r, , N ■ 0 5 10 --- Mlles ZZ Identified focus areas through 2020 ON REDMOND The road to Sentinel status Invitation to apply from Department of Defense V Confirmation of interest from Naval Base Kitsap Strong proof of support and partnership Final application submitted March 30, 2017 Your support Your role: specific activities, initiatives, or program that you will bring to the partnership ilKA Awor •�,�,' t' F �. 'rc �t • .. ,tI THF. '! TRYST FOR P=C. 4ANY