Monthly Lunch & Learn Series – Celebrating Work Around the State!

• Randy Johnson, Habitat Program Manager for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, will present on the Rivers Edge levee setback and floodplain restoration project. 4,000’ of federal levee was setback along the lower Dungeness River to reconnect the floodplain with new off-channel habitat while providing flood protection to the town of Dungeness.
• Mike Auger, Conservation Director for the North Olympic Land Trust, will speak on recent agricultural conservation easements closed in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley as part of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s FbD project.
• Troy Havens, Water Resources Division Manager for Yakima County, will speak on the Nelson Dam replacement project on the Naches River. Nelson Dam was removed and replaced with a new diversion structure that allows for year-round fish passage , decreases flood risk for nearby landowners and improves water supply opportunities for the community.
• Adam Cares, Natural Resource Planner for Stevens County, will speak on the Colville River Floodplain Restoration Pilot Project and efforts to identify additional projects on an adjacent reach of the Colville River.
• Jessica Hamill and Darcey Hughes, Snohomish County, Jessica worked for Ecology in the early days of FbD and worked with folks to help build the grant program. Jessica is a Project Specialist IV with Snohomish County and manages the Community Floodplains Solutions (CFS) program which is working collaboratively to implement Farm-Fish-Flood benefits in the Snohomish basin. Darcey is Surface Water Management’s Funding Coordinator and works with Jessica (and others) to ensure the CFS actions are fully funded across different funding sources. Darcey has an extensive background in land conservation and was able to put those skills to good use helping Jessica and Adrienne Hulbert (SWM’s real property specialist) secure over 240 acres of floodplain property since 2020.
• Judy Blanco is a Basin Steward within the Water and Land Resources Division of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Her project areas include the Cedar River, Issaquah Creek, and Sammamish River. Her work includes prioritizing and sponsoring large scale floodplain restoration projects such as Riverbend, acquiring open space along riparian corridors with a focus on salmon recovery, collaborating on riparian restoration projects with nonprofit partners, and assisting the public with stewardship of private streamside properties.
• Melissa Dahl and Mike Mactutis from the City of Kent, will highlight the work that’s finished up at the Downey Farmstead Restoration Project.

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