In 1939, the Washington State Legislature passed RCW 89.08, paving the way for the creation of conservation districts throughout the state. Locally, this led to the formation of two districts in 1948: the Wenatchee-Entiat Soil Conservation District and the Lake Chelan Soil Conservation District. These two districts merged in October 1973 to become the Chelan County Conservation District. Then, in July 2007, we adopted our current name, Cascadia Conservation District, to avoid confusion with county government and to better reflect our commitment to serving the needs of our members and stakeholders.
Our mission is to promote the wise stewardship and conservation of natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations in our community. We believe in building cooperative, practical solutions that create the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people.
We invite you to learn more about the people behind our work and explore the links to meet our Board of Directors, staff, federal partners, and the organizations that support our mission.
Rates and Charges Proposal
Under RCW 89.08.405 county legislative authorities are authorized to establish a system of rates and charges for each property parcel to help fund conservation district services. In 2016 Chelan County Commissioners adopted Resolution 2016-91 establishing a rate structure that spanned 2017 through 2021. In 2021 Chelan County Commissioners renewed this rate structure with resolution 2021-111 to extend the rate an additional 5 years.
Rates and Charges 2017-2026
Our current Rates and Charges authorization is expiring at the end of 2026.
Current authorization charges $4.63 per parcel for a total of ~$192,000 annually.
The rate has been static since it was adopted in 2017
Since 2017 Cascadia CD has leveraged Rates and Charges at a ratio of $8.10 of state and federal funding to $1.00 of local funding ($13.8 million generated from $1.7 million)
What are we proposing?
The Cascadia Conservation District Board of Supervisors are considering one of 4 rate options to request the Chelan County Board of Commissioners. These rate proposals will set the maximum rate that any land use type would pay per year. Program service rates are determined based on direct and indirect benefits to each land use type for the services that Cascadia CD provides.
Option 1 – Inflation Only Rate Proposal
This proposal would include an initial increase that “catches up” to inflation based on the Consumer Price Index released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from January 2017 to June of 2026. These inflation rates applied to our original rate of $4.63 results in an increase to $6.57 per parcel. Beginning in 2028, the rate will increase by 5% or the CPI published for November of each year, whatever is greater. Based on the 5% minimum increase each year. The rate will begin at $6.57 and reach approximately $10.19 per parcel at the end of a 10 year rate authorization (2036 calendar year).
This proposal would maintain existing services into the future including stabilization of youth education funding, a small cost share program for land managers and wildfire preparedness support for residents.
Option 2 – Inflation catch up with two maximum rate tiers
This proposal would initially increase the rate to $6.50 per parcel and then include a $2 per year rate increase for 2 years followed by a pause at $10.50 for 3 years, and then another increase of $2 per year until it caps at $14.50 per parcel at year 7. This approach allows for quicker growth of programs than other options while allowing for pauses in rate increases.
This proposal would stabilize Youth Education funding, create an annual conservation practice cost share program for local priorities (e.g. integrated pest management, irrigation efficiencies, or soil health practices), stabilize our home hardening, free roving chipper, and free yard waste disposal day programs and expand our urban conservation programs such as urban water efficiencies, community garden, and water wise native plant gardens.
Option 3 – $10 per parcel with annual increase of $0.50 per year
This proposal would initially increase the rate to $10 per parcel and then include a $0.50 per year rate increase. This proposal begins at $10 per parcel in 2027 and caps at $14.50 per parcel in 2036. This approach allows us to expand our programs rapidly in 2027 with a slow increase to keep pace with potential inflation.
This proposal would stabilize Youth Education funding, create an annual conservation practice cost share program for local priorities, stabilize our home hardening, free roving chipper, and free yard waste disposal day programs and expand our urban conservation programs such as urban water efficiencies, community garden, and Heritage Garden programs. This has a similar impact as Option 3 but with different timelines when the updated programs would occur.
Option 4 – Inflation catch up with a $2 per year increase
This proposal would initially increase the rate to $6.50 per parcel and then include an annual $2 increase for the duration of the rate authorization. The beginning rate in the 2027 calendar year is $6.50 and would reach $24.50 in the 2036 calendar year.
This proposal would allow the District to improve the reliability and scope of services such as home hardening, conservation practice cost share and youth education. These existing programs would grow over time and allow us to implement conservation practices for landowners in the queue. In addition, the increased funding each year would allow Cascadia CD to add in programs focused on urban water conservation, community gardens and food system support.
Alongside this proposal, we have implemented our new Strategic Plan. Feedback gathered through this engagement process will directly inform both efforts, ensuring our work continues to reflect the priorities of the community we serve. To learn more, please visit our Strategic Plan here.
How you can get involved
Your support matters! Here’s how to participate in the conversation about Cascadia Conservation District rates and charges:
Step One – Provide comment Our Board will hold a public hearing to share the information about the proposed changes in our system of Rates and Charges and to hear and collect public feedback on July 23, 2026. Written comments can be sent to [email protected] or
Step Two – Participate in the County Commissioner Hearing Chelan County Board of Commissioners will vote on the Cascadia CD rates and charges proposal in the second half of 2026. Stay tuned for the where and how to give public comment at their event. In person, virtual or written comment options will be available
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will I pay per year with this new proposal?
Your annual rate is determined by several factors. The rate is paid by parcel owners within Chelan County. The rate is determined by the current land use designation category (residential, Resource Land – Agriculture, Open Space, etc.) and the number of parcels the landowner owns.
Example 1: Resident of Wenatchee that owns one parcel for a total of 0.25 acres within the city limits. Their current land use is residential.
Annual Cost (2027 – 2036)
Option 1 – $6.57 increasing to $10.19 = $82.64 split across 10 years ($8.26 average per year)
Option 2 – $6.50 increasing to $14.50 = $117 split across 10 years ($11.70 average per year)
Option 3 – $10 increasing to $14.50 = $122.50 split across 10 years ($12.25 average per year)
Option 4 – $6.50 increasing to $24.50 = $155.00 split across 10 years ($15.50 average per year)
Example 2: Orchardist in Cashmere that owns 5 parcels for a total of 100 acres in unincorporated Chelan County. All five parcels are the Resource Land – Agriculture land use.
Annual Cost (2027-2036)
Option 1 – $5.71 increasing to $8.85 = $71.78 x 5 parcels = $358.90 split across 10 years ($35.89 per year)
Option 2 – $5.65 increasing to $12.59 = $101.63 x 5 parcels = $508.15 split across 10 years ($50.82 per year)
Option 3 – $8.69 increasing to $12.59 = $106.41 x 5 parcels = $532.05 split across 10 years ($53.21 per year)
Option 4 – $5.65 increasing to $21.28 = $134.64 x 5 parcels = $673.20 split across 10 years ($67.32 per year)
What will you spend the money on?
The rate increase is going to be initially targeted on three key programs at Cascadia Conservation District.
Youth Education
Cascadia CD works with approximately 6500 students in Chelan county annually, bringing them outdoors for our flagship programs such as Kids in the Creek, Kids in the Forest, and Kids in the Snow. These school day long events bring them outdoors to learn about our Forests, Rivers and the climate our watersheds depend upon to thrive. These events bring natural resource professionals from many different organizations to teach about forest health, streamside ecology, water flow, snowpack, and wildland fire fighting.
The Rates and Charges funding will stabilize and strengthen this program allowing us to provide predictable programming for our local school districts for the foreseeable future. No matter the rate that is approved by the Chelan County Board of Commissioners, this program will be a top priority for local funding.
Conservation Practice Cost Share
A key component of how Cascadia CD provides assistance to landowners is our cost share incentive programs. These programs allow us to cover a portion of the costs to implement projects that improve and protect our natural resources. These cost share projects have included forest thinning for forest health and wildfire resilience, sprinkler upgrades on an orchard to improve water efficiencies, stream side plantings to reduce runoff into the streams, and many others. Our cost share program relies on grant funding which can be limiting in eligible practices and location. This limits Cascadia’s ability to be adaptive and responsive to the local community needs.
The Rates and Charges funding will be utilized to create a consistent and stable cost share program for locally important conservation practices. Each year Cascadia will work with community representatives from our natural resource industries to develop priority practices for cost share opportunities. The scale of this program will be dependent on the rate that the Chelan County Board of Commissioners sets for Cascadia CD. Our initial target is to fund 4-8 projects per year under Option 1, and as many as 15 projects per year if Option 4 is approved.
Wildfire Defensible Space Cost Share and Incentive Programs
Wildfire defensible space support is an extremely important program at Cascadia CD. Currently Cascadia CD staff provide multiple different types of support to help Chelan County residents prepare for wildfire.
·Home Ignition Zone Assessments – Cascadia CD staff provide a one-on-one site visit to assess wildfire risks on your property.
·Free Roving Chipper for Communities – Cascadia CD staff or contractors will chip woody material generated from brush clearing, limbing and other fuels reduction projects within a community.
·Free Yard Waste Disposal Days – Cascadia CD has paid the tipping fees for yard waste on specific days in the spring to incentivize disposal of yard waste generated from fuels reduction projects on their property.
·Home Hardening Cost Share – Cascadia CD has provided cost share ($600-$2000) funding to offset the cost of improving your structure and the immediate 5-feet around your house to reduce the risk from wildfire
·Fuels Reduction Cost Share – Cascadia CD has provided cost share to address vegetation risks within 100 feet of a structure. This has included thinning, limbing, and brush removal.
These programs suffer from large swings of funding that can be dependent on when and where the last catastrophic wildfire was located. FEMA funding is post fire focused and the state has limited grant funding to support organizations that do this critical work. In addition, many grant programs do not allow for Home Hardening Cost share.
The Rates and Charges funding will be utilized to create a predictable base funding for these programs to provide as much service as possible while making the case for additional state and federal funding to address the community needs.
Why seek an increase now?
Cascadia Conservation District has been collecting rates and charges at $4.63 per parcel per year since it was first authorized in 2016. Since then, inflation has greatly reduced the buying power of that amount. Based on the Consumer Price Index data from January 2017 to May 2026 inflation has increased an average of 3.57% each year. To have equivalent buying power in 2026 Cascadia CD’s rate would need to be $6.57 per parcel per year.
In addition, program demand has been steadily increasing due to pressures on agriculture, water supplies, aquatic habitat, youth education and wildfire hazards. Cascadia CD has been working to build capacity in those areas but has hit major roadblocks trying to secure stable and consistent funding for priorities identified by the residents of Chelan County.
Finally, on July 1, 2025 an amendment to RCW 89.08.405 was enacted that increased the maximum rate allowed for communities with less than 480,000 people from $5 per parcel to $25 per parcel.
As a result, the Cascadia CD Board of Supervisors has decided to propose a rate increase to catch up with inflation and proposes including a gradual rate increase over time to counteract future inflation as well as build additional capacity into programs.
