Free Workshops On Conservation Programs For Agricultural Producers Offered In Pasco

PASCO, Wash. - Agricultural producers and landowners can learn about conservation practices and programs that benefit them and wildlife at a series of free workshops Feb. 5 at the Red Lion Inn in Pasco.

Wildlife professionals from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and other organizations will discuss incentives for landowners who provide access to hunters, the federal Farm Bill and other topics at the workshops, offered as part of a weeklong conference.

A full agenda for workshops offered at the conference is available at http://wildlife.org/washington/meetings .

Don Larsen, private lands coordinator for WDFW, said the workshops are designed to give wildlife managers and private landowners a chance to discuss their experiences with conservation programs in Washington state.

"Conservation of fish and wildlife and its habitat depends on cooperation among private and public land managers," said Larsen, who will present several of the workshops. "With over half of the land in Washington in private ownership, private landowners will have a lot to say about the future of our state's fish and wildlife."

The conference is hosted by the Washington Chapter of The Wildlife Society, the Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology, Researchers Implementing Conservation Action, the Global Owl Project, and Northwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.

Conference session participants include professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA), Conservation Districts, Agricultural Extension, WDFW and other state fish and wildlife agencies, producer groups, and other land management interests.

For more information about the free Wednesday workshops, contact Don Larsen at 509-323-2967 or don.larsen@dfw.wa.gov .