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State Technical Advisory Committee  (STAC)

Updated 03/27/2013

Washington State Technical Advisory Committee meetings are from 9:30 until 3:00 on the following dates:

  • May 28, 2013 (Spokane)

STAC meetings are scheduled on the fourth Tuesday of every other month (January, March, May, July, September and November). View STAC meeting materials.

What is the State Technical Advisory Committee?

The State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) is a group composed of agricultural producers, owners/operators of nonindustrial private forest land, federal and state agency representatives, and other professionals who provide information, analysis, and recommendations to officials of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on implementing and establishing priorities and criteria for natural resources conservation activities and programs. The STAC has no implementation or enforcement authority, but USDA gives strong consideration to the STAC’s recommendations.

The Washington STAC, which is chaired by the State Conservationist, provides input to programs and initiatives, as well as annually reviews whether Local Working Groups are addressing State priorities and criteria for ranking program applications.

There is currently one subcommittee of the STAC, which has a purpose of reviewing and providing input to Natural Resource Conservation Service’s conservation practice standards and specifications, which are contained in the Field Office Technical Guide.
 

Who is on the State Technical Advisory Committee?

The STAC represents a variety of interest and disciplines in the soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences.
By policy, representatives should be from among the following:

  • US Department of Agriculture Agencies:
       o Natural Resources Conservation Service
        o Farm Service Agency
        o FSA State Committee
        o Forest Service
        o National Institute of Food and Agriculture
  • Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
  • State Departments and agencies including:
        o Agriculture
        o Fish and Wildlife
        o Forestry
        o Soil and Water Conservation Agency
        o Water Resources Agency
  • Agriculture producers representing the variety of crops and livestock or poultry raised in the State
  • Owners of nonindustrial private forest land
  • Nonprofit organizations with conservation expertise
  • Nonprofit organizations with experience working with agriculture producers
  • Agribusinesses
  • Each of the federally recognized American Indian Tribal governments*
            *A separate Tribal Advisory Council is being established in Washington
  • Local Working Group (LWG) chairpersons
     

What is the current composition of Washington’s State Technical Advisory Committee?

The STAC is currently composed of representatives of the following organizations. As of November 2010, agencies and organizations were contacted to formally designate representatives to the STAC. This request will be refreshed at least annually, and the composition will be reviewed to determine if sufficient representation of a variety of diverse groups has been achieved.

 

WA STAC Committee Organizations Representative
Ducks Unlimited Chris Bonsignore, Regional Biologist
Intermountain West Joint Venture Terry Mansfield,
WA State Conservation Partnership Coordinator
Organic Farming Research Foundation Udi Lazimy, Policy Program Organizer
Spokane County Division of Utilities Ben Brattebo, Water Supply Specialist
US Agricultural Research Service Dr. Brenton Sharratt, Research Leader
US Bureau of Land Management Chris Shafer, Rangeland Management Specialist
US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 Robert Marsh, Regional Agricultural Advisor
US Farm Service Agency Rod Hamilton, Program Specialist
US Farm Service Agency  Steve Hair, FSA State Committee
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ginger Phalen, Fish and Wildlife Biologist
U.S. Forest Service, Region 6 Brad Siemens, Forest Legacy & Community Forest
Program Manager
Washington Association of Conservation Districts         David Vogel, Executive Director
Washington State Conservation Commission Mark Clark, Executive Director
WA State Department of Agriculture Kirk Cook, Section Manager/Hydrogeologist
WA State Department of Ecology Melissa Gildersleeve,
Water Quality Program Section Manager
WA State Department of Fish & Wildlife Don Larsen, Private Lands Coordinator
WA State Department of Natural Resources Aaron Everett, State Forester
Washington Farm Bureau John Stuhlmiller, Director of Government Relations
Washington Farm Forestry Association Howard Wilson
Washington State University Extension Randy Baldree, Agricultural Program Leader
Also Participating Representative
Asotin County Conservation District Megan Steward
Conservation Northwest Jay Kehne
Far West Agribusiness Association James Fitzgerald
Foster Creek Conservation District Lee Hemmer, Vice Chair                    
Northwest Horticultural Council Deborah Carter
Palouse Local Working Group Larry Cochran
Snake River Local Working Group Larry Hooker
South Central Local Work Group Dave Guenther
US Bureau of Reclamation Steve Rolph
US National Marine Fisheries Service Dale Bambrick
Walla Walla Conservation District & Local Work Group Larry Hooker
Washington Association of Wheat Growers Nicole Berg-Tobin
Washington Water Project of Trout Unlimited Lisa Pelly
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation Mace Vaughn

To update contact information, send an email to Sherre Copeland.

 

STAC Subcommittees:

Washington State Practice Standard Subcommittee

In August 2010, by recommendation from the State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), the State Conservationist determined a need for a subcommittee to provide input on conservation practice standards (CPS) and specifications. The primary purpose of this Subcommittee will be to provide input to the review of NRCS CPS and associated field office technical guide materials.  The link to directories and schedules for standards review, on a national level, is ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NHQ/practice-standards.

Local Working Groups

Local working groups are subcommittees of the State Technical Committee and provide recommendations to USDA on local and state natural resource priorities and criteria for conservation activities and programs. Membership of the local working groups may include but is not limited to Federal, State, county, Tribal, or local government representatives. Currently, Washington has 10 local working groups and one proposed for Tribal priorities as follows:

Local Work Group Name Affiliated Area Chair District Conservationist
Northeast Stevens, Pend Oreille, Ferry Conservation Districts Vacant Karla Ware
West Palouse Team Lincoln, Adams Tom Schultz Ann Swannack
Palouse Team Whitman, Pine Creek, Palouse, Spokane County, Palouse-Rock Lake CDs Larry Cochran Rich Edlund
Snake River Team Asotin County, Columbia, Franklin, Pomeroy, Walla Walla CDs Mark Nielson Ed Teel
North Central Team Okanogan, Foster Creek, South Douglas, Cascadia CDs John McLean Acting
Big Bend Team Grant, Kittitas County, Moses Lake, Warden CDs John Preston Lolo Garza
South Central Team Central and Eastern Klickitat, Benton, North & South Yakima CDs Ron Juris Amanda Ettestad
Northwest LWG Snohomish, Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, Clallam, Jefferson CDs Larry Davis Tony Sunseri
Puget Sound LWG Thurston, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, King CDs Eric Nelson Paul Rogers
Southwest Team Clark, Underwood, Lewis County, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Grays Harbor CDs Lynn Engdahl Nick Vira
Colville Reservation TWG Colville Confederated Tribe Dave Smith Vacant

For a schedule of upcoming LWG meetings, click here.


How can I be involved in the Washington State Technical Advisory Committee?

Meetings of the STAC are open to the public and will be given the opportunity to address the committee and present their opinions and recommendations. Meeting information is posted on this web site. Presenters are encouraged to provide written comments to the Committee, but are not required to do so. Written comments or suggestions can be submitted to Sherre Copeland.

Individuals or groups wanting to become a member of the STAC may submit a request to the State Conservationist explaining their interest and outlining their credentials for becoming a member. Decisions of the State Conservationist concerning membership on the STAC are final and cannot be appealed. Requests can be sent to Roylene Rides-at-the-Door.


All STAC meeting materials.
 

Where can I get more information on the Washington State Technical Advisory Committee?

Policy governing the STAC and LWGs is available at: http://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/RollupViewer.aspx?hid=17101


Contact

Sherre Copeland
Partnership Liaison
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1835 Black Lake Blvd., SW, Suite D
Olympia, WA  98512-5607
Phone: 360.704.7758
Email: Sherre.Copeland@wa.usda.gov

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