What We Do Palouse Watershed Education Calendar of Events Get Involved About Us Store BACKYARD CONSERVATION The Palouse Conservation District implements, manages, and participates in a wide array of restoration projects throughout Whitman County. We work with a variety of funders and are available to help assist landowners with educational, technical, and financial aspects to help improve, enhance, and restore habitat of all shapes and sizes. We can help with design, planning, and implementation of a project and can help find funding if none is currently available. PCD promotes the use of native plants as they have adapted to our climate, require less maintenance, and provide food and shelter for local wildlife. Additional Resources Noxious Weed - a weed that is considered harmful to the environment and/or to animals. Click the button below for a list Noxious Weed List Our Pollinator Plant Guide is an excellent way to make sure your bees are happy and well fed. Click the link to learn more Pollinator Plants Interested in the Natie Bees of Washington? We have a pamphlet for that! Washington Bees This helpful guide will show you have to build your own Bee Hotel - these simple structures and greatly increase pollinator populations Bee Hotel Don't judge a bat on its appearance. These little mammals are super helpful at eating pest insects, such as mosquitoes, reducing disease, and promoting a healthy ecosystem. They need homes too! Build a Bat Box Building your own raingarden is simple! Click the link below to read more Raingarden Guide Pollinators Why are pollinators important? Between 180,000 plant species, and more than 1200 crops, on Earth need pollinators to help them produce seeds and fruit. That means that 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators. These small, but mighty, bugs and animals (that means bats!) generate over 200 billion dollars globally – with honey bees alone adding 1.2-5.4 billion dollars to the US Agriculture Industry. What can you do to help? Because of changing global weather patterns, disease, and habitat loss, many pollinator species are in decline and they need our help! You can transform your backyard in a bee and butterfly haven by: Adding natural habitat and flowers to your backyard Installing apiaries or bee hotels Reduce pesticide use To go the extra mile, make sure to plant a variety of flowering plants (pollinators have food preferences too!) with various shapes, colors, and peak flowering seasons to provide food year-round. Storm Water Management Why is this important? Stormwater runoff is rain or snow melt that does not get absorbed into the soil – instead it freely flows over the land, which can create problems in urban and rural settings. This process occurs naturally, but our world is becoming more impermeable with the installation of asphalt, concrete, roofs, roadways, and large concentrations of buildings. Together, these surfaces have changed the way water moves in our world, increasing the volume of water in small areas, and its speed. This causes flooding, landslides, heavy erosion, and can overwhelm sewage systems. In some areas, stormwater can flow directly into creeks or rivers and can be mixed with sewer water into wastewater treatment plants. This water also carries contaminants, such as oil, fertilizer, pesticides, sediments, and larger pieces of trash, which can then clog natural water ways and pipelines. All of this overflow means there is less water being absorbed into the ground recharging aquifers and being utilized by plants. What can you do? Here are some simple steps that can transform your home into a water conscious landscape: Use native plants which require less maintenance and are adapted to less water. Removing impermeable surfaces and install vegetative buffer zones which allows water to filter into the ground. Save money on your water bills by installing a drip hose Use a rain barrel to capture water from your roof that can be used for re-used for watering your yard. Include a “bioretention area” or raingarden into your backyard to help filter pollutants and reduce runoff by allowing water to slowly infiltrate into the ground. These are shallow, landscaped depressions which retain and filter stormwater, like a forested ecosystem. These gardens can include a variety of trees, shrubs and flowering plants – making them great for pollinators too! Do you want to participate in conservation on the Palouse? You can as a Citizen Scientist! Our pollinator work is seeking the public's help identifying bee, butterfly, and other pollinator species. All you need is your smartphone. Learn more here 1615 NE Eastgate Blvd. Suite H Pullman, WA 99163 Phone: 509-332-4101 PalouseCD@PalouseCD.org Subscribe to our Newsletter