Mission
UCD engages landowners and land users throughout Skamania and west Klickitat Counties in the conservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of natural resources through voluntary stewardship.
Underwood Conservation District (UCD) provides technical assistance, cost-share assistance, project and water quality monitoring, community involvement and education, and support of local stakeholder groups within the district. The district works with willing and interested landowners in implementing conservation practices.
As one of 45 Conservation Districts in Washington state, UCD is a legal subdivision of state government that administers programs for the productive use and conservation of natural resources. Like all Conservation Districts, UCD works in close partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in providing services to the district’s communities.
UCD is supervised by a 5-member Board, which provides guidance and direction to District Staff.
Through a variety of avenues, UCD solicits public input in order to update our Annual Work Plan and Long Range Work Plan. These guiding documents are updated on a regular schedule, as appropriate. View our most recent Annual Report, highlighting our 2022-23 accomplishments. Read all about the wonderful work CDs are doing across the state, in partnership with the Washington State Conservation Commission, in the latest statewide Biennial Report here.
Location
Office Location
Our office is located in downtown White Salmon:
171 NW Washington, White Salmon, WA 98672
(in the Park Center Building)
Please feel free to stop by during our core office hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Occasionally, you'll find all of us out and about, so please call ahead if you are making a special trip.)
District Boundary
Since its inception in 1940, UCD has grown several times. The District's boundaries now encompass the western third of Klickitat County and all of Skamania County. If you live anywhere in Skamania County, or in Klickitat County west of the Klickitat River, you are in UCD's district area. If you live outside this area, we can help you find the conservation district that serves you.
The Roots of UCD
Underwood Conservation District (UCD) was established in 1940 when concerned orchardists and farmers from the area around Underwood Mountain gathered to discuss irrigation needs, the decline of forest productivity, and the impacts that development was having on their land – increasing soil erosion and degrading water quality. The meeting resulted in a partnership between the Soil Conservation Service (a Federal USDA Agency, now called the Natural Resource Conservation Service) and private landowners, which created the locally-run conservation district.