Methow Conservancy

05/11/2026

Join the Okanogan Conservation District and the Wister Way Firewise USA Site for a biochar demonstration burn on Friday, May 15th, beginning at 8 am. The burn is weather-dependent.

Biochar has a wide array of applications in forestry, gardening, and agriculture. Okanogan CD is working to test the feasibility of utilizing biochar production to not only reap those benefits but to also reduce wildfire fuels around homes and communities.

Funding for this event is provided by the Consortium for Research in Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM). Contact Okanogan CD Forests and Wildfire Lead Eli Loftis for more details at [email protected]. If the event must be postponed, it will be posted on OCD social media.

Attendees should be prepared to work around or be in proximity to the kilns, wearing the following PPE:
• Long Sleeve Shirt: Cotton or natural fibers.
• Pants: Cotton or natural fibers.
• Work Gloves: Leather, to protect hands.
• Long hair must be tied back
• Work Boots: Leather, to protect feet.
• Eye Protection: To shield against sparks and embers.
• Baseball Cap: To protect the head and face from heat and embers.

Photo is from a different biochar burn.

05/10/2026

Another beautiful morning thanks to Mother Earth.

05/07/2026

Although there was a rotating cast of supporting characters captured on our Sunny M wildlife cameras last month, there was really just one star of the show.

(Time and date stamp is incorrect--this video is from April 2026.)

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04/30/2026

Join us on May 5 with author and journalist Lynda Mapes for a talk and slideshow from her book The Trees are Speaking, recently published by the University of Washington Press! This event is free and open to the public.

Join author and journalist Lynda Mapes for a talk and slideshow from her book The Trees are Speaking, just published by the University of Washington Press. Lynda will discuss the vital role of forests in our survival. Yet even in protected areas, our forests are victims of an apocalypse of invasive....

04/30/2026

What a crew! Possibly our biggest-ever volunteer group showed up to help us remove a large section of fenceline along a Sunny M farmfield yesterday. At (work) parties like these, folks sometimes get a little wild in the name of safer wildlife passage, but no one was injured.

04/28/2026

What a cool project to be a part of! Volunteers who have time to help launch a virtual fencing project in the Methow Valley should contact Julie Vanderwal at [email protected].

04/24/2026

We've launched work party season on the Sunny M Ranch, beginning with removing a couple derelict sections of 4-strand barbed wire from the edge of a farm field, where it is not needed. If you want to join us on a work party in the next 6 months, stay tuned to our events page, where we post all of our work parties, farm tours, First Tuesdays, and other community events. https://methowconservancy.org/news/category/events

04/22/2026

Well, here we go again! Spring in the Methow Valley delivers one more time.

04/15/2026

We've been appreciating the Methow Dark Sky Coalition's "Dark Sky Week" events over the past few days, have you? There are still four more days of interactive activities ahead, culminating in a star party at Pearrygin Lake on Saturday night. Check out the schedule at https://www.methowdarkskyweek.org/events

Photo: Jack McLeod

04/13/2026

It's spring cleaning time! Help the Methow Conservancy and the Methow Valley Interpretive Center start to get Homestream Park spruced up for the summer. Our first work party is this Thursday, April 16, from 9am-12pm. Join us as a volunteer! More info and registration at: https://methowconservancy.org/news/entry/homestream-park-spring-spruce-up