What Snohomish Conservation District does

Snohomish Conservation District is a local government entity and political subdivision of Washington State, operating since 1941 under the authority of the Washington State Conservation Commission. It serves residents of Snohomish County and Camano Island by delivering conservation technical assistance, educational programming, and grant-funded project implementation across nine core program areas: Farm Planning (Sound Farms), Habitat Restoration (Sound Nature), Forest Stewardship, Urban Conservation (Sound Homes), Stormwater Solutions, Sound Horsekeeping, Agroforestry, and Youth Education (Sound Education). The district's flagship strategic asset is the 2019 Agricultural Resilience Plan, which provides climate adaptation planning for over 1,558 farms across 63,000+ acres of active farmland in the county, addressing flooding, drought, groundwater changes, and farmland loss to development. A Spanish-language program, Jardinería con un Propósito, extends outreach to Latino communities.

The organization's revenue model is predominantly grant-funded, drawing from federal and state sources including NOAA, the National Estuary Program, the Stillaguamish River Lead Entity, the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, Floodplains by Design, NACD, and Snohomish County Surface Water Management. A supplementary revenue stream comes from an annual native plant sale — now in its 40th year — which distributed 55,000 plants to 1,200+ customers in 2024 and operates through both online pre-order and walk-up channels. Direct technical services to landowners are provided free or at low cost. Field staff conduct on-site farm and property visits, and the organization maintains a multi-channel community presence through events, workshops, a monthly newsletter (The Nexus), social media, and earned regional media coverage.

Strategic operations are anchored by deep partnerships with sovereign tribal nations (Tulalip Tribes, Stillaguamish Tribe), nonprofit land trusts (Washington Farmland Trust, Forterra), The Nature Conservancy, WSU extension, Cardno as technical consultant, and the multi-partner Sustainable Lands Strategy. The district also runs community event programs including Orca Recovery Day and the Better Ground Showcase. Headcount is reported at 11-50 employees, consistent with a small government subdivision executing project-based work rather than a scaled commercial enterprise.

Name

Snohomish Conservation District

Legal name

Snohomish Conservation District

Website

https://snohomishcd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Snohomish Conservation District is a Washington State government subdivision, founded in 1941, that delivers conservation technical assistance, education, and grant-funded project implementation to farmers, residents, and youth across Snohomish County and Camano Island, with programs spanning farm planning, habitat restoration, urban conservation, and stormwater solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lake Stevens

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: Primary funding from government sources including National Estuary Program, NOAA, Stillaguamish River Lead Entity, Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, and Floodplains by Design grants.
2. Plant Sales: Annual plant sale program generating revenue through native plant and tree sales to residents. Sells approximately 40,000-55,000 plants annually to over 1,200 customers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Snohomish Conservation District is a local government subdivision of Washington State that delivers conservation programs and technical assistance to landowners, farmers, and residents across Snohomish County and Camano Island. Its core offerings include farm planning, habitat restoration, forest stewardship, urban conservation, stormwater solutions, horsekeeping, agroforestry, youth education, and the Agricultural Resilience Plan. The District also operates an annual native plant sale distributing 40,000–55,000 plants to roughly 1,200 customers each year.

Product overview

Snohomish Conservation District offers a portfolio of conservation programs and services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include Farm Planning, Habitat Restoration, Forest Stewardship, Urban Conservation (Sound Homes), Stormwater Solutions, Sound Horsekeeping, Agroforestry, and Youth Education programs. Supporting these are event programs including the Annual Plant Sale (distributing 40,000-55,000 native plants annually), Orca Recovery Day, and Better Ground Showcase. The Agricultural Resilience Plan provides comprehensive climate adaptation planning for farmers. Educational resources include Ag Resilience Fact Sheets on sustainable practices and the Carbon Crushers discussion series. All programs serve Snohomish County and Camano Island residents with technical expertise, funding assistance, and educational resources for natural resource conservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 63,000 acres of active farmland supported across 1,558 farms
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Nature ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner on Agriculture Resilience Plan and Photovoice Project. The Nature Conservancy collaborated with Snohomish Conservation District to engage local farmers in documenting agricultural challenges through photography and storytelling.
• Tulalip TribescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Riley and Haskel Slough feasibility study to devise multi-benefit projects improving farmland drainage and fish habitat in the Lower Skykomish River area.
• Stillaguamish TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on sea dike improvement project north of Stanwood to better protect farmland and the city from flooding.
• Washington Farmland TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading farmland protection efforts in Stilly Valley, working with local farmers to remove development rights from properties through agricultural easements. Six farms to be protected.
• ForterracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in farmland protection initiatives working with local farmers on development rights removal.
• Sustainable Lands StrategycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-partner collaborative initiative including Snohomish County Surface Water Management and others, focused on keeping farms viable, reducing flood impacts, and restoring salmon habitat.
• Snohomish County Surface Water ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Community Floodplain Solutions initiative to address floodplain management and agricultural viability.
• King Conservation DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint hosting of events including beaver coexistence workshop at Snoqualmie Wildlife Area.
• CardnominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTechnical consultant listed as project contributor on Agriculture Resilience Plan.
• Washington State University (WSU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in educational programs including Latino outreach and extension services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• King Conservation District: Neighboring Washington State conservation district serving east King County. Operates the same political-subdivision model with farm planning, habitat restoration, urban conservation, and forest stewardship programs, and even co-hosts events such as the beaver coexistence workshop with Snohomish CD.
• Pierce Conservation District: Washington conservation district serving Pierce County with the same farm planning, native plant sale, and habitat restoration program structure. Competes for the same state and federal grant pools and serves an analogous Puget Sound lowland agricultural context.
• Skagit Conservation District: Skagit County conservation district with overlapping focus on farmland protection, salmon habitat, and floodplain restoration under the same Washington State Conservation Commission framework. Highly comparable program mix including farm planning and native plant sales.
• Whatcom Conservation District: Whatcom County conservation district operating the same statutory model within the Washington State Conservation Commission system, with analogous farm planning, forestry, and habitat restoration services targeting the agricultural community.
• Washington Farmland Trust: Statewide nonprofit land trust that is both a strategic partner with Snohomish CD on the Riley/Haskel Slough and Stilly Valley easement pipeline and a peer in delivering farmland protection services to Washington farmers.
• Thurston Conservation District: Thurston County conservation district delivering the same farm planning, habitat restoration, and urban conservation programs under the same Washington statutory framework, making it a near-clone peer for operational benchmarking.
• Forterra: Pacific Northwest land trust and conservation real estate nonprofit partnering with Snohomish CD on agricultural easement work in the Stilly Valley; comparable in mission and overlapping in farmland protection and habitat acquisition activity.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: Global environmental nonprofit that is both a strategic co-development partner on the Agricultural Resilience Plan and a much larger incumbent competing for the same federal, tribal, and philanthropic conservation funding in the Puget Sound region.

Others

• National Association of Conservation Districts: National membership and advocacy association that supports all U.S. conservation districts including Snohomish CD; not a direct competitor but provides technical assistance, funding, and farmer-to-farmer programming that shapes the district's operating environment.

Regional players

• Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust: Regional land conservation and stewardship nonprofit operating along the I-90 corridor from Puget Sound to Central Washington; overlaps with Snohomish CD on forest stewardship, habitat restoration, and outdoor education in the regional ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/snohomishcd
• Facebookfacebook.com/snohomishcd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/snohomish-conservation-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Snohomish Conservation District