The Center fosters environmental literacy, civic engagement, and regulatory effectiveness and consistency among Jefferson County citizens, landowners, developers, and County regulatory staff in order to improve protection of critical ecosystem services, and sustain the County’s green infrastructure, fish and wildlife, and healthy rural environment. The first of its kind at the county level in Washington State, the Center will provide both an informative and proactive experience for Jefferson County permit applicants, and a model transferable to other jurisdictions.

Combining engaging educational formats, habitat-enhancement and low-impact-development demonstration sites, and monitoring programs, the Center will encourage citizen participation in resource protection and habitat restoration while potentially reducing regulatory burden and requirements for expensive evaluations. Resources to be provided include comprehensive site and ecosystem information, permit requirements, environmental and regulatory information, educational materials, guidance on best management practices (BMPs), alternative development practices, conservation opportunities, and links to organizations providing assistance or services, including Washington State University and the Conservation District, Jefferson Land Trust, Hood Canal Coordinating Council, North Olympic Salmon Coalition, and many others. A low impact development (LID) training and certification program for contractors was conducted, and two LID demonstration gardens were constructed. More information is available at Jefferson County: SquareONE - Better Building Starts Here