The SCC Integrated Science Hub for Agriculture and Ecosystems (“The Science Hub”) advances SCC’s strategic goals and enhances the scientific foundations of agency programs and projects at the nexus of agricultural activities and ecosystems.
The Science Hub will generate, distill, and amplify approaches that protect and enhance natural resources and agricultural viability, advance climate resiliency outcomes within agency programs and cultivate collaborative partnerships that foster holistic, multi-benefit solutions within the voluntary conservation framework.
The Science Hub will serve as a conduit for collaborations – e.g., staff at federal, state, county, and Tribal governments, conservation districts, universities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations. Science and data frameworks developed within the Science Hub will inform adaptive management opportunities for the SCC, conservation districts, and external partners.
These efforts will be collaborative and complementary to the science performed by other agencies and partners. Another key goal of the Integrated Science Hub is to reduce the gap between existing science used and developed by multiple state agencies (often separately) and on the ground results desired by many stakeholders statewide (e.g., improved ecosystem functions).
Ag Science Program (Ecosystem Monitoring): "One-time funding ($1,000,000) is provided solely to connect scientists, practitioners, and researchers and coordinate efforts to monitor and quantify benefits of best management practices on agricultural lands, and better understand values and motivations of landowners to implement voluntary incentive programs."
For questions, please contact Levi Keesecker, Ecosystems Manager & Science Hub Lead.
Effective conservation starts with understanding what motivates landowners. This work explores the economic, social, and practical factors that influence participation in voluntary conservation, including incentives, stewardship values, risk, and long-term land management goals. Insights help shape programs that are locally relevant, accessible, and more likely to result in lasting conservation outcomes.
Explores how incentive programs can motivate landowners to adopt riparian conservation and improve participation across Washington.
Examines how incentive payments support voluntary riparian restoration and provides guidance for locally tailored program design. Also related to: Conservation Benefits
Introduces Coordinated Resource Management (CRM) and how collaboration and trust influence conservation participation. Also related to: Collaboration
Applies behavior-change science to identify barriers and motivators influencing conservation adoption and improve program effectiveness.
Explores landowner priorities, economic realities, and decision drivers shaping participation in conservation. Also related to: Science in Action
Story-driven exploration of land, community, and stewardship values shaping conservation decisions. Also related to: Pilot Watersheds
Conservation practices deliver multiple benefits across landscapes and communities. This work highlights how actions such as riparian restoration, soil health improvements, and habitat protection support water quality, fish and wildlife, climate resilience, and long-term sustainability of working lands.
Shows how conservation delivers public benefits such as water quality, habitat, and ecosystem resilience.
Uses modeling to identify wetland restoration opportunities and ecological benefits. Also related to: Science in Action
Examines ecological impacts affecting aquatic systems and informs conservation and management decisions. Also related to: Science in Action | Pilot Watersheds
Builds capacity for restoration approaches that improve habitat, hydrology, and long-term ecosystem function. Also related to: Pilot Watersheds
Improves understanding of where conservation practices occur and the outcomes they produce. Also related to: Science in Action
Tracks environmental outcomes to better understand conservation benefits across landscapes. Also related to: Science in Action | Pilot Watersheds
Science strengthens conservation by helping target the right actions in the right places. This work connects research, data, and decision-support tools with on-the-ground experience from conservation districts to improve effectiveness, guide implementation, and better understand conservation outcomes.
Develops tools to improve planning, targeting, and effectiveness of conservation implementation.
Explains how science, data, and partnerships guide conservation decision-making.
Explores systems to improve information sharing and applied learning across conservation partners.
Uses science and modeling to guide restoration planning and decision-making.
Applies research to improve conservation and water quality outcomes.
Improves data quality to strengthen conservation analysis and decision-making.
Applies monitoring science to evaluate conservation outcomes and climate resilience.
Uses social and economic data to inform conservation program design.
Coordinated Resource Management (CRM) supports locally driven, partnership-based approaches to conservation. By bringing together landowners, conservation districts, tribes, agencies, and community partners, CRM helps address shared resource challenges, align priorities, and support durable, landscape-scale solutions.
Informational webinar explaining the CRM model and its role in collaborative, locally driven conservation. Prepared by The Center for Technical Development and SCC.
Survey and report analyzes Coordinated Resource Management and Coordinated Weed Management Area groups to understand strengths, gaps, and opportunities for collaborative conservation. Prepared by Whatcom Conservation District.
The following pilot watersheds are where the Science Hub’s strategies come together in real-world settings. In partnership with conservation districts and landowners, these landscapes apply research, incentive approaches, monitoring tools, and collaborative models to improve conservation outcomes on the ground.
These efforts connect what motivates participation, how conservation delivers measurable benefits, and how science and partnerships can strengthen implementation. By testing and refining these approaches within working watersheds, pilot projects help inform future conservation across Washington.
Columbia Conservation District
Mason Conservation District
Spokane Conservation District
Whatcom Conservation District
