Advocacy
ADVOCACY 2026
In this tab:
- WACD Watch List (see the bills WACD is actively monitoring)
- WACD Legislative Check-Ins
- WACD Legislative Education & Outreach Postcard Campaign
- Contact information for legislators and their assistants
WACD Watch List
WACD actively monitors legislation: our WACD WATCH LIST covers bills still in the legislative process, with defunct bills that didn’t clear legislative hurdles on this DEFUNCT WATCH LIST. This watch list is also shared regularly with subscribers to our Legislative Newsletter.
WACD Legislative Check-In
New in 2026, WACD will be hosting a Legislative Check-In every Monday at Noon for districts to interact face-to-face (virtually speaking). This comes from requests made during the All District Meeting in Leavenworth in June, for more opportunities for direct engagement regarding the state legislature.
These check-ins will start on the first day of session, January 12th, and continue through the end of the regular session on March 16th. It is intended for both the experienced legislative hands, and the greenhorns. Bring your lunch, learn about the latest in Olympia, and ask about bills, budgets, or legislators.
WACD 2026 Legislative Education & Outreach Postcard Campaign
Last year, WACD launched a coordinated outreach campaign consisting of one-pagers designed to educate legislators on who and what CDs are and the importance of CTA funding. We are following up on that work this year with the development of a postcard campaign designed to highlight the importance and need for Forest Health and Community Wildfire Resiliency and Conservation Technical Assistance funding. WACD called for volunteers from conservation districts across the state to sit on a focus group to help our consultant, KR Creative Strategies, develop the postcards.
Why postcards? – Legislators want to hear from their constituents. The landowners who are directly impacted in their communities.
WACD has developed three post-cards, one around CTA funding and two for Forest Health and Wildfire Resiliency as shown below.
Districts can access the postcards and instruction in the Postcard Users Guide here.
WACD 2025 Legislative Education & Outreach Campaign
WACD Legislative Day
WACD 2026 Legislative Day
General Information
WACD Legislative Day will be February 10th. If your district would like WACD to make your appointments with legislators for you, please reach out to Ryan Baye at rbaye@wadistricts.org or complete this online form
Schedule
6:30 AM to 8:00 AM – Breakfast (at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Olympia)
7:00 AM – Welcome from WACD & Overview of WACD priorities
7:15 AM – Welcome from the Commission
7:30 AM – Briefing from WACD Lobbyist and Q&A
8:00 AM – Attendees depart for meetings with Legislators
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM – Attendees have access to the Columbia Room in the Legislative Building ~ Come take a break between meetings!
Hotel Information
We have a new hotel this year: the DoubleTree by Hilton in Olympia. If you are planning to come to Olympia, there will be a breakfast at the hotel the morning of the 10th before everyone descends on the Capitol. Follow the link here: WACD Booking Link and complete your registration by January 24th.
Capitol campus map
Find maps (a digital version and a printable version) for the Washington State Capitol campus at https://capitol.wa.gov/visit/campus-map
Contacts for the 69th Legislature
Find contact information for legislators and their LAs (legislative assistants) at https://app.leg.wa.gov/rosters/members
ADVOCACY
Testimony and support
WACD advocates for the interests of Washington State’s 45 local conservation districts. We testify before the Washington State Legislature, submit letters and comments on proposed rules and legislation, and regularly meet with lawmakers and agencies to advance policies and procedures that benefit voluntary conservation.
Member engagement
WACD’s team also engages our membership each spring with a Legislative Day to help connect conservation districts with state legislators. The event serves as an opportunity for conservation districts to advocate for policies that benefit them directly and to familiarize decision-makers on the ins and outs of conservation district work.
WACD’s advocacy on behalf of conservation districts occurs throughout the year.
Legislative tours
WACD supports conservation district tours for legislators and other elected officials outside of session. Tours are one of the best ways to showcase the great work of conservation districts and its impact on the landscape. Districts wishing to request help on planning tours or to request WACD and/or the SCC staff to attend can do so my completing this form: Conservation District Legislative tour sign up
How to sign in and submit testimony or state your support
The Washington State Legislature has guidance on how to comment on a bill.
House
General guidance on how to submit written testimony for House committees is published at https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/house#. At that link, you can sign in to express support or to provide testimony. For example, to sign in for HB 1652, select the State Government & Tribal Relations committee on January 12 at 8:00 am. If you successfully followed those steps, you’ll see something like this:
Select the middle option of “I would like my position noted for the legislative record” and then complete the resulting form. You can testify or sign up in support of the bill. You must sign up at least one hour before the committee hearing is to start.
Senate
General guidance on how to submit written testimony for Senate committees is published at https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/senate#. It works very much like the system for the House.
WACD 2026 Legislative Education & Outreach Postcard Campaign
Last year, WACD launched a coordinated outreach campaign consisting of one-pagers designed to educate legislators on who and what CDs are and the importance of CTA funding. We are following up on that work this year with the development of a postcard campaign designed to highlight the importance and need for Forest Health and Community Wildfire Resiliency and Conservation Technical Assistance funding. WACD called for volunteers from conservation districts across the state to sit on a focus group to help our consultant, KR Creative Strategies, develop the postcards.
Why postcards? – Legislators want to hear from their constituents. The landowners who are directly impacted in their communities.
WACD has developed three post-cards, one around CTA funding and two for Forest Health and Wildfire Resiliency as shown below.
Districts can access the postcards and instruction in the Postcard Users Guide here.
WACD 2025 Legislative Education & Outreach Campaign
Feedback?
Questions or feedback? Contact us at oly@wacd.org