CONSERVATION EXPERIENCE AND RESULTS
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Arts Gonzaga University
Masters of Public Administration Seattle University
EXPERIENCE
- 30 years of successful conservation experience at King County.
- Six years as North Bend City Council member. Lead the Council in protecting the Tollgate Farm. On behalf of the City, I chaired the 39 member Snohomish Basin Salmon Recovery Forum in it’s approval of the Salmon Recovery Plan. Bill Ruckelshaus, the first head of the EPA, proclaimed it a regional model for the 13 other watersheds on Puget Sound. I chaired the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, with members from Valley cities, King County and farmers in making funding decisions on riparian restoration projects.
- 12 years as a conservation consultant with clients including farmers from the Cedar, Green and Snoqualmie valleys, Forterra and Mountains To Sound Greenway Trust.
PRIORITIES
- Expand Agricultural Drainage Program-Farmers provide regional flood storage that benefits our cities. This innovative program improves drainage on farms in the flood plain. KCD needs to strengthen its partnerships to expand this program to increase farm productivity. Farmers love this program.
- Veterans-New Farmer Startup-The average age of farmers in Washington State was 58.8 in 2012. KCD should, based on input from stakeholders, support programs designed to get veterans and young people into farming.
- Urban Agriculture- I will support KCD funding for our farmers markets, increase food system access and gets kids hands into the soil through school gardens, pea patches and tree plantings.
Details at marksollitto.com