The Pierce Conservation District is a local government agency that works to preserve and manage Pierce County's diverse endowment of natural resources. It's an agency whose portfolio of programs is constantly evolving and whose work touches every corner of the county. The Town Hall Tourist fired a few questions the direction of PCD Executive Director Ryan Mello - yes, the same Ryan Mello who serves on the Tacoma City Council - to learn more about his agency's work and mission. 

TOWN HALL TOURIST: Can you briefly describe what it means to work with landowners to help manage natural resources? Is if often difficult to bring these landowners to the environmental/sustainability table?

RYAN MELLO: Working landowners are often the best stewards of the land.  Whether in an urban, suburban, industrial or rural setting, what we find at the Conservation District is that landowners typically are eager to "do the right thing" by the land, but what they are lacking is education about the best management practices or techniques and the funding to make the necessary improvements to their land or practices. That's where the Conservation District comes in. The District works one-on-one with all kinds of landowners to educate them on everything from how to better manage polluted rain water runoff, how to create more sustainable farm practices, or how to improve marine shoreline practices to ensure the long-term health of our shorelines for people and wildlife.  Helping landowners manage natural resources means giving them the know-how to manage their property and helping them implement the best practice and seeing them through to completion in helping with technical assistance, volunteer help and/or financial assistance. 

TH TOURIST: PCD seems to be a crucial player in a lot of the work being done to restore and protect the Puyallup River Watershed. What is the most important thing Tacomans should understand about the watershed - besides, of course, the fact that we live in it?

MELLO: Understanding we all live in a watershed and everything we do impacts it in some way is an important first realization. The most important thing citizens can understand is that the make-up and care of their property has a big impact on the quality of the water in Commencement Bay and Puget Sound. Something as simple as using TAGRO as a dressing for your lawn or other organic fertilizers instead of traditional synthetic fertilizers that will create runoff into the waterways as toxic pollution is a big step. Planting a tree in your yard or planting strip helps soak up rainwater so it doesn't run-off the property polluting Puget Sound. Also, collecting the water from your home, condominium or apartment complex through a rain barrel or rain garden and allowing that water to be filtered in to the ground naturally helps a lot to limit the flow of polluted rain water to Puget Sound. These are the most simple, yet most significant things Tacomans should understand and can do.

TH TOURIST: It seems as though PCD is an agency whose work is constantly evolving. What are some of the things you're working on now that even two or three years ago you were not?

MELLO: We are the new managers of the Tacoma-Pierce County Community Gardens program, farm gleaning program and Share the Harvest Program - sharing food from community gardens with local food banks.  We see community gardens as great laboratories for conservation and citizens who often are eager to learn and do more and share their knowledge with others. It's more than just growing food in a neighborhood; it's about knowing your neighbors, neighborhood beautification and continual natural resource learning. Also new is our convening of the Agriculture Round Table where we bring together agricultural stakeholders from farmers to co-op leaders to farmers market organizers to land conservationists and work together to ensure the long-term viability of local farmers, increase local markets for local food and implement strategies to protect the land base for future generations. 

TH TOURIST: Working on something new must often mean reallocating resources, when you take on new challenges what's your strategy for stepping away from other projects? 

MELLO: We are constantly evaluating what our constituents are looking for from us and how to most strategically conserve our local natural resources. Stopping doing something we always have done isn't easy, but with good data we can make good decisions about how best to leverage our resources and spend our time. That's why we are moving to a model of using best practices and measurable data to inform our work of what techniques, programs and practices to deploy to have the greatest positive effect on our natural resource system. 

TH TOURIST: If I'm not mistaken your staff has grown from 11 to 15 since 2010. How have you been able to expand while so many government agencies have been forced to cut back?

MELLO: We are fortunate to be able to expand our staffing and in turn our delivery of programs and services to the community by leveraging our basic per parcel rate charge with private philanthropic dollars. Specifically, the Russell Family Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have helped the Conservation District expand. The District's newest employees lead the Tacoma-Pierce County Community Garden Program and also coordinate an effort called the Pierce County Agricultural Round Table.

TH TOURIST: For all the great work PCD is leading you often seem to go unrecognized. Are you intentional about keeping a fairly low profile?

MELLO: We are a small agency with a smaller staff and budget that needs to depend on our customers and partners spreading the word about our good work.  I am always pleased at the number of people that seek me out to thank me for how hard our employees work, how smart they are and their commitment to solving problems and delivering excellent customer service.  We aren't interested in getting lots of credit, just helping our customers and partners be successful.  When they see how we get results, they keep asking for more of our services and that is the greatest reward. 

TH TOURIST: What is the best way folks can keep up with environmental issues specific to Pierce County? 

MELLO: I'd encourage folks interested in conservation issues to "friend" the Conservation District on Facebook at and receive our electronic or hard copy of our Tahoma Newsletter by signing up with email or postal mail at info@piercecountycd.org.  There are always good workshops, news and volunteer events to participate in.