Pasco votes to rejoin conservation district. Here’s why it matters
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Council will vote on applying for annexation to regain district services.
- $5 per parcel plus $0.10 per acre/year, generating about $120K–$130K.
- If annexed, district would handle shrub steppe mitigation and revive salmon program.
The Pasco City Council voted Monday to apply to be annexed into the Franklin Conservation District.
Pasco property owners will pay new rates and charges once the city is annexed into the district — $5 per parcel plus $0.10 per acre per year in property tax, starting as soon as January 2027.
On average, a residential unit in Pasco would pay an additional $5.03 per year.
Those funds will give the city access to services and programs that have previously been limited by generating between $120,000-$130,000 for the district.
Mayor Pro-Tem David Milne and councilmembers Mark Figueroa, Leo Perales, Joe Cotta, Calixto Hernandez and Abel Campos voted yes.
Mayor Charles Grimm voted no, saying that a chief complaint he hears from Pasco residents is that they have high property taxes.
The city is currently missing out on some of the district’s services and programs.
The district benefits Pasco residents, developers and even students with school programs, guidance about home heritage gardens and xeriscaping options, and shrub steppe mitigation.
The city has not been annexed into the district since 2001. At the time, there was an agreement between the district and the city to annex Pasco out of the district in order to reduce the costs of adding a ballot measure to an election in 2001. At the time, the cost of the election would have been financially devastating to the district, district officials said.
It’s unclear why the city did not annex back into the district following the election. Kahlotus also is not annexed into the district.
Now 25 years later, the city will rejoin the district.
Shrub steppe mitigation
The agency will handle shrub steppe mitigation in Pasco once the city is annexed into the district.
The council voted unanimously Monday to approve an interlocal agreement with the district for shrub steppe mitigation.
Shrub steppe landscapes include rolling, grassy plains or “steppe,” with sagebrush and other native plants.
Eastern Washington’s shrub steppe habitat is not protected by state law, only by city and county ordinances, Perry Harvester previously told the Tri-City Herald. He is the regional habitat program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Some Pasco developers say it can be a time-consuming, difficult process to mitigate shrub steppe without the help of the district.
Peter Harpster of Harpster Land Development said that recently, it took four to six months to negotiate with the Department of Fish and Wildlife over what kind of mitigation they would accept on two separate projects. He also is a former Pasco council member.
“We did a project in Pasco where there was some shrub steppe on a corner adjacent to Road 68. We were able to pay (the district) and satisfy the city’s requirement to mitigate. That took a handful of weeks, maybe two months.”
“(Annexation) streamlines the process...and improves predictability for developments we’re working on in Pasco,” Harpster told the council at its March 9 meeting.
WDFW teams first identify shrub steppe habitat on land to be developed.
When Pasco is annexed into the conservation district, developers will pay the district $4,000 per acre of shrub steppe. Then the district steps in to find land acre for acre, usually at a ratio of 2:1, where it can restore shrub steppe, protect land by putting it in a conservation easement or enhance existing shrub steppe.
Students miss out on Salmon in the Classroom
Salmon in the Classroom is an educational program that the district facilitates in schools in Franklin County. It offers fourth graders the opportunity to raise salmon from eggs and release the fish into the Columbia River, helping connect students with nature and teaching them about the life cycle, anatomy and migration of Chinook salmon.
“Students have an immediate connection to the river (through Salmon in the Classroom). They become wise stewards of our natural resources,” Kara Kaelber, district manager for the Franklin Conservation District, told the Tri-City Herald.
After state funding cuts hit the conservation district, most schools in the Pasco School District did not get to participate in the program during the 2025-26 school year.
Typically, the conservation district would pay for all Pasco elementary schools to participate. It was the first time in years that the district was not able to cover the costs of the program.
Annexation will revive the Salmon in the Classroom program in Pasco schools.
Connell, Mesa, Kahlotus, Star and Edwin Markham elementary schools continued the program this year.
Emerson, McGee and Ruth Livingston elementary schools in Pasco decided to do the program without the district’s support. Private schools Tri-City Prep and Nueva Esperanza continued on their own, too.
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 4:03 PM.
