What an absolute privilege and honor to receive the Vim Wright "Building Bridges" award from the Washington Association of Conservation Districts! A huge thank-you to our local Whatcom Conservation District not only for nominating Rich but for all that they do for Whatcom County! There are so many people that work together to keep Whatcom County a place that we can all enjoy and WCD is at the top. A bridge connects two sides. Building bridges, connecting sides, always involves more than one person. This is an award for Whatcom County! 

Whatcom Conservation District is Proud to Nominate Local Farmer for Conservation Award.

​Whatcom Conservation District nominated Rich Appel of Appel Farms for his environmental leadership in the Whatcom County agricultural community. On November 27, 2018 he was awarded the Vim Wright ‘Building Bridges’ award at the 2018 annual meeting of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts (WACD) in Kennewick, WA.  

The prestigious award is given to individuals who work within the arena of conservation to foster understanding and partnerships, through community collaborative efforts. The award is given in honor of Vim Wright, a long-time member of the Washington Conservation Commission, who worked tirelessly to bring traditional agriculture and environmental representatives together to work on conservation projects. Just like Vim Wright, Rich Appel is an environmental leader and has continued to facilitate important community partnerships between Whatcom CD and various stakeholder groups for the betterment of Whatcom County. 

Manure is a valuable resource. Our lagoons are valuable tools used to store our manure until we can use it properly, safely and productively. The vast majority of lagoons are built to NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Services) standards.
Lagoon Considerations:
 - Fertilization Requirements
 - Number of Cows
 - Manure Distribution Method
 - Existing Facilities

Keep reading for Storage period, site, & geological considerations plus lagoon specifics, permeability standard, clay liner requirements and more.