In 2019, MVCC convened a Climate Task Force to begin drafting the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan (MVCAP). The Methow’s CAP was unique—it was community led, not initiated by a government (county or city). The Plan was completed in September of 2021 after a process that incorporated input from hundreds of community members. This was our collective vision and road map for how our community could prepare for the impact of climate change and reduce local sources of greenhouse gas emissions.  

The release of the MVCAP was not the start of climate work in the Valley. The work—from preserving forests and old trees, to keeping large tracts of land in the Valley from being developed, to regenerative farming practices—has been ongoing for decades. Through seven clear goals and many corresponding strategies and actions, the Climate Action Plan helps give us a picture of where there is movement towards the Climate Action goals and where there are gaps. Read the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan here. 

As advocates, MVCC’s climate work focuses on speaking up for our natural environment—our land, our water, our air—that support life, store carbon and help us to adapt to a changing climate. Our work  addresses some of the key goals and actions of the Climate Action Plan:

Goal 1: Water to Sustain Nature and People: We manage the Methow Valley’s finite resources to meet the needs of our growing community and the natural systems on which we depend. 

MVCC’s Role: As the climate changes, when and how we receive water (mostly from snowmelt) will shift. MVCC is continually working on policies to protect our precious watersheds and their surrounding habitats.  

Climate Actions we’re advocating for on water:  

• Retain water rights in the valley through advocacy and legal action,  
• Ensure towns have adequate water rights to meet current and future demand 
• Strengthen rules governing critical areas (e.g., spawning areas, water refugia) to better protect water quality  
• Protect natural wetlands. Support sources of natural infiltration and filtration.  
• Implement policies and practices to protect in-stream flows as
  precipitation patterns change  
• Prioritize water rights for towns  
• Protect aquifers and surface water through zoning that is based on water availability.  
• Develop land use policies that limit land use, subdivision and protect large rural lots; 
• Promote local water banking & leasing 

Goal 2: Resilient, Healthy and Abundant Natural Systems: Our natural systems are able to withstand disturbances and rebound; resources and wildlife are plentiful and healthy. 

MVCC’s Role: The forests surrounding the Methow Valley are a critical carbon sink—until they burn in a catastrophic wildfire. MVCC works collaboratively on forest restoration plans that promote the health and resiliency of the forests to fire.  Our advocacy work at the county level focuses on concentrating development in existing population centers. 

Climate Actions we’re advocating for to maintain our natural systems: 

• Prioritize long-term investments in forest health & restoration with a 100+year outlook  
• Use prescribed fire to maintain open forest structure; integrate tribal knowledge to improve fire management and burning practices. 
• Limit development in forested landscapes when it endangers people and habitat  
• Support codes and regulations to discourage floodplain development  
• Limit shrub-steppe development  
• Partner with tribal agencies to include traditional ecological knowledge in land management decisions    

Goal 3: Health and Safety: When natural disasters occur, we are prepared to respond quickly 

MVCC’s Role: Clean Air Methow, a program of MVCC, has worked actively for years to create a smoke ready community that is prepared for the smoke impacts from wildfires when they arrive. 

Climate Actions we’re taking to address health and safety: 

• Develop and implement a Smoke- Ready Action Plan that includes the following steps:
• Increase communication and outreach about smoke issues, including education about: health risks; air quality and burn ban alerts; ways to protect health; ways to reduce unnecessary burning.  
• Protect health, especially in at-risk populations through N95 mask distribution; expanded use of air purifiers and filter fans, including in schools and retirement facilities.
• Protect mental health through campaigns that address the effects of disasters on residents’ mental wellbeing.  
• Create public spaces and programs to provide cool, clean air for people to come together to recreate, socialize, and de-stress  

Goal 5: A thriving place-based economy with equity for all: Where human needs are balanced with the natural environment.

MVCC’s Role: MVCC recognizes that to protect our natural environment into the future while having people live in this place we must transition to a green, locally-sourced economy that supports natural systems instead of degrades them. MVCC is working to envision the big picture of this transition and will help to connect opportunities with local businesses, municipalities and individuals, give guidance of how a local economy can be integrated, and provide facilitation, technical assistance, funding and other resources to support the growth and success of this green, local economy.