The Snoqualmie Watershed Forum is asking qualified residents of the Snoqualmie Valley to apply for its open position.

Established in 1998, the forum is a partnership between local governments and tribes to support the efforts of the King County Flood Control District. Forum members help plan and provide funding for Snoqualmie-Skykomish watershed projects, according to Elissa Ostergaard, the Snoqualmie salmon recovery manager for King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

“The forum’s goal is to protect and restore the health of the Snoqualmie watershed in harmony with the cultural and community needs of the Valley,” the forum’s website says. “To achieve this, the forum provides leadership on key issues and implements projects to aid in salmon recovery, protect water quality and address flooding.”

Ostergaard said the King County Flood Control District provides the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum and other county salmon recovery groups with about $11 million each year to give out in grant funding. The forum then considers different recovery programs and recommends grantees to the Flood Control District.

As an employee of the county, Ostergaard said she operates as the forum’s service provider.

Members of the forum include elected officials from each of the forum’s eight jurisdictions and three citizen representatives. Two of the citizen representatives are appointed by the King County Executive and one is appointed by the Snoqualmie Valley Government Association (SVGA). The current open position will be appointed by SVGA.

According to the forum’s website, preference for this position will be given to those who reside in Carnation, Duvall, North Bend, Snoqualmie or on the Snoqualmie Tribe reservation. Other than that, Ostergaard said the forum is looking for someone who has the time and interest to be involved. The forum meets once every six months.

“Some basic understanding of environmental habitat and conservation is helpful, and interest in that is certainly really helpful,” she said.

The forum’s current work includes seeking funding for a broad range of restoration projects, Ostergaard said. Top priorities in the Snoqualmie Valley include the Lower Frew Levee Setback Project in Carnation, as well as a coordinated riparian restoration and maintenance program.

Within the riparian program, Ostergaard said the forum has been talking to Snoqualmie Valley landowners about their hesitations to plant trees along streams and how the forum can support them. In that process, she said, they realized that these landowners have been contacted multiple times by different organizations about stream-side plantings, so they are working on a centralized hub for communication.

Overall, the forum’s main work is communication, coordination, planning and ensuring funding so those plans don’t fall through.

More information and applications can be found at govlink.org/watersheds/7.