Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District July 2011 – June 2012
Order Native
Plants Today!
Every spring the Hood River
SWCD hosts a native tree and
shrub sale to promote planting
of native vegetation and provide an easy and inexpensive
way to obtain native plants.
We offer a variety of native
conifers, deciduous trees and
shrubs. These bare-root seedlings are 1-2 years old. Tree
and shrub orders can be
placed now by mail, e-mail or
phone. The orders will be
filled in the order in which
they were received, so get
your requests in early to ensure availability. Purchases
will be available for pick
up on Friday and Saturday, the 5th and 6th of
April, 2013.
Staff are available to answer
your questions. Use the order
form on page 11 of this newsletter, on the district’s website www.hoodriverswcd.org
or stop by the office to get
your order in today!
Inside...
Neal Creek Improvements Sought
In part due to the success of the Tieman Creek fence project (story below), a cooperative effort is underway to provide comprehensive conservation assistance to landowners in the Neal Creek watershed. The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation (CTWS) have received grant funds to implement a Small Scale Restoration Initiative. CTWS is seeking landowners with a stream on their property who are interested in implanting conservation practices to enhance water quality and improve fish
habitat. Streambank stabilization, livestock fencing, and irrigation screen upgrades are
among the types of projects CTWS would like to help landowners implement. While
CTWS is looking for potential restoration projects on any area stream, priority will be
given to lands within the Neal Creek watershed.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) would also like to target funding
for conservation improvements in the area. If enough landowners express interest, a
Conservation Implementation Strategy can be written to upgrade irrigation systems in
the Neal Creek watershed with the goal of getting low-flow micro sprinkler or drip irrigation systems installed for all interested landowners.
Landowners interested in the Small Scale Restoration Initiative should contact CTWS
fish habitat biologist Blayne Eineichner at 541-352-9326. Landowners interested in
irrigation upgrades should contact NRCS District Conservationist Carly Heron at 541386-2815.
Tieman Creek Benefits
from Cooperative Effort
A cooperative fencing and cattle crossing project was completed adjacent to
Highway 35 during the summer of
2011. A 200 foot section of Tieman
Creek was fenced and a cattle crossing
was hardened, thanks to teamwork by
the Confederated Tribes of the Warm
Springs Reservation (CTWS), the Hood
River SWCD, and the landowner.
As part of the project, stream banks were re-contoured and re-vegetated with
grasses and native plants. Local contractor Beam, Couch & Level installed the
crossing while a CTWS crew constructed the fence. Materials were provided
by J. Arlie Bryant and Bryant Pipe & Supply. CTWS funded the project, with
both CTWS and SWCD staff providing manpower to implement it.
Financial Report, Facts & Figures, Weed Projects Update
Flow Meter Monitoring, NRCS Update
OWEB Small Grant Program Update
Hood River Watershed Group Activities
SWCD Outreach, Partners
Ag Water Quality Update, Native Plant Sale Order Form
Indian Creek Signage Debuts
pages 2-3
page 4
page 5
pages 6-8
page 9
pages 10 -11
page 12
2011-2012
Hood River acts
F
&
SWCD
g
i
F ures
The Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District
(SWCD) is governed by a locally elected, volunteer Board
of Directors. It is a legal subdivision of state government
and receives funds to administer its programs from the
ODA, OWEB, NRCS, CTWS and others.
The Board of Directors meets on the first Thursday of
each month at the OSU Extension meeting room, 2990
Experiment Station Rd., Hood River, OR 97031. Meetings from November to March start at 3 p.m., April-July
meetings start at 4 p.m., and August-October meetings
start at 7 p.m.
Meetings are open to the public. For information or agendas, contact the office at 3007 Experiment Station Rd.,
Hood River. Office hours are weekdays, generally from
8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. A request for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting by calling 541-386-4588.
Directors
Brian Nakamura, Chair
Larry Martin, Vice-Chair
John Joyer, Secretary/Treasurer
Cindy Collins
Rick Ragan
Associate Directors
Chuck Gehling
Richard Larson
Pete Siragusa
Staff
Anne Saxby, Manager
541-386-6719
[email protected]
Jordan Kim, Assistant Manager/Technician
541-386-4588
[email protected]
Steve Stampfli, Watershed Coordinator
541-386-6063
[email protected]
Megan Saunders, Watershed Assistant/Technician
541-386-6063
[email protected]
Carly Heron, NRCS District Conservationist
541-386-2815
[email protected]
Website: www.hoodriverswcd.org
Financial Report
Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District
July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012
Beginning Fund Balance:
REVENUES:
Intergovernmental:
ODA grants
OWEB grants
Other grants
Contracts:
EDRR Weed Survey-NFWF
NRCS support
Irrigation District support
Coordinator contract-CTWS
Water quality study-CTWS
Tieman Creek Crossing-CTWS
Contributions
Earnings on Investments
Tree sales and miscellaneous revenue
TOTAL REVENUES:
$116,161
74,930
112,508
2,200
14,330
8,420
30,000
36,000
45,000
2,000
111
240
9,221
$332,960
EXPENDITURES:
Administration:
Personnel Services
Materials and Services
Conservation Technician:
Personnel Services
Materials and Services
Hood River Watershed Program:
Personnel Services
Materials and Services
Projects:
Materials and Services
45,629
5,138
43,240
7,903
84,365
13,454
107,963
TOTAL EXPENDITURES:
$307,692
Ending Fund Balance:
$141,429
We’ve Got You Covered!
Got weeds? Who doesn’t?
But herbicides aren’t the only answer.
Landscape fabric can slow weed spread while saving you time and money.
Farmers seeking quantities of landscape fabric should check with
the District before ordering elsewhere. Through the DeWitt Co.,
the District can obtain various widths and lengths of landscape
fabric and related conservation materials at a deep discount. Orders over $7,000 receive free shipping.
Call District Manager Anne Saxby for more information.
Page 2
2011-2012
Project Aims to Stop Spread of New Invaders
Living in the heavily-traveled Columbia Gorge corridor has its pluses
and minuses. One plus is the ease at which you can get to a trailhead. A
minus is the weeds you are likely to encounter there. Weeds get carried
by wind and water, people and pets, vehicles and horses.
Noxious weeds have been likened to wildfires; early detection and rapid
response are critical to control the spread of new weed infestations. To
tackle the threat of new weed invaders, the partners of the Columbia
Gorge Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) obtained a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant in spring 2011 to implement
an Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) project.
The project’s 22 partners collaborated this past year to report existing
weed infestations to both the Oregon and Washington weed tracking
systems. Surveys were also taken at 40 priority sites throughout the Columbia Gorge to locate, report and begin control of five target invaders:
false brome, garlic mustard, knotweed, leafy spurge and giant hogweed. Those surveys documented 51 noxious weed infestations, 10 of which were the target species.
In spring 2012, installation of boot brushes and signage began at 25 key trailheads in the Scenic Area to increase public awareness about the spread of invasive weeds. A spring workshop was also held in Skamania
County that drew over 100 professionals to learn about new invaders and control methods.
The Hood River SWCD has served as project manager for the EDRR grant, which will be completed in February 2013. Final tasks include installation of the remaining boot brushes and compilation of a regional weed
field guide.
Two Garlic Mustard Sites Targeted with Team Effort
The only two known infestations of garlic mustard in Hood River County were treated again this
spring, thanks to an ODA noxious weed grant secured by the Hood River SWCD. Staff from the
SWCD and Hood River County surveyed over 35 acres to flag 1.75 acres for treatment. Hood River
County and ODA staff applied herbicides to 0.75 acres of garlic mustard
spread over 32.5 project acres in early May. Two weeks later, a crew
from Verde Northwest hand-pulled surviving plants. Pulled plants were
bagged and sent to the landfill to prevent seeds from developing and
disbursing. In mid-June, a thick layer of bark mulch was applied by a
local WINGS crew to large treated areas at one site to further discourage seed generation.
This was the second year of weed control efforts at these two locations
in the upper valley. It is expected that the effort will continue into the
future until eradication is achieved. The SWCD plans to seek additional
funding to continue the control work in 2013 and beyond.
Page 3
2011-2012
Water Savings Monitored
The Hood River SWCD is finishing its third and
final year of a flow meter monitoring project to
better gauge the water usage and savings associated with irrigation system upgrades. Thanks to a
grant from OWEB and the support of EFID, MFID,
FID and OWRD, the District is currently monitoring water usage on 35 irrigation systems (218
acres). All of these farms, with the exception of
one still using a conventional irrigation system, received OWEB small grant funds to upgrade their
irrigation systems from hand
lines and impact sprinklers to
micro or drip irrigation.
District staff is reading flow
meters before and after each
irrigation season to quantify
water use over the course of a season. In addition,
the SWCD is documenting the growers’ irrigation
water management (IWM) practices and their impact on the amount of water conserved.
Data from the first two
years indicates that growers with a high level of participation in the management of their irrigation
achieved the largest water
savings.
Active IWM
appears to play a
significant role in
cumulative water
savings.
After the 2012 irrigation season ends, SWCD
staff will compile a final report to OWEB. The
SWCD expects that the numbers will document
less water usage with the upgraded irrigation systems. Long-term availability of OWEB funding for
irrigation system upgrades is dependent on demonstrating that these upgrades can, and do, translate
into less water diverted for irrigation and more
water left instream for fish and other aquatic life.
Those interested in receiving a copy of the monitoring report should contact the District.
Page 4
Steep Ground Prioritized
The Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) continues
to be the main funding
mechanism for federal
funding of conservation
work on agricultural land. However, the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has
adopted Conservation Implementation Strategies
(CIS) to focus their efforts strategically on high
priority areas. In Hood River County, the CIS is
to fund projects on steep ground, with an average
slope of 5% or greater, to reduce erosion.
In 2011-2012, seven EQIP contracts, totaling
$60,990.15, were obligated for projects on steep
ground. During the same time period, $71,092.87
in federal EQIP funding was spent to implement
the following improvements:
Micro irrigation upgrades on 92.6 acres
Irrigation water management on 53.9 acres
3,228 feet of irrigation pipeline installed
Mulching on 13.2 acres
Two agricultural chemical handling stations
were built
Conservation cover was developed on 0.6
acres
Upland wildlife habitat was developed on
28.7 acres
In the coming year, NRCS
hopes to increase the costshare payments on microirrigation systems.
NRCS District Conservationist Carly Heron is also
interested in hearing from
producers about specific
resource concerns that
might be addressed by developing another CIS in the
future.
2011-2012
Program Tweaks Encourage New Small Grant Applicants
Over the past ten years, the OWEB Small Grant program has gained wide appreciation.
Almost $500,000 has been allocated by OWEB to implement 79 watershed health projects in
Hood River County.
With the start of a new biennium in July 2011, the Hood River Small Grant team met to determine changes to program priorities, project types and ranking criteria for 2011-2013.
Given the program’s popularity, the team decided to restrict the first year to first-time applicants only and split the available $100,000 funding equally between the two years of the biennium. Goals were to increase participation and spread out the workload for SWCD staff.
The team met twice during the year to evaluate and approve six applications for a total allocation of $52,220. Five of these
projects were irrigation improvement projects; the other was a manure storage facility.
In the July 2011- June 2012 reporting period, four irrigation systems were upgraded from hand lines and impact sprinklers
to polytubing and low-flow micro sprinklers or drip on 31.2 acres. The new systems are estimated to use an average of
66% less water and include flow meters, where needed, to track water usage. Soil moisture sensors were also installed in
the four projects, allowing farm operators to gauge the trees’ water needs.
The newly-funded manure storage building was also built in fall 2011, before the muddy wet season. The sixth project
completed during the year was removal of 90 cubic yards of noxious ivy and planting of 100 native trees and shrubs at
Mitchell Point State Park. All told, $52,952 in OWEB funds was matched by $37,828 in local funds to complete the six
projects.
At the July 25, 2012 Small Grant Team meeting, the remaining $47,780 in 2011-2013 funds were allocated to six (6) additional irrigation improvement projects out of ten (10) proposals. The team won’t meet again until July 2013 to set the
program parameters for the coming biennium.
Meanwhile, staff from the SWCD and HRWG can assist potential applicants with technical guidance or project development. Information can be obtained by checking the District website, www.hoodriverswcd.org or contacting the office.
On-the-ground restoration projects such as streamside fencing for
livestock, manure storage facilities, fish passage improvements and
irrigation system upgrades are eligible for funding. The OWEB
grant program requires a 25% match, which can be in-kind labor or
materials.
This new manure storage building can handle the
manure and pelletized bedding created by 15 horses
over three months.
The Hood River Small Grant team is made up by representatives of
the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, the Hood
River Watershed Group and the Hood River SWCD. They are assisted by representatives of local and natural resource agencies. The
Oregon lottery funds the OWEB grant programs to support voluntary efforts to improve water quality, water quantity and the recovery of listed fish. For more information on OWEB or any of its programs, visit www.oweb.state.or.us.
Page 5
2011-2012
Hood River Watershed Group Update
Watershed Restoration Activities - July 2011 to June 2012
Hood River Watershed Group (HRWG) members work “to sustain and improve the
Hood River Watershed through education, cooperation and stewardship.”
Summarized here are the key accomplishments made to further this mission in the last year.
The design for the new EFID Main Canal diversion and fish ladder on the East Fork Hood River was completed this
year, and an application for funding submitted to OWEB. CTWS and EFID are negotiating on the amount of water
that will be left instream in the bypass reach in exchange for funding through CTWS and BPA. The $2.4 million
project should to get underway in 2013. The HRWG Coordinator assisted EFID with grant-writing and partnership
development.
USFS and CTWS completed the McGee Creek enhancement project. In summer 2011, 800
pieces of large wood were added to 1.3 miles of McGee Creek and its floodplain and 19 existing log structures were modified. Work planned for 2013 includes culvert replacement
and riparian thinning along McGee Creek. Partners include CTWS, USFS, HRWG, OWEB
and Longview Timberlands.
Having a
hard time
deciphering all of
the acronyms?
Check out the list of
our partners on
page 9!
USFS replaced a culvert with a bridge on Red Hill Creek in summer 2011, providing fish
passage to a mile of upstream habitat. Project cost was $750,000.
MFID largely completed the $537,000 Evans Creek Fish Passage Water Quality Improvement Project (Phase 3) during the year. Final project improvements will be completed in
fall 2012. With a $314,000 OWEB grant and assistance from the HRWG, MFID has already installed 11,000 feet of
new pipeline to save water and eliminate the annual introduction of 500 tons of sediment to Evans Creek.
CGFG, CTWS and HRWG continued their vegetated spray buffer project in spring 2012. Approximately 6,500 linear feet of streambank in 8 orchards were planted with a total of 2,700 willow and dogwood live stakes. CGFC contractor Joe Laraway and a local WINGS work crew did the work, with HRWG staff helping with project design,
monitoring, and collection of live stakes.
The Powerdale Lands Stakeholders continued work this year to craft an agreement that will transfer ownership of
400+ acres along the lower Hood River from PacifiCorp to Columbia Land Trust and Hood River County. Unexpected glitches have delayed the agreement from its original March 2012 target date; the Stakeholders now hope to
transact the agreement in fall 2012. HRWG Chair Chuck Gehling and Coordinator Steve Stampfli have played critical roles in keeping the process moving forward. CLT also made significant progress with drafting the Powerdale
Stewardship Plan, in cooperation with HRWG, HRVPRD, HRC, adjacent landowners, and other partners.
FID secured a State Revolving Fund loan of $15 million to pipe the remaining 9,000
feet of Lowline Canal, and the entire 22,000 foot Farmers Canal. Lowline and Phase 1
Farmers Canal piping (first 2,600 feet) will be completed in fall 2012. The remaining
three phases of the Farmers Canal piping project will occur in fall 2013 and fall 2014.
As part of the design process, the HRWG Coordinator helped FID develop methods of
controlling stormwater impacts of the Phase 1 Farmers Canal project, and also helped
plan a fall 2012 fish salvage of resident cutthroat trout.
HRWG staff assisted Dave Gee of the Native Fish Society to organize a trash clean-up
along the lower Hood River in May, with 20 volunteers collecting one ton of trash.
(continued on next page)
Page 6
2011-2012
More restoration Work
USFS decommissioned a total of 3.5 miles of road in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River sub-watershed in summer
2011. The project stabilized over 45,000 cubic yards of sediment and removed 19 stream crossing and 17 crossdrain culverts. Total cost was $53,000.
USFS completed the first phase of an aspen regeneration project in the Gibson Prairie area this year. They installed
big game fencing around a 3 acre plot to prevent aspen damage by cattle, deer and elk, and removed 80 grand fir and
Douglas fir that were invading the site. The work was funded by the USFS/HRC Title II program.
The DID Pipeline project received over $550,000 in OWEB funding to convert their conveyance canal to pipeline,
with grant-writing assistance from the HRWG Coordinator. Project costs are estimated at $3.0 million; partners include OWEB, HRWG and CTWS. DID will begin laying pipe in fall 2012 and complete the project in spring 2013.
A permanent water savings of 3.0 cfs will accrue in the West Fork Hood River.
USFS secured funding for the Marco Large Wood Placement project through Ecotrust, USFS/HRC Title II, and
CTWS/BPA. Design and planning took place this year. Over 550 logs will be placed by helicopter in summer 2012
along 0.7 mile of the West Fork Hood River just upstream of its confluence with Marco Creek. Total project cost is
over $236,000; partners include the SWCD, USFS, CTWS, HRWG, Ecotrust, and BPA.
Project design for the Lower Hood River Mile 1.0 (RM 1.0) side channel habitat project continued this year. Columbia River Crossing (CRC), the consortium spearheading the I-5 Interstate bridge replacement, has agreed to fund RM
1.0 if a design can be developed that is acceptable to all parties. Local consulting firm Inter-Fluve has been actively
assisting the CRC and HRWG with creation of project alternatives.
CTWS continued the Hood River Production Program with acclimation of spring Chinook and steelhead smolts.
HRWG staff assisted CTWS with fish carcass placement and snorkel and spawning surveys.
HRWG and other stakeholders have been working with the project owner to determine the feasibility of decommissioning the Odell Creek Hydro project. The goal is to eliminate a steelhead passage barrier near the mouth of Odell
Creek.
The Watershed Coordinator has been working with WRC, HRC and the Oregon Army National Guard to plan the
removal of a dilapidated stairway near the Punchbowl Falls fish ladder. The project is scheduled for fall 2013, with
the National Guard providing project logistics, equipment and manpower for the stair removal.
Watershed Group Coordination
Monthly meetings are held the fourth
Tuesday at 7 PM, usually in the OSU Extension
Service meeting room. There are no meetings in
August and December. The July meeting is a salmon
BBQ at Tollbridge Park. Meetings feature updates on
member activities and stakeholder presentations.
Attendance averages 27+ people.
J
oin
!
Us
Watershed Group members do more than
attend meetings!
In 2011-12, volunteers contributed 333 hours
of assistance on watershed projects, including
vegetation management, mulching, water
monitoring and educational efforts.
Page 7
2011-2012
HRWG Planning, Monitoring and Education Activities
July 2011-June 2012
Planning
HRWG staff assisted HRC acquire $500,000 in grants to support water use planning. HRC will use the funds to
analyze existing water resources, future water supply and demand, and options for addressing future supply needs.
Mike Benedict and Les Perkins are coordinating this effort, assisted by a steering committee.
MFID is conducting an instream flow study on the Middle Fork Hood River, and completed a fish passage study on
the Clear Branch Dam. The studies will help MFID and partners determine flow and temperature regimes to minimize impacts to aquatic life, and also identify potential methods to reestablish bull trout and steelhead passage over
the dam. HRWG staff helped with grant-writing as well as temperature monitoring in the Middle Fork system. Partners include OWEB, USFS/HRC Title II and HRWG.
FID is continuing their Lower Hood River Sub-basin Temperature Study to determine how their water management
impacts temperature in the mainstem. This year FID released a report of their findings from 2009-2011. The
HRWG Assistant began collecting and compiling the continuous temperature data this year for FID.
The Hood River collaborative stewardship crew, aka the “stew crew”, continued to meet and take field trips to look
at proposed treatments for the Red Hill Planning Area. They viewed and debated areas proposed for huckleberry
enhancement, fuels treatment and road decommissioning before finalizing recommendations for District Ranger
Daina Bambe.
Monitoring
The last of six year’s monitoring work on Neal Creek was completed by HRWG staff in fall 2011. The monitoring
(three pre-project years and three post-project years) was done to document the changes to water quality and flow
from the installation of EFID’s Central Canal Pipeline Project, and evaluate whether the project is meeting planned
objectives. The HRWG Assistant analyzed the data and compiled a draft report in early summer 2012. A final report will be issued in winter 2012.
As part of the Pesticide Stewardship Partnership (PSP), DEQ conducted water quality sampling and analysis this
past year, as they have since 1999. DEQ data from 2011 was shared with the PSP in March 2012. DEQ detected 13
pesticide ingredients in 2011 but none were above benchmarks or standards. Pesticides used in agriculture, forestry
and right-of-ways were detected. USGS also compiled a report this year analyzing the occurrence and distribution of
pesticides in Hood River waterways from 1999-2009. PSP partners include CTWS, DEQ, USGS, HRWG and the
SWCD.
CGFG and OSU Extension have been managing the Hood River Valley Integrated Codling Moth Management Project since 2007. Twenty-four growers in Dee and Odell are participating and 1,250 acres of orchard are being managed using integrated pest management with area-wide application of codling moth mating disruptors. Project funding has fluctuated; there was no funding for 2011 but DEQ provided over $53,000 for the project in 2012.
Education
HRWG Assistant Megan Saunders created a HRWG member orientation packet this year. It includes information on
the watershed, Watershed Group structure and functions, and HRWG projects. Pick up a copy at HRWG meetings.
The HRWG Field Series featured: an August 2011 tour of the FID system led by FID Projects Manager Jerry Bryan,
famed fisherman Greg Short’s annual steelhead fishing class in February, and a macroinvertebrate class led by Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute staff in June 2012. Total attendance was 22.
HRWG Assistant Megan Saunders helped CTWS staff conduct the Salmon Days hatchery field trips in October
2011 for around 125 students from Parkdale and Mid-Valley elementary schools. Megan also assisted with in-class
salmon dissection lessons.
Page 8
2011-2012
District Reaches Out
Partners Make It Possible
We couldn’t get by without the support of our partners:
The SWCD delivers conservation services in a variety of ways. Technical assistance is provided at the office, by phone or
email, and in the field. Fifty site visits were
made in 2011-2012 to assist landowners
on a variety of natural resource issues.
•
The District’s electronic newsletter goes out
quarterly to around 900 email accounts. It provides
updates on upcoming events, funding opportunities
and program deadlines. The SWCD annual report
is mailed to about 1,200 recipients.
•
The District’s website at www.hoodriverswcd.org
provides educational information as well as links to
other sites, helping community members to find
solutions, no matter what their concern.
•
Outreach includes workshops, presentations,
newspaper articles and tours. Three workshops
were held in 2011-2012 with thirty-one attendees:
stormwater management, manure management
and irrigation management. Staff gave six presentations to a total of 146 folks on topics ranging from
noxious weeds and restoration efforts to SWCD
services and accomplishments.
Displays on
SWCD activities were featured at the MCAREC
Field Day, a Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute
gathering, and the Gorge Grown Food & Farm
event. The SWCD manager facilitated and spoke
at National Water Quality conference tour in April
2012. The tour featured examples of local agricultural efforts to improve water quality.
•
Twenty-one newspaper articles on a variety of topics were published in 2011-2012, including an article on local efforts to conserve irrigation water that
appeared in the regional Ruralite magazine.
•
The District partners with the
HRWG and OSU Master Gardeners to host a display each
July at the Hood River County
Fair. This year, 786 Rural Living Handbooks or other fact
sheets were distributed at the
fair, workshops, site visits and
from the office.
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Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research & Extension Center
(MCAREC)
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
(CTWS)
East Fork Irrigation District (EFID)
Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID)
Farmers Irrigation District (FID)
US Forest Service (USFS)
Hood River County (HRC)
Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers (CGFG)
OSU Extension Service - Central Gorge Master Gardener Association (CGMGA)
Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW)
Oregon Dept. of Agriculture (ODA)
Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB)
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD)
Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF)
Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD)
Columbia Gorge Cooperative Weed Management Area
partners (CGCWMA)
Freshwater Trust
US Geological Survey (USGS)
US Bureau of Reclamation (USBOR)
US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Hood River Valley Parks & Rec. District (HRVPRD)
Columbia Land Trust (CLT)
Longview Timberlands Inc.
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC)
Hood River News
Hood River County School District (HRCSD)
Gorge Grown Food Network (GGFN)
Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute (CGEI)
PacifiCorp
Hood River Electric Coop (EREC)
Underwood Conservation District (UCD)
Horizon Christian School
Klahre House School
Individual landowners and Watershed Group members
Special thanks to Chuck Gehling, Rick Ragan, Greg Short
and the Field Series trip leaders for their efforts with the
HRWG; and all of the OSU Extension Master Gardeners who
helped with the district’s native plant sale.
Page 9
2011-2012
ODA Promotes Priority Areas to Quantify Ag Water Quality Improvements
Over ten years ago, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) was tasked by the Oregon Legislature through Senate Bill 1010 to address the impact of agriculture on water quality. Local Advisory Committees (LACs), made up of agricultural interests, were set up to develop Agricultural Water Quality Management Area (AWQMA) Plans and Rules for their areas.
The Hood River Plan and Rules were developed by the Hood River LAC in 2001; the Plan contains
recommended agricultural management practices to prevent water quality problems. While the Plan is voluntary, the Rules are not:
Agricultural landowners are required to maintain sufficient vegetation on
area streams to control water pollution by moderating solar heating, minimizing streambank erosion, and filtering sediments and nutrients from surface runoff.
Agricultural landowners must prevent animal waste from entering rivers or
streams of the state.
The Hood River SWCD assists ODA and the LAC with implementation of the SB 1010 program by
acting as the Local Management Agency (LMA).
The efficacy of the AWQMA program has come under increased scrutiny at the state level. Over
the past 10 years, a large number of projects have taken place on agricultural land throughout the
state. However, little baseline data was collected prior to 2001, so the cumulative benefits have
been hard for ODA to demonstrate. To remedy this situation, ODA has tasked LMAs with developing Priority Areas, subbasins where SWCDs will focus on gathering baseline data, contacting landowners, implementing water quality improvement projects, monitoring land conditions and reporting results to ODA.
In January 2012, the Hood River LAC met to hear about ODA’s new focus. The group discussed
priority areas but deferred to the SWCD to make a final decision on the first priority area. The
SWCD decided to focus first on Indian Creek; it has documented agricultural water quality issues.
Do you have
water quality
concerns?
Violations of the Area Rules
should be reported to the
Oregon Department of Agriculture. The regional contact is Ellen Hammond, (541)
617-0017. Degradation of
area waterways by nonagricultural activities is the
responsibility of Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality. DEQ has a reporting
hotline at http://
www.deq.state.or.us/
complaints/rep.htm
Page 10
ODA has been using streamside vegetation as a measurable land condition that can indicate water quality health; with a well-vegetated riparian
buffer, streams are protected from spray drift and agricultural runoff.
Vegetation also protects streams from solar heating, the predominant water pollution problem in the state (and Hood River County). The water,
cold as it is, is still too warm in summer and fall for fish and other
aquatic life. The SWCD will also use streamside vegetation as the measure of water quality improvement.
In addition to selecting the initial priority area, staff began to develop a
prioritized list of other agricultural subbasins that the LMA will tackle after Indian Creek. The prioritized list will be presented to the LAC in December 2012 when it meets for the biennial review of the Hood River Agricultural Water Quality Plan & Rules.
The SWCD continues to assist ODA with responding to complaints about
Area Rules violations. ODA and the SWCD are currently working with a
landowner and operator to re-establish vegetation that was removed
along Indian Creek in early 2011.
2011-2012
Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District
Conservation Tree & Shrub Sale 2013
ORDER FORM
Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
How would you like to be reminded
of the pick up date?
Conifer Trees - $1.25 ea.
Phone
QTY
Douglas Fir
Grand Fir
Noble Fir
Western Red Cedar
Ponderosa Pine
Giant Sequoia
Western Hemlock
Total Ordered:
Deciduous Trees - $2.50 ea.
Woods Rose
Creeping Snowberry
Douglas Spirea
Mock Orange
Oceanspray
Indian Plum
Red Osier Dogwood
Serviceberry
Red Flowering Currant
Pacific Ninebark
Golden Currant
Total Ordered:
How did you hear about our sale?
Both
Orders will be available for pick up:
Friday & Saturday, April 5th & 6th, 2013.
Call the Hood River SWCD (541-386-4588)
if you need to make other arrangements.
These are bareroot seedlings.
Be prepared to plant them soon after pick up!
QTY
Vine Maple
Quaking Aspen
Paper Birch
Red Elderberry
Beaked Hazelnut
Total Ordered:
Shrubs - $2.50 ea.
Email (*Must provide email above)
More information about each species can be found on the
Hood River SWCD website:
www.hoodriverswcd.org
All orders are subject to plant availability. Customers will be notified if
shortages occur. Orders are filled in the order they are received.
Please order early to ensure availability!
TOTAL ORDER
QTY
Conifer Trees
______ x
$1.25
=
Deciduous Trees
______ x
$2.50
=
Shrubs
______ x
$2.50
=
Total Cost of Order:
Paid by:
Check
Cash
Sorry, we cannot accept credit card payments.
Please make checks payable to the Hood River SWCD.
Submit Order and Payment to:
Hood River SWCD
3007 Experiment Station Road
Hood River, OR 97031
SWCD Annual Report
Newspaper
Radio
Website
Friend
Other
Page 11
2011-2012
Indian Creek Signage Debuts
A multi-year project was completed this year with the installation of three large informational signs
along the Indian Creek trail. The American Fisheries Society (AFS) provided the majority of
funding for the signs, which were designed and fabricated locally. Project partners included
Jules Burton and her students at CGCC, HRWG, FID, AFS, SWCD, Inter-Fluve and the Indian
Creek Stewards (ICS). Total cost of the project was $3,285.
As in past years, a couple of Earth Day events were held along Indian Creek in spring 2012. Thirty
students from Horizon Christian School weeded the native trees and shrubs that were planted last year at
the Union Substation Riparian Enhancement Project site. Fourteen students from Klahre House removed
around 400 pounds of trash from along the trail and spread 10 cubic yards of mulch at the Union Substation site. Ten teachers assisted the students; other partners included CGCC, Columbia Tree Service, the Hood River Garbage and Transfer Station, Rosauers,
Papa Murphy’s and Pietro’s Pizza.
In addition, CGCC, HRWG and the ICS sponsored an Education Series in spring 2012. On May 31, over 60 folks attended the Open
House at Springhouse Cellars, featuring a talk from Cheryl Mack on native peoples of the Hood River basin. A similar number of
people attended the next evening’s Bat Walk along Indian Creek, led by bat expert Karen Hadley. Thirteen folks attended the Field
Day on June 2 to learn about brush control using goats, construction of in-stream fish habitat structures, water quality testing, lamprey and native plants.
Student groups continue to use the Indian Creek corridor as an outdoor education “classroom”. Youth from Horizon Christian
School, Hood River Middle School, Klahre House School, and Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) are conducting water
quality studies, planting and maintaining riparian shrubs and trees, and learning about hydrology and other natural systems.
The Stewards meet each month on the third Thursday. Contact Megan or Steve at the HRWG if you’d like to join the group.
Hood River Soil & Water
Conservation District
3007 Experiment Station Rd.
Hood River, OR 97031
Inside...
Page 12
Neal Creek Improvements Sought, Tieman Creek Restoration
Financial Report, Facts & Figures, Weed Projects Update
Flow Meter Monitoring, NRCS Update
OWEB Small Grant Program Update
Hood River Watershed Group Activities
SWCD Outreach, Partners
Ag Water Quality Update
Native Plant Sale Order Form
PRST STD.
U.S. POSTAGE
HOOD RIVER, OR
97031
PERMIT NO. 181
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