Rolling Thunder Review

S h e r m a n C o u n t y S W C D Volume 10, Issue 3 Fall 2010

IN COLOR! 

The Rolling Thunder Review is now in color!  Thank you to all of our 

advertisers who made it possible!  Look for their ads on pages 3&4! 

If you are interested in advertising in our quarterly newsletter please contact

Amanda @ 541-565-3216 ext 109.

For the second straight year the Sherman County SWCD has partnered with the Sherman County Commission on Children and Families to complete work at the “Bill Todd Memorial Nursery” outside of Moro, OR. The crew working at the nursery this year was provided through one of the Ore-gon Youth Employment Initiative (OYEI) grants and included Crew Leader Jeremy Edson and Crew Members Rachael Beers, Daisy Rudometkin, Kevin Hayden, Danny Kivett and Terran Casper.

The Sherman County Commission on Chil-dren and Families received the OYEI grant through the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development to provide summer youth employment for Sherman County youth during the 2010 summer.

The Commission on Children and Families continued work programs that began during the 2009 summer that created youth employment opportunities in the per-formance of natural resource conservation, stewardship and restoration projects and utilized the programs as a means of needed assistance to protect, conserve, rehabilitate and improve the natural, historical and cultural resources of Sherman County.

Sherman County SWCD thanks the OYEI work crew and Sherman County Com-mission on Children and Families for another job well done!

SHERMAN COUNTY SWCD WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE OYEI WORK CREW!

Board Highlights . . . . . . . 2

Program Updates . . . . . . 3

Agency Reports . . . . . . . . 3

PH/JK Watershed Info . . 3&4

Weather Statistics . . . . . . 5

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Odds-N-Ends . . . . . . . . 5

Measure 76 . . . . . . . . . . 5

Advertisements . . . . . . . . 3&4

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mouth on both sides of the river. Brian Stradley is working with several agencies, including OWEB, and the landowners to pull together possible project planning and funding. Lower John Day AgWQMA—Local Advisory Committee (LAC) will be meeting in the spring to discuss changes require to the Area Plan because DEQ plans to have the TMDL completed. Tom Straughan asked that we review the draft TMDL for the John Day River.

Lower Deschutes River Update—The Lower Deschutes LAC meeting date is set for November 15th. Time and place will be announced later. It is time for the Biennial review of that area plan.

Conservation After Hours—The board agreed that “After Hours” meetings should be planned for this winter. SWCD staff and NRCS would like to hold at least four sessions. Some will hope-fully be sponsored by local producers and others will be held in public locations. It was suggested that the programs include in-formation from SWCD, NRCS, FSA, Extension, MCP, and the County trapper. Staff will try to begin the sessions in February.

NEW BUSINESS Poster Contest—Information will be made available to the ele-mentary school and junior/senior high school.

OACD Convention—The OACD Convention will be held at Sun River Resort October 27-29 this year. More information will be sent out soon.

OWEB Conference—The conference will be held November 15-17 in Pendleton. Amanda and Brian would both like to attend. The board agreed that they should attend.

NRCS REPORT A Local Work Group meeting will be held here at the office on June 15th at 8:00am. CSP sign up deadline is June 25th. EQIP sign up ends October 31st.

AGENCY REPORTS ODA—Tom Straughan briefly discussed funding for this year.

OTHER BUSINESS Fair Booth—The fair booth showing historic pictures of conser-vation in Sherman County over the past 60 years was well done.

Civil Rights Training—NRCS will provide a power point presen-tation to the board at the October meeting.

Cultural Resource Training—NRCS has scheduled training in Redmond on October 13th.

OYCC—The Oregon Youth Conservation Corp did an excellent job of cleaning up the Bill Todd Memorial Nursery. Their service was made available through the Commission on Children and Families, Sherman County Office.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held on Oct. 12, 2010 at 8:30 am.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm.

Sherman SWCD Board Highlights September 14, 2010

WATERSHED UPDATES Pine Hollow/Jackknife—Amanda did site visits for the assessment of Juniper encroachment in the watershed. The OWEB assessment grant (207-254) was extended until 12/31/12. Amanda and Krista visited with Hugh Barrett, the applicant for the juniper consulting contract. Some adjustments are being made to the contract before signing. If an agreement is reached he will probably start in Febru-ary or March. BPA—Jessa reported that the BPA funding that had formerly been only for the Pine Hollow/Jackknife watershed has been opened up to the whole Lower John Day watershed. Jessa has gotten the word out and has received several responses from inter-ested landowners.

Grass Valley Canyon—Several landowners received Canada thistle bugs for biological control as part of the districts weed control pro-gram.

North Sherman County—Several landowners received Canada this-tle bugs for biological control as part of the districts weed control program.

Grant Updates—Completion report and final request for funds has been sent for OWEB grant 206-336. Monitoring reports have been sent for OWEB grants 206-123 and 205-057. Fund requests have been sent for OWEB grants 208-4016 and 207-323. ODA has indi-cated that $15,000 will be made available to support CREP in Sherman County this year. More information will be coming on the application process.

OWEB Small Grants—Amanda has completed 3 monitoring re-ports for grants on the Lower John Day side and 1 monitoring re-port for the Lower Deschutes side. She has sent in two completion reports for projects on the Lower John Day side for this funding cycle. At this time there is $10,253.87 left to allocate on the Lower John Day and $31,480 left to allocate on the Lower Deschutes. Two applications were submitted for review. An application from the Lower Deschutes area requesting assistance with upland erosion control was reviewed and discussed. A motion was made by Kyle and seconded by Tracy to approve the request. Motion carried unanimously. An application from the Lower John Day area re-questing assistance with erosion control was reviewed and dis-cussed. A motion was made by Tracy and seconded by Kyle to approve the request. Motion carried unanimously. Brian and Amanda are working on a grant application to ODFW in order to get match funding for an Upland Wildlife Water Project that is be-ing partially funded by an OWEB Small Grant.

Range Drill—Repairs on the range drill have not been done yet.

Education Incentive Grant Update—No new applications have been received. The greenhouse projects at the elementary school and Little Wheat’s Day Care have been completed. The junior/senior high school greenhouse is under construction.

Lower John Day River Update—The Lower John Day Conserva-tion Work Group annual meeting and tour is scheduled for Septem-ber 30. Erin Stone gave a brief update of projects in the Lower John Day. Another meeting was held this week with Oregon State Parks regarding the proposal to integrate education projects into the overall plan for the new Cottonwood Canyon State Park. Erin also reported on the recent meeting with the Corp of Engineers about the fencing of their property along the river below Tumwater to the

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EQIP Update

EQIP (Environmental Incentives Program) sign up deadline has been extended to December 15, 2010. If you have any projects that fall under Soil Erosion Control, Rangeland Restoration or Irrigation Improvements, please call Kristie.

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP 08) for Fiscal Year 2010 funded 33 contracts. Signup is continuous on this program much like EQIP. To be considered for Fiscal Year 2011 pool, appli-cants must sign up by January 7, 2011.

Please contact Kristie for more information on the above programs @ 541-565-3216 ext 102 or

kristie.coelsch@or.usda.gov.

GUZZLER INFO 

Attention Producers:

If you need information on Guzzler Manufactures or Installation contact the FSA or NRCS Offices for infor-

mation.

FSA Contact: Sheri Carlson @ 541-565-3551 x 105

NRCS Contact: Kristie Coelsch @ 541-565-3551 x 102

OWEB GRANT UPDATES 

Just a reminder…

There is still cost share assistance available through OWEB Grants.

OWEB Small Grant funds are still available with a 75% cost share for projects $5,000 or less and a 50% cost share for projects $5,001 to

$10,000.

If you have larger projects that you would like to complete come talk to us about an OWEB

Large Grant.

If you are interested in signing up for any of these cost share opportunities contact

Amanda @ 541-565-3216 x 109.

PINE HOLLOW/JACKKNIFE WATERSHED UPDATE 

TTThe SWCD recently hired Hugh Barrett, a rangeland consultant, to conduct a juniper assessment as part of the Pine Hollow/Jackknife Watershed Assessment. With more juniper encroaching our rangelands this assessment will help us to determine priority areas

for restoration work throughout the watershed.

HHHugh will be starting field work for the project in early spring. If you own land in the watershed you

will be receiving a call from the SWCD to talk about the project.

IIIf you have any questions please contact the SWCD Office @ 541-565-3216 ext. 3.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has expanded their funding are for Sherman County!

If you have a conservation project you would like to complete in the Lower John Day Subbasin (shown on the right) you may

be eligible for up to 85% Cost Share.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has continued their support in salmon/steelhead recovery by providing funding

for on-the-ground conservation work and fish/wildlife habitat enhancements.

Some projects that are eligible include:

Rangeland Water & Sediment Control Basins (WASCB) Off-Stream Watering Facility Pipeline & Troughs Spring Development Solar/Wind Hybrid Watering Facility For more information contact Jessa @ 541-565-3551 x 110.

Page 4 Rol l ing Thunder Review Volume 10, Issue 3

Funding Available for Lower John 

Day Subbasin 

SHERMAN & GILLIAM SWCD’S HOST ANNUAL LOWER JOHN DAY TOUR

TTThursday, September 30th brought together over 40 partners to review the year’s work on the Lower John Day Watershed. Commissioner Steve Burnet and Association of Oregon Counties Executive Direc-tor Mike McArthur welcomed landowners from Sherman, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties, Governor Kulongowski’s Natural Resource Advisor, and staff from the three SWCD’s, BPA, NOAA, USACE, Ore-gon State Parks, BLM, ODFW, US Fish & Wildlife, ONDA, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

SSSherman County Deputy Cliff Jett led a caravan of volunteer boat operators from LePage Park to the Narrows. This trip covered a new joint project in-volving Sherman & Gilliam SWCDs and landowners,

USACE, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and OWEB that will address issues facing the lower river.

GGGuests then traveled to Cottonwood Crossing for a presentation by Oregon State Parks on the new Cot-tonwood Canyon State Park, due to open in 2013. The group continued the meeting with updates from the Restoration and Education Committees.

TTThe Grass Valley Market & Deli catered food and beverages throughout the day. Event sponsors in-cluded Gilliam SWCD, the Wyss Foundation, Oregon State Parks & Recreation, Oregon Natural Desert Association, and Bonneville Power Administration. A huge THANK YOU to these sponsors!

MEDUSAHEAD CONTROL

DDDo you have medusahead encroach-

ing on your land?

IIIf you are interested in conducting

medusahead trials or would like to know more about

control methods give us a call.

Contact the SWCD office for more information @ 541-565-3216 x 109.

Odds –N– Ends

AUGUST WEATHER STATS

Precipitation for August is a trace which is .29” below normal.

Total precipitation for 09/10 crop year was 13.73” which is 2.5” above normal.

The highest temperatures was 97◦ on the 18th.

The lowest temperature was 40◦ on the 23rd.

Long time air temperature averages indicate we can expect 97◦ and 41◦ .

The average air temperature for the month was 66.7◦ .

4” soil temperature ranged from 66◦ to 92◦.

Page 5 Rol l ing Thunder Review Volume 10, Issue 3

Sherman County Experiment Station Weather Statistics SEPTEMBER WEATHER STATS

Precipitation for September was 2.61”

Long time average for September is 0.51”.

The highest air temperature was 88◦ on the 4th.

The lowest air temperature was 37◦ on the 6th.

Long time air temperature averages indicate we can expect 91◦ and 33◦.

The average air temperature for the month was 60.1◦ which is 0.1◦ above normal.

4” soil temperature ranged from 55◦ to 79◦ .

Page 5

What is Measure 76?

Measure 76 continues Oregon’s only dedicated source of fund-ing for clean water, safe and accessible state and local parks, and wildlife habitat.

Why was this measure originally passed?

In 1998, Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed a measure dedi-cating 15% of lottery funds to restore natural habitat and to expand and improve Oregon’s state parks. Half of the dedi-cated 15% of lottery funds are distributed to Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for preserving and improving public parks and recreation areas. The other half is distributed in the form of competitive grants by the Oregon Watershed Enhance-ment Board (OWEB) for protecting and restoring water quality, watersheds, and habitat for fish and wildlife. Since 1998, ap-proximately $1.3 million has come to Sherman County SWCD and our local watersheds to improve and protect natural resources as well as support council and district opera-

tions. The OWEB grants from these dedicated lottery funds have enabled significant progress to be made in solving natural resource issues at the local level throughout the state.

Why does this Measure need to be renewed?

Passage of Measure 76 will provide for continuation of conser-vation technical and financial assistance to local people. If measure 76 does not pass and the current law is allowed to ex-pire in 2014; beginning in July 2013 the ability of the district and watershed council to provide technical assistance and fund local projects will likely be sharply reduced.

Does the Water, Parks and Wildlife Initiative Affect My Taxes or Other Services?

No. This measure will not increase taxes or cut any other vital services. The measure simply renews the dedication of funds that are already going to support one of the most successful conservation efforts in Oregon history along with thousands of family-wage jobs in every corner of the state.

RANGE DRILL

TTThe SWCD Range Drill is available to landown-ers/operators to rent for range restoration, pasture seeding or grass seeding. If you would like to rent the range drill call the office (541-565-3216 x 3) to make an appointment.

Start thinking about fall & spring seeding!

Measure 76: Water, Parks and Wildlife

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800)795-3272 (voice) or (202)720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Sherman County SWCD Board of Directors Gary Irzyk, Chairman Brad Eakin, Vice Chair Tracy Fields, Secretary Kyle Blagg, Treasurer Bill Martin, Member SWCD Staff Krista Coelsch, District Coordinator Amanda Whitman, Watershed Council Coordinator Brian Stradley, District Technician Jessa Irzyk, Conservation Technician NRCS Staff Kristie Coelsch, District Conservationist Mary Beth Smith, Basin Resource Conservationist

Rolling Thunder Review Sherman County SWCD P.O. Box 405 Moro, OR 97039

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID MORO, OR 97039

PERMIT #15

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

October

26-29 Oregon Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting & Conference@ Sun River Resort

31 Happy Halloween

November

9 SWCD Board Meeting, 8:30 am @ Moro Field Office

11 Veterans Day, Office Closed

15 2011 EQIP Signup Deadline

15-17 OWEB Biennial Conference @ Pendleton Convention Center

25 Thanksgiving, Office Closed

December

14 SWCD Board Meeting, Time TBA @ Moro Field Office

24 Christmas Day (Observed), Office Closed

25 Christmas Day

31 New Years Day (Observed), Office Closed