MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

Sherman County SWCD & Watershed Council are hosting their Annual Meeting together!

Come join us for an evening of good company, food, and entertainment!

What: SWCD & Watershed Council Annual Meeting

Where: Wasco Annex (903 Barnett Street, Wasco OR 97065)

When: December 10th, 2015 @ 6pm

Caterer: Paradise Rose Chuck Wagon Catering

Speaker: Anne Kennedy—Microbiologist, Cheatgrass Suppressive Bacteria Research

Cost: $10.00 a plate, kids under 3 eat free

Please RSVP no later than December 4th so we can plan accordingly—541-565-3216 x 3.

See you all there!

** The district complies with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and does not discriminate. Anyone

needing special accommodations for this event is to contact the District 72 hours in advance at 541-565-

3216 x 3.

~ SWCD & Watershed Council Staff

Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) & Sherman County Area Watershed Council

Guzzler Repair:

Do you have any guzzlers on your property in need of some upkeep? Currently ODFW have ma-

terials to be used to replace/repair damaged or broken guzzlers at no cost to you! Feel free to con-

tact Drew Messenger at the SWCD for more information at 541-565-3216 ext. 110

A Brief Note From the Staff:

It is with heavy hearts that those of us here at Sherman County SWCD are to inform you that our

district manager Ashley Aguilar passed away as a result of a tragic car accident. Ashley was a one

of a kind individual, she was always there to pick your spirits up when you were down and the

first to lend a helping hand when needed. She will be missed terribly in our office. Please bear

with our office as we go through this tough time.

Sincerely

Sherman County SWCD

Board and Staff

NRCS, FSA 2

FSA, Quote of the Quarter, Experiment Station 3

ODA, Odds & Ends 4

Odds & Ends, Advertisements 5

Inside this issue:

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Volume 16, Issue 4

23, 2015

Happy

NRCS ANNOUNCES LOCAL EQIP APPLICATION CUTOFF

Sherman County farmers and ranchers interested in financial and technical assistance for conservation measures on their working

lands have until January 15, 2016 to apply for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding for the first round

of funding in federal fiscal year 2016. A second application period may be offered if funding is available.

EQIP is a voluntary conservation program to help farmers and ranchers improve and enhance the condition of water, soil, and

other natural resources on private working lands. The program is designed to help producers protect the resources that support

their operations and contribute to environmental quality for the overall community.

The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) accepts applications for EQIP year-round. Funding

decisions, however, are made at cutoff points during the year, with the current ranking period closing on January

15, 2016 for Sherman County.

Applications that address local conservation priorities are evaluated and ranked for funding. The number

of applications accepted will be based on ranking and available funding. Conservation practices eligible for fund-

ing in Sherman County include:

* Direct Seeding/No Tillage

Interested parties should call the Moro USDA-NRCS service center at 541-565-3551 or drop by the office at 302 Scott St. to ap-

ply.

Page 2

Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS)

Farm Services Agency (FSA)

T HE R OLLI NG T HU NDE R

Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) Sign-Up Announced For Drought Damage

A lack of moisture, over an extended period of time, has caused producers in Sherman County to suffer from the effects of severe

drought conditions. Farm and ranches experiencing severe drought conditions may be eligible for cost-share assistance under

ECP.

This disaster program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency (FSA), which provides cost-

share assistance if the damage is so severe that water available for livestock has been reduced below normal to the extent that they

cannot survive without additional water.

A producer qualifying for ECP assistance may receive cost-shares not to exceed 50 percent of the eligible cost of installing eligi-

ble temporary measures. Cost sharing for permanent measures is based on 75 percent of the total eligible cost. No producer is

eligible for more than $200,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence. Approved practices may include:

· Constructing and deepening wells for livestock water

· Developing springs or seeps for livestock water

Producers who have suffered a loss from the natural disaster may contact the local FSA County Office and submit applications to

request assistance. Applications will be accepted from November 23, 2015 to December 23, 2015.

To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all of the following are met:

· An application for cost-share assistance has been filed

· The local FSA County Committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged

area

V OLU ME 1 6, ISSU E 4 Page 3

Quote of the Quarter

Experiment Weather Station

October:

Total precipitation for October is .38" which is .56" below normal.

The crop year total is .38" which is 1.08" below normal.

The highest temperature was 79° on the 2nd.

The lowest temperature was 33° on the 23rd.

Long time averages indicate we can expect 77° and 26°

The monthly average temperature is 55° which is 5.1° above normal.

4" soil temperature ranged from 73° to 53°.

The average wind speed was 4.3 m.p.h. which is 1.2 above normal.

The windiest day was the 5th with 263 miles of wind in 24 hours.

Total monthly evaporation was 4.48" which is .82" above normal.

.

"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good

morals, and happiness."

- Letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington (1787)

· A needs determination has been made

To obtain additional program information or to schedule an appointment to file a cost-share application contact the Sherman

County FSA office at 541.565.3551 ext 2.

Dates and Deadlines

Nov 23 - Dec 23 -Sign Up Open for Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) disaster assistance

Dec 1 - General CRP sign up begins. Please call ahead for appointments

Dec 7 - Last date to deliver to County Office or postmark COC Election ballots

Dec 9 - Sherman County FSA County Committee meeting. 9 AM at Extension Office in Moro.

Dec 15 - Acreage Reporting deadline for Fall seeded small grains-Wheat, Barley. Call ahead for an Appointment.

SIA UPDATE

ODA selected Threemile Creek south of The Dalles as one of two Strategic Implementation Areas (SIAs) in eastern Oregon. ODA

staff evaluated properties for water quality concerns from aerial photos, followed up by observations from public roads. Most of

the properties were viewable from roads.

Tax lots that are agricultural or potentially agricultural are assessed for potential impacts to water quality. The

SIA consisted of 561 tax lots, of which ODA assessed 273. The final tally was 2 ‘significant’, 4 ‘moderate’, and

10 ‘low’ concerns.

Low = minimal potential for agricultural activities to impact surface or groundwater or

vegetation along streams is not adequate but unable to determine if

agricultural activities are impeding vegetation

Moderate = Likely potential for agricultural activities to impact surface

or ground water or agricultural activities may be preventing ade-

quate vegetation along streams

Significant = Field-verified likely potential for agricultural activities

to impact surface or ground water or agricultural activities may be

preventing adequate vegetation along streams

ODA will host an open house in The Dalles on January 12. ODA gave an overview on the SIA process to the Wasco County Farm

Bureau at their annual meeting in October; several landowners from the SIA were at that meeting.

Lower Deschutes & Lower John Day LAC Meeting Update:

Local Advisory Committee Meeting and Biennial Review

December 9th, 2015; 1:00pm-3:00pm

OSU Extension Office

903 Barnett Street, Wasco, OR 97065

Page 4 T HE R OLLI NG T HU NDE R

Oregon Department of Agriculture

Odds & Ends

K-5th Poster

Contest winners at

the Elementary

Halloween Parade

V OLU ME 1 6, ISSU E 4

Page 5

Local Advertisements

SHERMAN COUNTY BUSINESSES!!

Are you interested in showcasing your business cards in our newsletter? Advertisements are $20 per issue or $75

for the year! Issues are dispersed quarterly. For those of you who already advertise, its time again to renew!

Don’t get left out! Please contact our office at 541-565-3216 ext 109 if you wish to be included.

Thank you to all students who participated in the Sherman County SWCD and Sherman County Area

Watersheds Council Poster Contest. This year the theme was Pollinators our Local Heroes . Congratu-

lations to winners Juliette Evans, Payton Weins, Charlotte Evans, Addison Smith, Henry Poirier, and

Katy Blevins. Keep up the great work!

The SWCD & NRCS are looking for a volunteer (s) to offer up their shop this winter for our annual

Neighborhood Meetings (formerly known as “after hours sessions”). Please consider helping your

local conservation office so we can help you! Please contact or Kristie Coelsch @ 541-565-3216 ext.

102.

NONPROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE PAID

MORO, OR 97039

PERMIT #15

~BOARD & S TAFF~

Sherman County SWCD Board of Directors

Gary Irzyk, Chair

Trevor Fields, Member

Kyle Blagg, Treasurer

Jesse Stutzman, Secretary

Brad Eakin, Vice Chair

SWCD Staff

Kayla von Borstel, Watershed Council Coordinator

Drew Messenger, Conservation Technician

NRCS Staff

Kristie Coelsch, District Conservationist

Mary Beth Smith, Basin Resource Conservationist

Gina Vanderbush, Soil Conservationist

~CALENDAR OF EVENT S~

1. November 26, 2015—Thanksgiving—Office

Closed.

2. December 8th, 2015—Board Meeting to be

held in the SWCD office @ 830am—subject

to change

3. December 8th, 2015—Council Meeting to be

held in the OSU Extension Office @

1130am—subject to change

4. December 9, 2015 - Lower Deschutes/Lower John Day LAC

Meeting—Wasco Annex @ 1:00m-3:00pm

5. December 9, 2014—Lower Grass Valley Canyon Restoration

Project meeting to be held at the Wasco Annex @ 9am —

subject to change

6. December 10, 2015—SWCD & Watershed Council Annual

Meeting—6pm @ Wasco Annex

7. December 24, 2014—Christmas Eve—Office Closed

8. December 25, 2014—Christmas—Office Closed

9. January 1, 2015—New Years Day!! —Office Closed

The Rolling Thunder Issue 04 Fall 2015

Sherman County SWCD

P.O. Box 405

Moro, OR 97039

We’re on the Web! Don’t forget to check us out for current news! www.shermancountyswcd.com and

www.shermancountywc.com; We’re also on Facebook!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color,

national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual

orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any pro-gram or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)