The Conservation Voice Promoting conservation & the wise use of natural resources in Polk County
Polk Soil & Water Conservation District
Winter 2013
Soil Health Initiative By Karin Nembach
Back Row (left to right): Billy Burr (NRCS), Marc Bell (Polk SWCD), Alexandra Harding (Polk SWCD Intern), Karla Sanders (Polk SWCD), Debbie Miller (Polk SWCD), Tom Finegan (NRCS). Front Row (left to right): Lucas Hunt (Polk SWCD), Tom Wilson (Polk SWCD), Liz Habley Graham (Polk SWCD), Sawyer Finegan (Polk SWCD), Sue Reams (NRCS)
Natural Resource Conser vation Ser vice ’s (NRCS) “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” Initiative is well underway and is promoting its Soil Health Management Systems. Soil health is the main focus of the NRCS right now and this campaign is designed to promote soil health conditions for conventional producers, as well as organic and small farms. You may already be using some of these practices in your operation. Practices like no tillage, cover crops, and conservation crop rotation. Managing and
improving soil health not only helps your bottom line by increasing crop productivity and reducing costs, it improves the long term health of your soil by increasing organic matter and beneficial soil organisms, and reducing soil compaction. In addition, a healthy soil absorbs and retains more water, and is less susceptible to runoff and erosion. We aren’t saying we have all the answers yet, but we know that parts of this system are already being used and are working in Polk County, despite conditions in
our area that may encourage slugs and voles. We spoke with one local conventional farmer, Garth Mulkey, who has been using and experimenting with some of these soil health practices for about 17 years now, and here is what he has to say: “With No Till farming the ground is consistently firmer in the spring and I don’t have to wait for perfect conditions to begin planting a spring crop. I save money on fuel and equipment costs because I only need one large tractor instead of two… Continued on Page 4
Polk SWCD is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Electronic Newsletter
Message From the Chair As we near the holiday season and the close of a busy conservation year, I would like to reflect on the past year for the District. What a lot has been accomplished! Staff has been busy building new relationships with our conservation partners. The Board has updated many district policies. We are in
the process of hiring a new District Manager. Several new Board members are settling in to their positions. We have completed grant applications for some large conservation projects and begun work on several smaller projects. We are looking forward to a very productive new year in 2014.
David Simmons, Chair Polk SWCD
Inside this Issue: Board of directors
2
Budget committee opening 2 Contact Us
2
New staff
3
Go paperless
3
Hiring a new manager
3
Planting day
3
Upcoming workshop
3
Soil health initiative cont. 4 Upcoming Events
4
LWD project
5
Trap and Haul
5
Native Plant Sale
6
Awards
6
Youth education
7
Macroinvertebrates
7
New website
7
Dallas, OR 97338 580 Main St. Suite A Polk Soil & Water Conservation District
Polk SWCD Board of Directors
Youth Education Update
Polk SWCD is an Oregon Special District administered by seven locally elected directors, who serve without pay for four year terms. Five directors represent landowners from each of the geographic zones in the county and two at large directors represent the entire district. Directors meet monthly to administer the business of Polk SWCD. The Directors donate hundreds of hours on behalf of the residents of Polk County and its natural resources.
You may have heard that Polk SWCD is not planning to host Outdoor School this year; but please be assured that we are not planning to discontinue our youth conservation education outreach programs. Polk SWCD is seeking to stretch funding from taxpayers as far as possible by coming up with new, innovative options to reach more school aged youth. Polk SWCD is looking for new ways to assist with youth education in the county. District technical staff are experts in riparian restoration, wildlife habitat, soil erosion, water quality, invasive species, and forestry and are very interested in
Nathan Slaven — Zone 3 / Secretary nathan.slaven@polkswcd.com Linda Marquardt-Sutton — Zone 1 / Treasurer linda.marquardt-sutton @polkswcd.com Doug Wyant — Zone 4 doug.wyant@polkswcd.com
David Simmons — Zone 2 / Chair david.simmons@polkswcd.com
Jim Buckovic — Zone 5 jim.buckovic@polkswcd.com
Chad Woods — At-Large / Vice Chair chad.woods@polkswcd.com
Frank Pender — At-Large frank.pender@polkswcd.com
Polk SWCD Board of Directors (Left to right): Doug Wyant, David Simmons, Nathan Slaven, Jim Buckovic, Linda Marquardt-Sutton, Frank Pender, Chad Woods.
Budget Committee Member Positions Open Polk SWCD’s Budget Committee is looking for new public members. There will be three spots open in January. If you are interested in applying for one of the positions please contact Polk SWCD to apply. What is a Budget Committee? The Budget Committee is an advisory group established by statute. The committee is made up of the Polk SWCD board members and an equal number of citizens. The appointed citizen members must be electors of
Polk County. This means they must be qualified voters in Polk County. They cannot be employees, officers, or agents of Polk SWCD. They are appointed for a staggered three year term. No member of the budget committee can receive compensation for serving on the committee. They can receive reimbursement for expenses incurred while serving. What is required of Committee Member?
a
Phone: 503-623-5534 Fax: 503-623-3489 580 Main St. Suite A, Dallas, OR 97338
Karla Sanders — Interim District Manager karla.sanders@polkswcd.com Ext. 110
Tom Finegan — District Conservationist tom.finegan@or.usda.gov Ext. 109
Debbie Miller — Office Manager debbie.miller@polkswcd.com
Ext. 101
Sue Reams — Soil Conservationist sue.reams@or.usda.gov Ext. 114
Marc Bell — Resource Conservationist marc.bell@polkswcd.com Ext. 103
Billy Burr — Accounting Specialist billy.burr@wa.usda.gov Ext. 112
Liz Graham — Resource Conservationist liz.graham@polkswcd.com Ext. 107 Lucas Hunt — Stewardship Forester lucas.hunt@polkswcd.com Ext. 104 Sawyer Finegan — Outreach Coordinator sawyer.finegan@polkswcd.com Ext. 113 Tom Wilson — District Clerk clerk@polkswcd.com Page 2
minimum of two evening meetings to plan the budget of Polk SWCD in the spring of each year, along with other tasks as assigned.
Members must be able attend it to a
NRCS
Polk SWCD
presenting content for day camps, field trips, field days or outdoor classrooms. At the high school level Polk SWCD plans on continuing assistance with job shadows, senior projects, mock interviews, and technical education. We will also continue the fish in the classroom program, and Claudia Chinook. Please contact Sawyer Finegan, Outreach Coordinator, if you
Macroinvertebrates
Budget
Phone: 503-623-9680 580 Main St. Suite A, Dallas, OR 97338
are interested in scheduling a presentation for your students by district technical staff. He can be reached at 503-623-9680 x 113, or sawyer.finegan@polkswcd.com.
Polk SWCD technical staff recently taught a lesson on macroinvertebrates at two youth education camps , and will be teaching a third one this coming March. The classes were held for the Polk County Homeschool Outdoor School, and for Camp Starlight. The upcoming lesson will be for the Per r yd ale S chool Di st ri ct and Luckiamute Valley Charter School’s outdoor school. The class engages youth by presenting this information in the field, by using tools to identify
macroinvertebrates in the water. The students receive a lesson on what they are doing and how it effects the water, then they put that knowledge to use in hands-on activities. The students use kick nets to kick up macroinvertebrates off of the bottom of the lake or stream and put them in tubs, then identify the macroinvertebrates with District technical staff help. The students then release the macroinvertebrates back into their habitat. Polk SWCD technical staff helps them determine the quality
of the water based on the macroinvertebrates that are living in that water system.
Marion-Polk County FSA Office Phone: 503-399-5741 Fax: 503-399-5794 650 Hawthorne Ave. SE, St 130, Salem, OR, 97301 Janelle Huserik— County Executive Director janelle.huserik@or.usda.gov Ext. 114
Revamped Website — www.polkswcd.org
Debbie Pothetes — Program Technician debbie.pothetes@or.usda.gov Ext. 111
Polk SWCD has a revamped website. Important updates, information and notifications will be on the website’s homepage. This is your best way to keep in touch with what Polk SWCD is doing.
Beverly Schmidt — Program Technician beverly.schmidt@or.usda.gov Ext. 100 Scott Nieman — Farm Loan Manager Scott.nieman@or.usda.gov Ext. 113
Another reason to check back often is that the pages are still evolving to met your needs. As you search our website, email our outreach coordinator at sawyer.finegan@polkswcd.com and tell us what you think.
This is our tool to get information to you. We want you to be able to use it. Your feedback is invaluable. So head on over and let us know what you think.
Stuart Butsch — Farm Loan Officer Stuart.butsch@or.usda.gov Ext. 115 Lora Surmeyer — Farm Loan Program Tech. Lora.surmeyer@or.usda.gov Ext. 116
Ext. 108 Polk SWCD Newsletter
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Polk SWCD Newsletter
Native Plant Sale Polk SWCD will not hold a Native Plant Sale in 2014. No need to worry though because, native plants will be available through neighboring SWCDs’ sales. Each SWCD organizes their sale differently, so make sure to ask which accept pre-orders and which limit purchases etc. Check www.polkswcd.org’s native plant sale page for updated information and links to neighboring plant sales. Neighboring SWCD Native Plant Sales: Benton SWCD Native Plant Sale Location: 3079 NE Garden Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon Pre-order by January 31st. Saturday, February 22nd: Pre-order pick up times scheduled in advance. Sunday, February 23rd: Overstock sale open to the public (first come, first served).
Marion SWCD Native Plant Sale Location: Bauman Farms (12989 Howell Prairie Rd NE, Gervais, OR 97026 Friday, March 7th, 2014 from 10am6pm Saturday, March 8th, 2014 from 9am1pm No pre-orders or mass quantity sales. Open to the public (first come, first served). Limit purchases to 5 of any one species on Friday; no limit to purchases on Saturday.
Yamhill SWCD Native Plant Sale Location: Yamhill SWCD (2200 SW 2nd Street, McMinnville, OR 97128) Thursday, February 6th, 2014 (Time TBA) Friday, February 7th, 2014 (Time TBA) Saturday, February 8th, 2014 (Time TBA) Pre-orders encouraged, first come, first served. Keep checking Polk and neighboring SWCD’s websites for more information.
Awards
New Staff
Go Paperless
Name: Karin Nembach
To promote the conservation of natural resources and save taxpayer dollars for printing and mailing, the June 2014 newsletter will be the last paper mailing we will send out to this large mailing list.
Position: Resource Conservation Technician
Karin graduated from OSU with a post baccalaureate in Natural Resource Management in 2013. She has lived in the NW since 1993 and currently resides in Monmouth where she assists with a small grass seed farm. Her love of the outdoors and concern for the environment drove Karin to return to school for her second degree. In 2011 she was an intern for the Polk SWCD “Waters” project that focused on assessing the water quality and quantity. Karin based her studies on watershed management and is a board officer and the Project Review Committee Chair for the Luckiamute Watershed Council. She takes pride in developing sound relationships and is looking forward to working with the citizens of Polk County. Karin’s hobbies include hiking, camping, sea kayaking, and taking pictures.
Please call or email the district by May 15th, 2014 with your name and email address so we can add you to our NEW electronic mailing list. Please let us know if you require a printed newsletter and we will make a special mailing to you. Contact Tom Wilson – district clerk - @ 503-623-9680 ext. 108, or email: clerk@polkswcd.com or visit our website at: polkswcd.org.
Hiring a new manager Polk SWCD is in the process of hiring a new manager. Karla Sanders, our interim district manager, will be staying through the hiring process. Our new district manager will be introduced in our next newsletter, and on our website www.polkswcd.org.
Polk SWCD honored a great group of people this year at their annual meeting and OACD. Stephen Miller was recognized for his runner up poster at NACD this year. This is truly impressive as each county in the United States holds a local poster contest; the top poster in each category at the local level goes to the state level and the winners from each state are submitted to the national competition. So once again, good job, Stephen Miller. Luke Westphal of the Greater Yamhill Watershed Council received Educator of the Year, He also won Community Educator of the year at Oregon Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting. Luke came to Outdoor School and presented on multiple topics such as watersheds and geology, and was always asking if their were more ways he could help. Chad Woods was awarded with Director of the Year as well as OACD’s Director of the Year. Chad has spend numerous hours working on various projects for the district but the reason he earns this award is for the countless hours he spent working on the District budget. Britney Hinds received Intern of the year for her outstanding work with the district. She has since moved on to Peace Corp. Britney’s great personality and smile combined with her determination to get work done helped the district complete various projects in her time here. She always showed up to the office and brought her smile and get it done attitude to the workplace. Don Duhrkoph received Director Emeritus of the Year for involvement in district operations. Don’s keen eye has helped the district in numerous critical decisions through the years, helping advise the board on key topics. Dale Davis received the Small Cooperator of the Year due to his outstanding efforts with Polk SWCD and NRCS to complete conservation projects. He is always a blast to do projects with and always is looking for more ways to be a better conservationist on his farm. Hancock Forest Management Independence Regional Office received Large Cooperator of the Year for their outstanding on the ground conservation work. They have worked with Polk SWCD on various projects to help improve conservation practices on their timberland. Always willing to go above and beyond what's required of them to practice conservation. Bureau of Land Management Mary’s Peak Resource Area received Outstanding Conservation Group, for their continuous efforts and partnerships on district projects. Polk SWCD would once again like to congratulate all of these award winners along with our board chair, David Simmons, on his new position as President of Oregon Association of Conservation Districts (OACD).
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Polk SWCD Newsletter
December 14th Planting Day
Upcoming Workshops
Polk SWCD will be doing a planting day in conjunction with the City of Dallas and various other partners on Saturday December 14th. The planting will take place along the newest segment of the Rickreall Creek Trail System. The objective of this planting is to restore the walking path with native vegetation.
Polk SWCD will be hosting multiple workshops in the coming months. One of the workshops will be on the Soil Health Initiative hosted by NRCS and Polk SWCD. Another workshop will be on stream bank stabilization and erosion control (specific to ash creek) hosted by Polk SWCD.
WHEN: Saturday, December 14th, 2013 Planting from 8am to 12 o’clock noon (or until all plants are
Polk SWCD hopes that you will keep checking www.polkswcd.org for more information as it develops.
installed, whichever comes first). WHERE: Check in at the Dallas Aquatic Center parking lot Planting will be along the Rickreall Creek Trail System south of SE Barberry Ave. and SE Hawthorn BRING: Wear sturdy shoes, and weather appropriate clothing. If possible, bring marked: gloves, shovels, buckets and wheelbarrows. If you are interested in attending or have questions, please contact Resource Conservationist, Liz Graham (Liz.Graham@polkswcd.com).
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Polk SWCD Newsletter
Soil Health Initiative Continued
Upper Rickreall Creek Large Woody Debris Enhancement Project
Continued from page 1… which also cuts down required labor. I farm relatively flat land and grow ten to twelve crops a year and No Till has drastically reduced the sheet and rill soil erosion”. If you would like to see some more testimony from around the country, check out the NRCS’s “Profiles in Soil Health”, where short YouTube videos show some of the nation’s leading farmers using soil health management systems to make their farms more profitable, productive, and sustainable..
By Karin Nembach
If you would like more information on, or need technical or financial assistance with the NRCS Soil Health Initiative, please contact Sue Reams: sue.reams @or.usda.gov, (503) 623-5534, ext. 114 or Tom Finegan: tom.finegan @or.usda.gov, (503) 623-5534, ext. 109.
Polk SWCD Stewardship Forester, Lucas Hunt, has been working on a large woody debris (LWD) placement project in the Upper Rickreall Creek Watershed. This creek provides the main source of domestic drinking water for the City of Dallas, so protection of water quality and quantity here is of critical importance to source water management. In the early 1900’s Upper Rickreall Creek was used for log drives that widened and scoured the channel down to bedrock in places, and removing the majority of LWD from the
Marc Bell, Resource Conservationist for Polk SWCD, will be hosting two workshops in conjunction with local agencies in the coming months on soil health in our area. Please check out: www.polkswcd.org/home page, “Upcoming Events” for details, or email Marc @ marc.bell@polkswcd.com, to learn more.
The LWD Enhancement Project has three phases that include: directional riparian tree felling, ground based placement, and helicopter placement. The first two phases are complete and the third phase should begin in 2014. Placing LWD back into the stream channel over a 5.5 mile stretch will work to restore vital stream functions,
Upcoming Events December 2013
January 2014
February 2014
Polk Board Meeting
Dec 11th
New Years (Office Closed) Jan 1st
SDAO Annual Convention Feb 6th-9th
LWC Board Meeting
Dec 12th
Polk Board Meeting
Jan 8th
Yamhill SWCD Plantsale Feb 7th-8th
GYWC Board Meeting
Dec 12th
LWC Board Meeting
Jan 9th
Polk Board Meeting
Feb 12th
Planting Day
Dec 14th
Small Grant Meeting
Jan 14th
LWC Board Meeting
Feb 13th
Small Grand Window
Dec 15th-29th
Polk SWCD Annual work plan...
Presidents Day (Office Closed) Feb 17th
Christmas (Office Closed) Dec 25th
...work session
Jan 15th
GGWC Board Meeting
Feb 20th
RWC Board Meeting
Dec 26th
OACD Board Meeting
Jan 16th
EQIP application cutoff
Feb 21st
GGWC Board Meeting
None
GGWC Board Meeting
Jan 16th
Benton SWCD Plantsale Feb 22nd-23rd
CSP applications due
Jan 17th
RWC Board Meeting
Feb 27th
Small Farm Workshop
Jan 21st
GYWC Board Meeting
TBD
RWC Board Meeting
Jan 23rd
OWEB Board Meeting
Jan 28th-29th
Pacific NW Ag Show
Jan 28th-30th
NOWC Board Meeting
Jan 30th-31st
GYWC Board Meeting
TBD
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sediment profile. Then in 1987, more than half the area was burned in the Rockhouse Fire, removing most of the natural elements from this stream and leaving it vulnerable to high rates of erosion.
improve water quality and quantity, habitat complexity, flood plain interaction, riparian vegetation, and species diversity. Over time as sediment and debris accumulates and is retained, we hope to see stream functions restored by the establishment of new slower flowing pools suitable for fish spawning, changes to streambed elevation and banks that will increase stream connection to flood plains and help to retain ground water levels, to foster cooler temperatures and higher rates of in-stream flow. This project was made possible through a partnership between Polk SWCD, Rickreall Watershed Council, Hancock Forest Management, City of Dallas, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Basket Slough National Wildlife Refuge, and the Bureau of Land Management Salem District. If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact Lucas Hunt, Polk SWCD @ 503-623-9680.
Mercer Dam Trap and Haul Program By: Karin Nembach
spawning habitat, including Rockhouse Creek. Due to the trap and haul program, there has been an increase in the numbers of returning fish each year, but this year, the council has seen the largest return, especially of coho “jacks”. Jacks are male fish that mature earlier than others in their life cycle and return to their natal stream to spawn. According to Mr. Dunkin, one explanation for the unexpected increase i n
jacks could be the 2010 rescue and transport of over 2150 coho fry found trapped in pools below the dam. These fish would have likely returned as adults during the 2012 season. “Just last week on an interview for this article, I captured a photo of a spawned out coho salmon carcass in the stream.” stated Karin Nembach.
Over the past four years Jason Dunkin, with the Rickreall Watershed Council and Polk County Sportsman’s Club President, has been trapping and hauling native coho salmon and cutthroat trout from below the Aaron Mercer Reservoir up to adjacent release sites in the tributaries of Rickreall Creek. The dam is an impassable barrier that isolates 11 miles of Polk SWCD Newsletter
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Polk SWCD Newsletter