Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) provides local leadership in implementation of several full-scale watershed enhancement projects focused on improving watershed health.  Working in close partnership with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) our team's strength is our ability to develop and implement scientifically sound, economically feasible resource management plans for private landowners.

This project to implement riparian buffer systems in the Mid-Columbia addresses high priority actions identified in the Fifteenmile Sub-basin Plan.  It will dedicate 1.0 FTE to provide the technical planning support needed to implement at least 36 riparian buffer system contracts on approximately 872 acres covering an estimated 40 miles of anadromous fish streams as a 3-year goal.  Buffer widths will be between 35 and 180 ft. on each side of the stream.  Implementation will include prescribed plantings, fencing, and related practices.  Actual implementation costs, lease payments, and maintenance costs will be borne by existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Programs (CREP).  Leases will be for 10-15 year periods.

Ten to fifteen (10-15) CCRP/CREP agreements will be signed by landowners annually, committing desired property to CCRP/CREP rules, i.e. shrub/tree/grass planting, weed control, livestock exclusion.  Wasco SWCD staff will track contracts to ensure a smooth process between landowners and partner agencies. This tracking entails monitoring the approval process on completed plans through SWCD, NRCS, and FSA County Committee sign-off and Farm Service Agency (FSA) contracting.

This program meets a critical need in Fifteenmile Watershed in particular where existing Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) riparian lease agreements are expiring.  This project fills a critical staffing need to conduct assessments and develop plans to address the growing backlog of potential projects.  Plans developed under this project are used for federal contracts to implement riparian buffers.  The SWCD uses the USDA NRCS Nine step planning process to develop these plans: (1) Identify problems and opportunities, (2) Determine Objectives, (3) Inventory resources, (4) Analyze resource inventory, (5) Formulate alternatives, (6) Evaluate alternatives, (7) Decision - Select Alternative, (8) Implement the Plan, (9) Evaluate plan (monitor).

Notes:
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) are not required in this project:
Actual O&M is a funded item in the CRP/CREP contracts whereby the landowner receives a small fee per acre to cover maintenance costs.  The landowner is responsible under the contract for the maintenance.  O&M is funded by USDA.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is included as a cost item.  This is accomplished through visual inspections.  Additionally, records of stream miles, acreage and number of plans completed will be tracked for reporting purposes:
Farm Service Agency (FSA) has programmatic responsibility for spot-checking contracts to ensure terms are being met.  NRCS has responsibility for technical supervision.  The SWCD will use the NRCS Stream Visual Assessment Protocol as the principal monitoring and evaluation tool to evaluate and describe both pre- and post-project conditions.