The mission of the Gilliam Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is to conserve, protect, and develop soil, water, and other natural resources for the economic and environmental benefit of the residents of Gilliam County.  In partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) the district has the ability to develop and implement scientifically sound and economically feasible resource management plans for private landowners at the local level.

This project will implement riparian buffer/herbaceous buffer systems in Gilliam County and address limiting factors identified in the John Day Subbasin Summary.  One FTE will be dedicated to the outreach and promotion of state and federal funding programs along with the technical planning support needed to implement approximately 6-14 riparian buffer agreements (focusing on anadromous fish streams) as a one year goal.  Buffer widths will average from 35 to 180 feet on each side of qualifying streams and will include such practices as fencing, riparian plantings, grass seeding, and off stream watering facilities to benefit livestock and wildlife.  Existing programs, i.e. Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP) and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), will cover actual implementation costs on a cost-share basis, lease payments, and maintenance costs.  Incentive payments are also available to the contract holder.  Other funding may also be used as available.  Leases will be for 10-15 year periods.

This program meets a critical need in the Lower John Day Basin.  Technical staff shortage for conducting assessments and developing plans had created a growing backlog of potential buffer projects.  This past contract period considerable time and effort was taken to overcome this backlog.  Our project implements requirements associated with Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) 153.  

Gilliam SWCD will continue to provide vehicle liability and collision insurance for the length of this agreement.

Notes:
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) are not required in this project:
Actual O&M is a funded item in the CCRP/CREP contract whereby the landowner receives an additional payment to cover maintenance costs.  The landowner is responsible under the contract for maintenance.

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 fiscal and administrative responsibility for managing CREP contracts to ensure contract terms are being met.  Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has responsibility for technical supervision of all installed practices.  NRCS delegates authority to the SWCD to provide this technical supervision as long as the SWCD adheres to NRCS standards and specifications.  Through this delegation, SWCD technicians will use the NRCS Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (provided by NRCS) as the principal monitoring and evaluation tool to evaluate and describe both pre- and post- CREP project conditions.