| Grant SWCD uses Title III grants to remove invasives |
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Republished with permission from Forestry Notes, Volume XV, Issue 6 , a newsletter of the National Association of Conservation Districts
The Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Oregon has used a variety of grant sources to help clear juniper and invasive weeds from several ranches in a basin region. The efforts, referred to as the Upper South Fork John Day River Watershed Restoration Project, have cut 3,073 acres of juniper, and sprayed 4,448 acres of noxious weeds over the past three years.
Grant SWCD has secured Title II US Forest Service grants, part of the “Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000” as well as significant sums from the US Fish and Wildlife Service through its Partners for Wildlife Program, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). In all, Grant SWCD has worked with more than $725,000 on the watershed restoration efforts.
In 2003, the district commissioned ABR Incorporated Environmental Research and Services to do an assessment of the watershed. ABR will also complete Project Effectiveness Monitoring of the area in accordance with a monitoring plan.
“Not only is (an assessment) a strong feature when you apply for grants,” said District Manager Ken Delano, “but it has a real benefit to have another set of professional eyes look at the watershed, evaluate conditions and make sure our choice of treatments line up with what would be a general consensus of professionals of what’s needed in the watershed.”
The district also contracted with Neilson Natural Resources Consulting for ranch management and seeding plans for each of the seven private ranches involved in the project. The plans prioritize the acres that can naturally re-vegetate with desirable species of forage and ground cover and provide a tool for grazing management.
In 2003, the first phase of the project dealt with $159,000 in funds. That money, said Delano, took care of some juniper removal, weed control and conifer removal from aspen stands. OWEB funds purchased an open bottom arched culvert and footings which were later installed by the Malheur National Forest to replace an existing undersized fish passage barrier culvert.
The district received more than $350,000 in Title II grant funds for work in 2004 but did not get funded in 2005. Grant SWCD has roughly $150,000 remaining for project work this year. Those dollars are budgeted for touch up weed control and project area seeding. A 2006 grant was successful and a 2007 application is submitted. These funds will target riparian fencing, off-site stockwater facilities and fish barrier culvert replacements.
We’ve been very fortunate to have significant funds to put toward a huge problem in that particular watershed,” said Delano.
One way in which Grant SWCD has been able to use its money efficiently is through aerial seeding. The district contracts with a local helicopter pilot, who has a small helicopter that can fly close to ground to do a relatively efficient job of broadcast seeding. He is also equipped with GPS to do a precise job.
“He can cover a lot of acres in a day and it becomes relatively inexpensive to treat rough terrain,” said Delano, who estimates seeding costs between $12-15 per acre.
Delano gives much of the credit for the success of the Upper South Fork John Day River Watershed Restoration Project to the landowners.
“This project is a huge benefit to them, but it’s a public benefit, too” said Delano. “Without the concern and perseverance of the private landowners to stay in these projects year after year we wouldn’t be able to do the watershed enhancement in that basin that we have.”
One of those landowners is Phil St. Clair, who also happens to serve as chairman of the Upper South Fork Watershed Council. More than 250 acres of St. Clair’s ranch have been treated so far at an approximate cost of $42 per acre. Said St. Clair, “The Grant SWCD has a good track record in the state of Oregon. I brag about them all of the time.”
Delano has been encouraged by the results of the weed control efforts and believes there might be reason to do more of it in a basin region the district has been cleaning up for years.
As far back as 1988, Grant SWCD has been improving conditions in the 389,000-acre basin. It has completed stream bank stabilization, put in a significant number of miles of riparian protection fencing and rebuilt diversion dams for fish passage. Grant SWCD spent the better part of $1 million on those efforts, according to Delano. Now the district hopes to continue to clean up the invasives throughout the region, depending on how effective their recent efforts prove to be.
“We will have enough information to tell us that the juniper treatment is providing more water on a significant level to the watershed flow functions and then we’ll try to go on with more juniper control and try to build it into everybody’s work plan on the private lands,” said Delano.
For more information on this project, contact Ken Delano at 541/575-0135 extension 105, or email him at kendelano@centurytel.net.
More SWCD success stories
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