Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District “Turning natural resource concerns into opportunities” Annual Report July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017

Highlights Contents Bradshaw Drop Irrigation Improvement Project page 7 Manager’s Message Inside Cover

Financial Report i Oregon Department of Our Board 1 Agriculture’s Strategic Implementation Areas pages 10 & 12 Our Staff 2

Our Partners in 3 Conservation Project Achievements 6 & Success Stories

Community 14 Education 2017 Oregon Envirothon Champions page 14 The Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District is dedicated to helping the people of Jackson County protect and improve their natural resources. We work with both individuals and communities to analyze and implement science-based solutions to various natural resource concerns, while still protecting the cultural, social and economic values of Jackson County.

Manager’s Message on 3 creeks to monitor pesticide levels. Staff also participated in meetings to evaluate Another great year has come and gone and the data and plan for future monitoring. our remodeling, annex, and parking lot This will help all partnering organizations construction projects provide improved “Better Management are complete. Our Practices” for pesticide application, workload increased through education and outreach events. to the level that we hired a Natural Partnership development was instrumental Resource Technician, in the implementation of natural resource Jenna Sanford, to stewardship projects. Working with help landowners the Rogue River Watershed Council plan and implement their stewardship (RRWC), 2 very successful ODA Strategic projects. Our short-term staffing will Implementation Areas (SIA’s) were initiated include hiring an Office Assistant to within Jackson County, totaling just under greet and help clients find the needed $300,000.00. The District is also working resources, people and information, with Rogue River Valley Irrigation District to initiate their planning process. and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) on the design, engineering Our outreach efforts included 13 workshops and funding to pipe 3.2 miles of with 281 participants, the distribution conveyance ditch. Once completed the of several fact sheets and brochures. District, working with RRWC, NRCS and Additionally, 3 newspaper articles, our other organizations will help individual web-site and Facebook helped inform landowners with on-farm irrigation the general public about the work of the conversion projects. The District and RRWC District and its partners. This helped the are monitoring pre-project implementation District provide 153 on-site visits and 218 of return flows into Antelope Creek to landowners receive technical assistance, help evaluate water quality and quantity while developing 5 new conservation plans improvement, post implementation. and funding 7 landowner projects, utilizing the District Funds program. The District Please review the following pages of this report continued working with the Oregon for more in-depth information on these and Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) other great JSWCD projects and programs. Pesticide Stewardship Partnership and Randy White several local partners, sampling several sites District Manager Jackson SWCD Year End Financial Statement Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2017 Statement of Activities-Cash Basis

Receipts of Income

Property Taxes $920,311

Oregon Department of Agriculture Grant $72,674

Tours, Workshops, Classes 10

Interest $11,983

Grant Revenue $122,259

Lease Revenue $61,255

Miscellaneous $1,950

Total Receipts $1,190,442

Disbursements

Personnel Services $426,883

Materials & Services $597,120

Captial Outlay $464.248

Total Disbursements $1,488,251

Balance of Receipts over Disbursements -$297,809.00

Change in net position - cash basis -$297,809.00

Beginning of Fiscal Year $1,254,256

End of Fiscal Year $956,447

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Allan Campbell Chairman Zone: At Large Board of Directors

Barbara Marilyn Rice Niedermeyer Zone 1 Vice-Chairman Zone 2

Juanita Wright Don Hamann Zone 3 Zone 4

Ron Hillers Stan Dean Zone 5 Zone: At Large

1 District Staff ur Staff is dedicated to turning natural resource concerns into opportunities Oby working with landowners and their communities. Our diverse backgrounds and experiences create a team that is creative, efficient, and dedicated to the District’s mission.Our ability to work as a team means that projects are given attention from multiple angles, ensuring that the final product achieves the expected outcome.

Randy White Markie Germer Clint Nichols District Manager Administrative Rural Natural Specialist Resource Planner

Paul DeMaggio, Kora Mousseaux P.E., CAIS, CID Urban & Community Soil & Water Planner Conservation Engineer New Faces to Look for at the District in 2017 ackson Soil & Water Conservation District was excited to welcome three new staff Jmembers in 2017. As our programs have grown, so has the demand for our services. With a full staff we are confident that we will continue to meet the needs of our clients and diverse community, while growing current programs and partnerships.

Jenna Sanford Karelia Ver Eecke Sophia Roesch Natural Resource Education & Outreach Office Assistant Technician Coordinator 2 Partnering for Conservation ur USDA partner, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), provides Ous tremendous support, and they continue to assist natural resource conservation in Natural Resources Jackson County. Their projects, which often span several years, have brought much needed Conservation Service technical and financial assistance to private lands. Project highlights include: • The Ashland Forest All-Lands Restoration Project (AFAR) AFAR implements forest Erin Kurtz restoration and fuels reduction treatments District through a cross-boundary, all-lands approach Conservationist on federal and private non-industrial lands. Over the past 3 years, NRCS invested over $3.8 M through the Chiefs’ Joint Landscape Restoration Partnership with over 50 private landowners to assist in reducing and mitigating Peter Winnick wildfire threats, protecting water quality and supply in the Ashland Municipal Watershed, Soil and improving and protecting quality wildlife Conservationist habitat for threatened, endangered, and at-risk species in an area characterized by a high degree of public/private land interface. This project was made possible through collaboration Dan Esposito with project partners including the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Lomakatsi Soil Restoration Project, The Nature Conservancy, Conservationist The City of Ashland, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, JSWCD, and Oregon Department of Forestry. • The Klamath-Rogue Oak Woodland Health Bill Cronin and Habitat Conservation Project NRCS State Irrigation has invested over $1M to continue working on Engineer oak restoration projects through the Klamath- Rogue Oak Woodland Health and Habitat Restoration Project, through a multi-state National Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Sponsored by Lomakatsi Restoration Project and supported by a number of key partners, this program focuses investments on oak woodland restoration near the Table Rocks and the Colestin Valley in Jackson County, as well as priority areas in Klamath and Siskiyou Counties. Restoration practices typically include thinning to reduce encroaching vegetation and tree densities; prescribed fire; and native grass seeding to

3 promote the development of healthy, arm Service Agency (FSA) is a USDA structurally-diverse oak habitats. Fagency offering programs that provide • Organic and High Tunnel Initiatives a safety net for farmers who supply our Farmers in Jackson County have taken nation with safe and affordable food advantage of the opportunities provided and fiber, including price support and though NRCS’s Organic and High disaster relief payments. FSA also provides Tunnel Initiatives. NRCS has worked incentives to farmers and ranchers who with 28 small farmers to install high participate in conservation programs such tunnels to help extend the growing as the Conservation Resource Enhancement season and bolster the local food system. Program (CREP). The goal of CREP is In addition. NRCS has also worked with to restore riparian habitat and protect many certified organic or transitioning to surface water quality on agricultural organic farmers to help them with a variety land. Participants receive rental payments of projects from irrigation improvements and cost share to create conservation to enhancing pollinator habitat. buffers that cross agricultural land. The Jackson/ Josephine County FSA office, • Up and Coming NRCS has an array located in the USDA Service Center, is staffed of resources available to continue to assist by Phil Morton, County Executive Director, private landowners with conservation and Teresa Vonn, Program Technician. on their property. For more information on NRCS programs and resources, visit: Phil Morton graduated from Southeastern https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/ Illinois College with a degree in Forest nrcs/site/or/home/ Technology and began his professional career in Illinois as a Soil Conservationist Aide for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). In 1984 he began work for the Forest Service in various positions and locations throughout Oregon until he joined FSA. He has dedicated his adult life to working in the world of natural resources. For more than 14 years he worked as a Program Technician for FSA assisting local producers in participating in disaster relief, price support, Farm Service Agency and conservation programs like CREP. Teresa Vonn grew up in the Rogue Valley on a dairy farm in Central Point. Today, she owns a certified Tree Farm in Trail. Her Phil Morton background provides her with a unique County skill set to assist individuals working Executive through the CREP process. She worked Director for the Oregon Department of Forestry as a Stewardship Forester, writing planting plans for CREP projects. While at Oregon Water Resources Department she was a Teresa Vonn Regional Water Rights Specialist processing Program instream water rights for CREP projects . Technician

4 Partnering for Conservation he Rogue River Watershed Council (RRWC) is a nonprofit partner that Thas been integral in assisting JSWCD with Rogue River Watershed securing funds for riparian and water quality Council improvement projects. Togther we will achieve much for agricultural water quality and native fish. Brian Barr Fish Passage Barrier Removal In late Executive November 2016, the William and Flora Director Hewlett Foundation granted $50 million to the Resources Legacy Fund establishing the “Open Rivers Fund,” a ten-year program designed to support communities across the western U.S. in their quest to restore local Anna Johnson waterways by removing aging and obsolete dams. Three projects were identified for Adminstrative the initial round of funding, with RRWC Assistant named as one of the recipients. This funding, along with additional monies from Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, several private foundations, and local fishing groups will allow RRWC to remove several fish Sarah Sauter passage barriers in the Bear Creek and Little Program Butte watersheds, implement associated in- Manager channel and riparian restoration projects, and improve irrigation efficiency for affected irrigators. Water Quality Improvement in Wagner and Neil Creeks Together with JSWCD, Alexis Brickner RRWC received almost $300,000 to improve Program water quality in two of Oregon Department Manager of Agriculture’s Strategic Implementation Areas – the Wagner Creek and Neil Creek watersheds. RRWC will concentrate on restoring riparian vegetation on 12 different properties along two streams. The Wagner Donna Creek water quality improvement project, Chickering covering approximately 12 acres, is a signature Program watershed health project for RRWC as it Manager represents the size, scale, and community commitment to watershed health that RRWC hopes to generate throughout their 1.64 million acre territory.

5 Project Succeses for the 2015-2017 Scope of Work Plan he District develops a Scope of Work Plan T(SOWP)every two years to assist in guiding the District’s staff and board in targeting specific project types and ultimate goals for our two-year work plans. Each SOWP includes eight, often overlapping, tasks. These tasks are: Community and Landowner Engagement Technical Assistance Monitoring Partnership Activities Biennial Review Activities Training & Other Tasks SOWP Administration The table below summarizes the Technical Assistance task achievements through the 2015- 2017 work plan. Technical assitance to local landowners and communities allows for more efficient use of our natural resources either through on the ground implementation or community education., and ultimately leads to greater economic benefit, greater ecological functioning, and preservation of cultural practices.

Scope of Work Practice Total Units Completed

Landowners Provided Technical Assistance 431

Residents Attending Events/Classes 215

Fencing 14,431ft

Heavy Use Area Protection 2,710 ft2

Irrigation Pipeline Installed 7,450 ft

Irrigation Water Management 109.5 acres

Irrigation Pumping Plants 6

Irrigation Control Structures 3

Forage & Vegetation Improvements 46.27 acres

Stream Habitat & Bank Improvement 1 acre

Rain-water Catchments Installed 2

6 Project Successes for the 2015-2017 Focus Area Action Plan: Little Butte Creek Watershed Improvements Irrigation Improvements at Bradshaw Drop he Bradshaw Drop project refers to a section of canal operated by Rogue River TValley Irrigation District (RRVID) along Hwy 140 that drops in elevation approximately 100 feet. This section has been studied for some time as having the ability to produce pressurized irrigation and/or hydropower generation. RRVID, utilizing Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) funding and other funding sources has now been able to move forward with piping a 3.3 mile stretch of open canal that runs along Antelope Creek. Piping this section of canal will save enough water to allow for 7 CFS of water to be left in Little Butte Creek for fish habitat during the month of June, and will allow approximately 700 acres of irrigated land to utilize free pressurized irrigation, ultimately improving water quality in Antelope Creek. JSWCD will be providing planning, technical, A section of the Antelope Creek irrigation and financial assistance to the landowners and flume to be replaced by a state of the art RRVID as this project progresses. pressurized irrigation pipeline. JSWCD has been a major partner on this project from the beginning, doing much of the preliminary grant writing, project planning, and analysis. JSWCD also connected RRVID with the Farmer’s Conservation Alliance (FCA). FCA’s comprehensive assessment and modernization strategy is near complete for the entire irrigation district, and will require no payment from the district. Monitoring efforts carried out by JSWCD and the Rogue River Watershed Council for this project began at the start of the 2017 irrigation season. Deployment of temperature loggers and regular water quality monitoring of bacteria, phosphorous, and sediment in Antelope Creek will build the baseline data for this 3-5 year study. Data will provide project partners with important information regarding the impact of irrigation system modernization--from canal to pipeline and flood to sprinkler. These data will be useful for the Water for Irrigation, Streams and Economy (WISE) project which aims to pipe all the irrigation canals within the basin. The Bradshaw Drop upgrade has been designated as a pilot project to illustrate the potential of the WISE projet when implemented. JSWCD, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), plans to update a new Conservation Implementation Strategy (CIS), and along with the existing ODA Focus Area, staff time and money will continue to be focused in the Little Butte Creek Watershed for the improvement of soil and water resources. The effort of these two programs and the associated monitoring has already shown great reduction in surface water pollution. Once complete, this project will show the power of collaboration and the benefits to both agricultural producers and native wildlife, specifically steelhead and coho. JSWCD and partners hope to continue working on projects that achieve economic and environmental goals at once.

7 Improving Irrigation in the Little Butte Creek Watershed e continue with our Water Quality investments in the Little Butte CreekW Watershed (LBCW) near Eagle Point. Funding and technical support are provided by NRCS and JSWCD to improve irrigation efficiency, while addressing in- stream water quality. Several landowners have taken advantage of NRCS-sponsored Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds, and other funding sources that help agricultural producers implement projects that improve specific natural resource concerns. An irrigation efficiency improvement project on 94 acres of catttle grazed pasture is currently 70% complete. Flood irrigation, a predominant method of irrigating in the LBCW, can have a negative impact on water quality, as irrigating returns warm water, fertilizers, and bacteria to the stream after running off of pastureland. JSWCD’s Soil & Water Conservation Many of the irrigation improvement projects Engineer will be helping the landowner in the Little Butte Creek Watershed include the develop his plan to switch from a flood piping of irrigation water. Piping irrigation irrigation system to a combined center water reduces erosion, water loss through pivot, and pod sprinkler irrigation system. Plans are also in the works for a similar evaporation, and keeps water contaminants irrigation upgrade on another 30 acres and out of irrgation water supplies, while limiting improvements on stock water facilities for contaminant return to Little Butte Creek. this property. With the help of EQIP, OWEB, ODWR, ODFW, RRWC,JSWCD, and other funders many landowners in the LBCW will be able to use less water, improve water distribution over their pastures, and limit negative impacts to local streams.

Ecological restoration: The practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action.

8 Irrigation Conveyance Improvement Feasibility Studies ou need to really understand a problem before you can fix it. In the natural resources world, getting to this stage oftenY involves a feasibility study to explore the current conditions of a resource and then an exploration of options and costs to conserve a resource. JSWCD did this for a community of landowners in Gold Hill. Several landowners within the Gold Hill Irrigation District struggled with the management of a private lateral that crossed multiple properties. Working with the local Watermaster, through a grant from the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD), we measured the flow rates, collected elevation survey data, Travis Kelly, former District 13 watermaster, documented the conditions of the lateral, and measuring the flow of a conveyance ditch in prepared a report.Our report listed findings andGold Hill. made specific recommendations for patrons. We hope this report will lead landowners to informed decisions on improving their conveyance system by treating the “cause” instead of just the “symptom.”

Flood Irrigation Tailwater Monitoring eginning in 2009, JSWCD began monitoring efforts on five different flood irrigated sites Bslated for irrigation improvements; four of the five sites were located in the Little Butte Creek Watershed. The study aimed to understand how tailwater, the run-off of excess water from flood irrigation, impacts surface water quality and how these impacts could be reduced and measured. Three important data sets were collected comparing water quality between the point of diversion and tailwater run-off sites: E. coli bacteria loading, water turbidity, and water temperature. Though turbidity levels varied based on field types and presence of erosion, E. coli loads and water temperatures were consistently higher in tailwater than the water at diversion points. These results indicate that flood irrigation tailwater has the potential to Top photo: Tailwater at site 2 before negatively impact water quality of nearby surface improvement. Bottom photo: Minimal waters into which it flows. The negative impacts tailwater at site 2 after improvement. may affect downstream agricultural water users, health of wildlife such as salmon and steelhead, and recreation opportunities for area residents. Today, three sites are complete in their irrigation system upgrades, and JSWCD has began the next stage of data collection to track the impacts of such upgrades.

9 Working Together in the Wagner Creek Watershed

SWCD and the Rogue River Watershed The Work So Far Council (RRWC) have been busy helpingJ landowners improve water quality To date, the partnership has removed 12 in the Wagner Creek watershed just south acres of blackberry and other invasive of Talent. The partnership was awarded weeds from the banks of Wagner Creek. almost $200,000 from the Oregon Replanting is scheduled for fall of Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) 2017. The partnership has also started in the spring of 2016 to implement a installation of an irrigation system that 5-year plan to improve water quality in will eliminate a fish passage barrier in Wagner Creek. Working in coordination Wagner Creek as well as replace the with eleven separate landowners, landowners’ inefficient flood irrigation JSWCD and RRWC will address water method that otherwise has the potential quality issues such as elevated stream to negatively impact water quality in temperatures, high levels of bacteria, Wagner Creek. streambank erosion, and fish passage barriers. Reducing these impacts will improve habitat for summer and winter steelhead populations. Among solutions offered in the proposal, JSWCD will help landowners modernize their irrigation systems, cover exposed ground, and manage livestock manure to help reduce the amount of warm water, bacteria, and fertilizers entering Wagner Creek.

After just one blackberry removal treatment, native willow has begun to return to the site.

10 Additionally, improvements in livestock handling facilities and surface drainage protection (see photos below) reduces the high bacterial loads flowing into Wagner Creek via surface drainage areas. More manure management facilities are planned for other landowners in the Wagner Creek watershed, with a potential completion date of fall 2017. To track the impacts of riparian restoration on in-stream habitat, temperature loggers were placed summer of 2017. The temperature data collected from Wagner Creek will become part of a 20 year study to track the impacts of ripairan vegetation restoration on in-stream water quality, specifically temperature. These data will be important for the ultimate assessment of how in-stream fish habitat improves as terrestrial habitat improves. Colder water is able to hold a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen and is less conducive to large blooms of bacterial growth, creating more desirable fish habitat. RRWC and JSWCD will also begin a Streamside Vegetation Analysis winter 2018 using GIS imagery and ground-truthing. The partnership hopes to collect data that illustrate the link between improved terrestrial habitat conditions (greater canopy cover, less run- off) and improved in-stream fish habitat ( more stable, lower water temperatures and improved water quality).

These side-by-side before and after photos of a high use livestock area show the positive impacts of hardening and protecting a drainage run-off area. The photo on the left shows a drainage area that previously flowed directly into Wagner Creek year round. The photo on the right shows the elimination of this drainage area, ulitmately improving water quality in Wagner Creek through the reduction of bacteria and sediment transportation.

The Wagner Creek watershed has been listed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) as a “Strategic Implementation Area (SIA)” for addressing agricultural water quality issues.

11 What’s next? After Wagner Creek: Neil Creek SIA

he effective partnership between JSWCD and RRWC in the Wagner Creek TWatershed led ODA to implement another SIA in the Bear Creek Watershed, this time focusing on water quality in Neil Creek. Together, the partnership wrote a grant and was awarded $96,000 in the summer of 2017 to build a manure facility, improve irrigation conveyance and on-farm irrigation water application, protect drainages, and harden roads for a large horse facility on Neil Creek. These improvements will protect Neil Creek from pollutants such as bacteria, sediment, and fertilizers. Implementation of these projects is scheduled to be completed in 2018. Why Strategic Implementation Areas? The Oregon Department of Agriculture chooses SIAs after discussions with regional partners and review of local information including water quality data. The development and management of SIAs ensures that landowners and communities comply with agricultural water quality regulations, a state mandated bill passed in 1993. The success of an SIA is dependent on the collaboration of local soilOregon Department of Agriculture Strategic Implementation and water conservation districts,Areas as of March 2017. Image credit: ODA Strategic IA4, watershed councils, landowners,March 2017 and technicial and financial assistance organizations. SIAs ultimately make small footprints of water quality improvement, that, when combined with other efforts may greatly improve water quality for all users, from fish to farms.

12 Helping Local Cities Achieve Conservation Goals: The City of Talent and Wagner Creek Restoration SWCD provided financial assistance to the City of Talent to enhance riparian Jfunctionality, while reducing erosion, and improving aesthetics along Wagner Creek through downtown Talent. Eight thousand square feet received restoration treatments including blackberry and other noxious weed removal, native vegetation planting, and mulching. With assistance from Rogue Valley Sewer Services, City of Talent residents, and Friends of Wagner Creek, JSWCD and the City of Talent were able to see this project through to completion. Projects that take place in prominent urban areas are important for illustrating that natural resources are not isolated to rural, wild areas. Whether in a city or on a county road, it is important that residents and entire communities understand their impacts on, and connections to, natural resources. This piece of riparian habitat along Wagner Creek serves as an educational piece in the landscape, showing that through hardwork and collaboration, conservation can be achieved anywhere.

Above left photo shows site before restoration.Notice that Himalayan blackberry is growing over nearly every available surface. Above right photo shows site after restoration, with a zoomed-out perspective of the same fallen log shown in above left photo. Pink flags in above right photo indicate where native plants have been planted. Without human intervention, it is nearly impossible for native plants to escape the smothering effects of Himalayan blackberry. Removal of blackberries and other noxious weeds allows for native plants to return to a site, ulitimately restoring the ecological services provdided by a native community of plants, animals, and abiotic features such as soil and water.

13 Hands-on Education

SWCD invests in the future by Jsupporting outdoor and science education programs. Through hands- on experiences, students are better able to connect to our natural resources. These connections foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of natural resources; ultimately creating the next generation of land stewards. Read on for information on local programs we support and program highlights for 2016 Local Envirothon SWAT and Salmon Watch. Champions • Envirothon– Envirothon is a For the third year in a row, Jackson rigorous, hands-on natural science County’s Logos Public Charter School competition held every spring at the excelled in one of the most difficult Oregon Gardens in Silverton. We academic competitions in the state. proudly support our one local team The team of five earned first place from Logos Public Charter School in in the statewide 2017 Envirothon this statewide science competition. competition. JSWCD will explore options for In July 2017, the team traveled to recruiting more local teams in the Emmitsburg, Maryland for another upcoming fiscal year. go at the National Envirothon Competition. • The August Institute- We sponsor this annual teacher training through Teams train throughout the school our education grant program. The year to gain knowledge in aquatic training provided K-12 teachers with ecology, forestry, soils and land the tools they need to deliver natural use, wildlife, and a current issue. resource education to more than 2017’s current issue was Agricultural 1,000 students each year. Soil & Water Conservation Stewardship. Students must learn to work together for problem solving and successful oral presntations. In 2015, the Logos team led by teachers Chris Van Ness and Stormy Ballenger took first at the state competition and traveled to the National Envirothon competition. We look forward to the 2018 Envirothon and the opportunity to see local students excel!

14 SWAT-Jackson County’s Salmon Watch own Student Watershed or several years, JSWCD has helped Assessment Team Ffund SalmonWatch through a grant to SWCD provided financial assistance to Rogue Valley Council of Governments. Jthe OSU Extension and the 2016 SWAT Salmon Watch is an educational program team, enabling these dedicated highschool adaptable to students elementary through students to gain valuable experience in highschool. Program curriculum focuses data collection and monitoring for local on 4 modules critical to understanding the restoration projects. life history of salmon found in the Rogue Our local SWAT team is composed of ten Valley: Salmon Biology, Riparian Ecology, 9th and 10th grade students from Logos Macroinvertebrates, and Water Quality Public Charter School. The 2016 SWAT Monitoring.Students collect data, explore crew worked at six different project sites aquatic habitats, and dissect salmon to in the Bear Creek watershed. At three learn about the amazing pieces that come riparian restoration sites, the team used together to complete a salmon’s life cycle. protocol established by The Freshwater Fall 2016 Salmon Watch served 969 Trust to collect data on size, number, students and 34 classes throughout the and species of riparian woody plants and Rogue Valley. JSWCD is pleased to see percent cover of herbaceous and noxious this program continue as it connects plant species. At another location they local students to their local water and rephotographed existing photo points at widlife resources, helping to educate the a pollinator planting site. A new riparian next generation while creating our future restoration project had the students natural resource stewards. establishing new photo points before any work was done and then rephotographing after brush and weed removal work had been done later in the year, allowing the students to see how the project was changing the habitat. Without the work of these students, many projects would never get adequate data collection or monitoring completed. JSWCD is proud to support SWAT in developing the next generation of natural resource professionals.

2016 Salmon Watch participants record riparian habitat data as part of the Salmon Watch curriculum designed to connect students to their local watersheds and the life history of salmon.

2016 SWAT participants. Students from Logos Public Charter School complete important 15 Forage Demonstration Plots at SOREC he Forage Demonstration Plots will be getting a major make-over this next Tyear with the help of OSU Extension and JSWCD staff and Land Stewards volunteers. The forage plots are a wonderful educational tool, offering examples of what grows well in our Southern Oregon climate and soils, while allowing landowners to see the identifying characteristics of certain species before identifying what they have in their pastures and on their property. The plots will be uprgaded this coming year to demonstrate native forage plant species, dryland pasture species, irrigated pasture species, and forage forbs and legumes. Feel free to visit the plots at the Exension Center on Hanley Road. Free Equipment Rentals! ur Equipment Rental Program has been a great success...so much so we find the equipment is Ooften booked completely. Remember to call our Rural Natural Resource Planner, Clint Nichols, ahead of time to get your name on the books. Equipment rentals go out on Thursday and are to be returned the following Tuesday. Visit our website for photos and descriptions of equipment available: https://www.jswcd.org/equipment-library Get the latest on upcoming classes and events SWCD sends out regular emails about upcoming events and classes offered through Jus and our partners. Visit our website to be added to our email list: www.jswcd.org or check out our Facebook page: Jackson Soil & Water Conservation District

16 Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District 89 Alder Street Central Point, OR 97502 (541) 423-6159 www.jswcd.org