Conservation Chronicle Published in the interest of encouraging the most beneficial utilization of natural resources within Cascade County Volume 52, Number III January 2018 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Gayla Wortman, Chairman Elliot Merja, Vice Chairman 34 year NRCS Career Marc Shane, Treasurer It has been quite a ride. I started my career as a student trainee for the John Chase, Urban Supervisor Soil Conservation Service, SCS, after my junior year at MSU. The first Alan Rollo, Supervisor office I went to was Helena. The next summer I went to Livingston and did mostly range inventory. After graduation, with a degree in range Stevie Neuman, Supervisor management, I went to the Plant Materials Center in Bridger. We Scott Brown, Urban Supervisor worked on plant evaluations on mine land reclamation and tree/shrub plantings as well as plant evaluation plantings. I was there for about a Rose Malisani, Associate year and a half. While I was there I somehow talked my better half, Judy, Jim Freeman, Associate into marrying me and moved from Bridger to the Billings field office. A Jim Larson, Associate year later I resigned because I had the opportunity to farm on Judy’s parents’ farm. We were there for 5 years, and because of 15 to 20 % interest rates and drought conditions, and Judy having a teaching job in DISTRICT STAFF Laurel, it just was not meant to be. We moved to Laurel, where Judy Tenlee Atchison, Administrator taught in a very good school system and I worked for a friend that had a Laura Crawford, Admin Assistant landscaping business. In 1987 I applied with SCS and came back on in Malta. I was there for about a year and a half, then moved to Philipsburg as the District Conservationist, DC. I was there for a year and then NRCS STAFF moved back to the highline at Chinook as the DC. We were there for Matt Crampton, District Conservationist 19 and a half years. After raising our family there, we moved to Great Craig Biggart, Soil Conservationist Falls in 2010. I am the DC here and in 2013 became the supervisory DC in Stanford. There are things about the job that have been somewhat of a trial, but I think that is with any job. What I will remember about the places I have been and the positions I have held are the people. That is In This Issue my take away. Alan’s Changing World 2 God Bless! Matt Crampton Technology……. 3 FWP Programs 4-5 Whatchabeenupto…… 6-8 Water in a changing…. 8-9 AIS Update 10-11 Upcoming Events 12-13 Matt Crampton, NRCS District Conservationist at 2017 Ag Days making edible soil cups with 4th Graders! PAGE 2 CONSERVATION CHRONICLE Volume 52, Number III By: Supervisor Alan Rollo When I was growing up on a farm in Illinois, I really effort, I met many hard-working, dedicated individuals. In enjoyed playing in the little stream that went through the fact, way too many to list by name. What a great team effort place – even if I had to share it with the hogs. As I grew up, I it has been. I cannot put into words what it has meant to me continued to enjoy playing in the water in any way I could to be part of something so wonderful as the Sun River find. In 1975 the Air Force decided I needed to be in Great Watershed effort. Falls, Montana. I soon found the mountain streams, where I On the CCD side of my fun - in 2010, the CCD board continued to play in the water with our three daughters and members decided it was time for me to join the CCD team friends. My fascination of water led me to take classes and as a full fledge supervisor. The only thing that really changed attend educational events about Montana water quality and was I could vote on issues that came before the CCD board. stream dynamics. One of the educational events occurred in Through the many years of being involved with the CCD – the early 1990s where the Cascade Conservation District there has been ups and downs but for most of the time it has sponsored a stream dynamics class taught by a Dr. been a GREAT ride. The CCD board is now completely Reichmuth. WOW – that class gave me new information on different than when I first became involved, and one constant how and why moving water reacted the way it did. I started has been the CCD team tackling complex issues – NEVER attending the CCD meetings even though the board willing to sit on the sidelines when there were natural members were suspicious of why a member of the Air Force resource issues to be worked on. This story would turn into would want to sit in on their boring meetings. The CCD a book if I tried to tell all the good things about the CCD administrator took a different approach by being more team. inclusive, teaching me what a conservation district did and what issues the CCD was tackling. During that educational period the CCD picked up a hard task of bringing together a variety of interest groups to try again to solve a massive erosion problem on a little stream called Muddy Creek. At the urging of a past Muddy Creek project coordinator, I quickly volunteered to represent the environmental community on the newly formed Muddy Creek Task Force. I got to witness first-hand lots of new stream restoration ideas on this huge undertaking. As this project started to build momentum, I was nearing the end of my Air Force career. Luckily for me, the Muddy Creek Task Force, through the CCD, hired me to become the next coordinator for this massive project. I was also lucky that in 2000, the CCD Board Supervisors—Alan Rollo, front; Scott board invited me to become an associated supervisor. This Brown, middle; and Stevie Neuman, back. meant I got to participate in discussions and 310 inspections but could not vote. WOW again – I was now part of the Because there are too many personal things I needed to CCD family. deal with that prevent me from actively participating in CCD As the years went by, I continued to work on the Muddy board duties – 2017 is my last year as a supervisor, but the Creek erosion problem, eventually being part of an awesome board has allowed me to return in the associate supervisor group effort to take the team approach to the entire Sun role. With any luck, I will return as a supervisor sometime in River Watershed. I was also lucky enough to be part of this the future. But for now, my priority is family. The time has team when they reduced the erosion in Muddy Creek by 80% finally come for me not to work as much and fully enjoy time - taking the sediment load entering the Sun River from with my wonderful wife, our three lovely daughters, 10 approximately 200,000 tons per year down to 27,000 tons awesome grandkids, my mom, and the rest of my family. per year. One of the reasons this team approach on Muddy Onward and upward as one constant thing in life occurs Creek and other Sun River projects was so successful – there will be change. Hopefully, all of you can be as lucky because the CCD led that charge – especially board member as I have been - to be part of a great team that enjoys getting Dale Marxer. Through the years working on the Sun River shit done AND having fun. Volume 52, Number III CONSERVATION CHRONICLE PAGE 3 By: Elliot Merja, Vice Chair In the 70s, there were numerous we did truly made a difference. A wise for fertilizer and what we should be people that planted tree and grass person once told me, “A short pencil is doing for weed spraying, was valuable. barrier rows in order to prevent better than a long memory.” Too This helps us to develop maps so that erosion from the wind. Some of these often the question arises what bin did we are working smarter which has worked better than others. As time that grain go in or even worse where great economic benefits for everyone. proved, some of these practice changes did we seed the IMI (idazolinone- In this day and age, we've gone from needed to happen. As an example, resistant) wheat? steering tractors by hand to disc where people use chem fallow, both marker systems on the side of each the trees and the grasses have trouble. We had an interesting year last year, implement to having the GPS steer Spray drift becomes a major with early spring moisture making it entirely. It's so technical you can component. Noted by one producer, difficult to get spring crops in, but actually farm ground that is irregularly “Now I have branches to deal with winter crops looked great, which shaped, that the tractor will follow or because I no longer have a plow brought the earliest harvest in our set up a pivot on the inside that will keeping the trees cleaned up.” memory and one of the better make the circle all the way to the harvests, even though it was hot and outside or vice versa. What surprises No matter how much technology we dry from June on. What did show up me is the number of conservation have, we still have struggles to deal was not blowing dirt but tumbleweeds districts that are looking to get a no till with.