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Upper Valley in bloom with Mt Hood in background. |
Hood River County has an area of 533 square miles, or approximately 334,308
thousand acres. Of the private land cropland makes up the majority of the
agricultural land consisting of 26,952 acres or 8% of the county of which 16,409
acres are irrigated. The majority of the irrigated land is in orchards (14,741
acres) with the main crop being pears (11,002 acres). The rest of the irrigated
land is used to produce high value crops including cherries, peaches, apples,
blueberries, nuts, lavender, berries and grapes. Public land makes up the
majority of the county. The public land is managed by USDI Bureau of Land
Management, United States Corps of Engineers, Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife and Bonneville Power Administration, United States Department of
Forestry.
NRCS Local Conservation Activities and Strategies
The priority major resource concerns identified by the local conservation
partnership include:
- Water Supply and Quality Degraded Plant Condition - Inadequate structure
and composition.
- Fish and Wildlife – Habitat Fragmentation Fish Passage
- Energy Use & Air Quality Impacts
An existing Conservation Implementation Strategy (CIS) is being utilized to
address soil erosion and water quantity on irrigated land in orchards. Crop
producers and citizens of the county are willing to participate in efforts that
reduce soil erosion and improve water quantity and quality as there is a general
consensus that water quality and quantity is essential to everyone in the
county. Success will be measured by feedback from the local irrigation
districts, water quality assessments, and the number of irrigation systems
updated for efficiency.
Work is underway to develop a CIS to address water quality in Neal Creek. A
lack of riparian vegetation is having the largest negative impact on water
quality in Neal Creek and its tributaries. The Local Work Group also identified
several other practices that have negatively impacted the water quality
including: past timber harvests, road building, riparian tree removal (trees
were removed to improve cold air drainage from orchards), unmanaged livestock
access to stream, storm water runoff, overflow from irrigation ditches and
orchards, development in the floodplain and spray drift from orchards.
NRCS Programs Available
Additional Conservation Resources Available
Conservation agencies in the region are very cooperative and routinely work
together with private landowners to accomplish resource enhancement projects.
The following agencies provide assistance in planning, funding or implementing
conservation and restoration projects:
- Bonneville Power Association
- USFS
- Bureau of Land Management
- Oregon Department of Agriculture
- Oregon Department of Forestry
- Oregon State University-County Extension Service
- Hood River County Soil and Water Conservation District
- East Fork Irrigation District
- Farmers Irrigation district
- Middle Fork Irrigation district
- WyEast RC&D
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Local Work Group Updates
The Hood River County Local Work Group meets to discuss natural resource priorities
and provide input to NRCS on conservation programs. If you are interested in
participating, please contact the NRCS District Conservationist listed below.
For meeting information, please
click here.
Clickable Map of SNOTEL Sites
For Additional Assistance Contact
The Hood River Service Center
3007 Experiment Station Drive
Hood River, Oregon 97031
NRCS District Conservationist: Carly Heron, (541) 386-2815
Hood River County SWCD, (541) 386-4588
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