|
New irrigation mainline west of Madras. |
Jefferson County has an area of 1,791 square miles, or 1.1 million acres of
which 570,000 acres or 49% of the county is privately owned and 257,000 acres
or 22% of the county is Tribal lands. The USDA Forest Service owns 276,000
ac including 120,000 ac of the Crooked River National Grassland and 156,000 ac
of forest. USDI Bureau of Land Management has about 37,000 ac. There are about
97,000 ac of crop land with about 52,000 acres irrigated. Much of the irrigated
land is used to produce high value seed crops including 85% of the nation’s
carrot seed. Parsley, radish, coriander, garlic, onion and flowers are also
grown for seed. The vegetable seeds are often grown in rotation with hay, grain,
grass seed or mint.
NRCS Local Conservation Activities and Strategies
The priority major resource concerns identified by the local conservation
partnership include:
- Water Quantity and Quality,
- Rangeland Health especially juniper encroachment,
- Forestland Health
Existing Conservation Implementation Strategies (CIS) geared towards
improving irrigated cropland are being utilized. Crop producers and citizens of
the county are willing to participate in water quantity and quality effort as
water conservation and adequate water quality are essential to everyone. Success
will be measured by feedback from the local irrigation districts, water quality
assessments, and the number of irrigation systems updated for efficiency.
Landowners are willing to participate in rangeland health efforts as invasive
species diminish the grazing capability, decrease stream quality, and destroy
wildlife habitat. Success will be measured by anecdotal evidence from the
landowner and the number of applied acres of practices expected to improve
rangeland health.
Work is underway to develop a CIS for forestland Health. Forestland owners are
willing to participate in an effort to improve forestland health as the
decreased forest health conditions create a high risk of catastrophic wildfires.
Success will be measured by the number of applied acres of practices expected to
improve forest health and feedback from landowners, Oregon Department of
Forestry, and NRCS foresters.
NRCS Programs Available
Additional Conservation Resources Available
- Bonneville Power Association
- USDI Bureau of Land Management
- Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District
- North Unit Irrigation District
- Oregon Department of Agriculture
- Oregon Department of Forestry
- Oregon State University-County Extension Service
- Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
- Trout Creek Watershed Council
- Willow Creek Watershed Council
- WyEast RC&D
- Deschutes River Conservancy
- Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
- USDA Forest Service
Local Work Group Updates
The Jefferson 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.
Success Story
 |
Glenn Cooper had a personal goal to bring irrigation
water to the ranches of McKenzie Canyon in a naturally pressurized
pipeline. He found willing and able partners for this goal in USDA-NRCS
and Three Sisters Irrigation District (TSID). With the support of these
partners, the participation of neighboring landowners and a little help
from Mother Nature, that goal has been realized.
More (HTML)...
Download a printable copy (PDF
1.17MB)
Key Words:
AWEP, watershed enhancement,
Deschutes Basin |
For Additional Assistance Contact
Redmond Service Center
625 SE Salmon Avenue, Suite 4
Redmond, Oregon 97756-9580
NRCS District Conservationist: Tom Bennett, (541) 923-4358 ext. 123
Jefferson County SWCD, (541) 923-4358
|
About Us
Back to Top