Clackamas County - Information for Partners and Participants
 

Clackamas County covers 1,879 square miles (1.2 million acres) and extends from Mount Hood to the Willamette Valley floor. Over a third of the county is in forestry and is made up of national, private, and non-industrial private forests (NIPF). Clackamas County also has specialty crops and is ranked first in the state for acreage in nurseries and Christmas trees and is ranked second in berries. As a part of the Portland metropolitan region, much of the county faces pressure from urbanization and has one of the highest densities of small non-commercial farms in Oregon. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) works with forest landowners to reduce wildfire and improve timber productivity and with farmers to reduce non-point pollution and improve water quality.

NRCS Local Conservation Activities and Strategies

The USDA-NRCS local work group chose water quality as the primary concern in Clackamas County. The field office focuses on reducing non-point source pollution to streams used for fish, drinking water and recreation based on the DEQ 303(d) list, a kind of “water quality report card.” The USDA-NRCS promotes conservation practices which will improve water quality, such as installing streamside buffers to filter polluted surface runoff and provide shade to streams to improve water temperatures for fish.

Conservation Implementation Strategy

NRCS Programs Available

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP):
  • Late season/winter harvested crops (including Nursery Stock, Christmas trees and late season vegetables).
  • Organic and Transitioning to Organic.
  • Seasonal High Tunnel.
  • Forestry (to reduce ladder fuels, erosion, and planting trees to promote carbon sequestration and improve wildlife habitat).
• Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP):
  • Conservation Stewardship.
     

Additional Conservation Resources Available

• Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District
• Clackamas River Basin Council
• Oregon Department of Forestry
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• OWEB-Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
  
   

Local Work Group Updates

Want to help?

Tell us how you think our efforts can be most effective. You can contact us anytime to express a concern, but once each year our Local Work Group meets to formally discuss developing and implementing conservation projects. You are welcome to participate in the meetings.

If you are interested in participating, please contact the NRCS District Conservationist listed below.

For meeting information, please click here.

Success Story

Nurturing Oregon's Nurseries:  NRCS and OAN Make Connections for the Future Boring, Ore. – The 180-acre farmland that makes up the Hans Nelson & Sons Nursery is tucked away in a quiet spot less than two miles outside the Multnomah County line east of Gresham. Accessible via a web of neatly paved back roads, the property is speckled with large puddles that reflect the nearby butte during the brief sunbreaks.  More (HTML)... Download a printable copy (1.18MB) Key Words: Water management, nursery management, Lower Willamette Basin

Clickable Map of SNOTEL Sites

• Deschutes Basin
• Lower Columbia Basin
• Middle Columbia Basin
• Willamette Basin

For Additional Assistance Contact

Oregon City Service Center
221 Molalla Avenue Street, Suite 120
Oregon City, Oregon 97045

NRCS District Conservationist: Kris Homma (503) 655-3144 x6031
Clackamas County SWCD, (503) 210-6000