Adams Conservation District 2012

We hope this holiday season you have been blessed with love and laughter, family and friends, delicious treats and safe travels. We’re grateful to have successfully finished most of our field implementation goals for 2011. Many thanks to our hard working field crews, producers and granters for their contributions to protecting and preserving our natural resources. The next couple months we’ll be in the office tucked at our desks catching up on paperwork and making plans to get out in the field come Spring. With new funding assistance we are eager to meet with landowners/operators and discuss ways we can work together to continue improving water quality on Cow Creek and the Palouse River. In 2012 we hope you’ll join us in efforts to conserve the resources that support us all!

Palouse C Implementation Project

In February, 2012, ACD will start it’s second year of work on the Palouse C Implementation Project (a continuation of the Palouse B project which ended in 2009). ACD was awarded a grant by the Department of Ecology to install exclusionary fencing, off-stream watering sites and riparian vegetation along the Palouse River in grazing areas from Hooper to Lyons Ferry. The Palouse River has impaired water quality parameters including: dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform bacteria, pH and water temperature. Implementation efforts will improve water quality by decreasing livestock access, therefore reducing fecal load and stream bank degradation. Riparian plantings will help stabilize soil, improve runoff filtration and decrease water temperatures. Restoration of the riparian zone along this waterway will also provide habitat for wildlife and improve water quality not only locally, but down stream on a larger scale as water flows into the Snake and Columbia River. The foresight and cooperation of landowners/producers to implement conservation efforts will help restore and preserve the health of the Palouse River for future generations.

Grants

Adams Conservation District has two new grants with Department of Ecology. The first grant will fund implementation of exclusionary fencing, off-stream watering and riparian planting in areas throughout WRIA 34, 'The Palouse Watershed'. The second grant is focused on riparian planting along Cow Creek and the Palouse River, as well as nursery development at Adams CD. These funding sources are a great opportunity for operators to receive financial support to improve water quality and riparian habitat throughout our area, as well as avoid possible costly citations. If you are interested in implementation assistance please contact us so we can budget for your project.

Palouse River TMDL

The Department of Ecology is developing water quality improvement projects (known as TMDLs - Total Maximum Daily Load) to address water quality issues. Water quality issues specific to the Palouse River in Adams County (WRIA 34) include unhealthy levels of: chloride, pesticides, PCBs, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, pH and increased temperature. TMDLs are created by local organizations and citizens to develop actions to reduce pollution and return a water body to a healthy condidtion. For more information on the Palouse River TMDLs go to http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/palouse/ and for a list of pollutants on specific areas of the Palouse and TMDL status visit http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/TMDLsbyWria/tmdl-wria34.html.