The Southern Oregon Research & Extension Center is proud to announce that the Land Steward program will be held in Josephine County this summer.  The Land Steward program is in its fourth year and continues to gain attention for its innovative field-based classes that offer support to participants who are implementing natural resource conservation on their properties.  Funding for the Land Steward program is provided by the Grange Co-op, the Rogue Valley Fire Prevention Cooperative, and the Oregon Department of Forestry, and the OSU Extension Service.

Contextual Information:

In Josephine County, private land owners number in the thousands and collectively manage significant areas of forest, woodland, range, and other “unimproved” land. As a result, they have a significant influence on wildfire risk, the spread of noxious weeds, water conservation, and many other natural resource concerns. Yet many land owners are new to southern Oregon and lack experience in rural living. The Land Steward program addresses these needs by teaching owners about land management in a holistic, multi-disciplinary way, and by guiding them through a planning and technical assistance process that results in more rapid adoption of on-the-ground, conservation projects.

Land Steward program Overview:

The 8-week, ~30 hour field-based course covers local ecology, tree care, fire hazard reduction, biomass utilization, water quality and conservation, noxious weeds, wildlife management, and much more. Each topic is covered by a resource professional, while a host landowner shares on-the-ground experience with management strategies they have utilized. Participants also invest at least 10 hours of volunteer time to cultivate public awareness about natural resource issues. In addition to benefiting owners, the Land Steward program provides significant public benefit by promoting better stewardship of private land.

The 2013 summer program will take place on Wednesday afternoons 3:00-6:00 pm from May 15^th through June 26th and September 4th and 11th. The Land Steward program fee is $100, or $150 for couples, and applications will be accepted through May 14th, 2013.

More information and applications for the 2013 program are available from the Josephine County OSU Extension Service website https://secure.oregonstate.edu/osuext/register/591 or call the program coordinator, Rhianna Simes at 541.776.7371.

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We invite you to take part in the 1st Annual Illinois Valley Rivers & Forests Festival: Connecting the Drops: Sustainability from Ridgetop to Riverbed! The Festival will be held in downtown Cave Junction at the Josephine County Building, 102 S. Redwood Highway (across from the Post Office).

Friday night Keynote address will begin at 5:30 pm.

Riparian Trees provide a great benefit to our local watershed.

To assist local efforts to restore riparian vegetation in our watershed, the Illinois Valley SWCD & Watershed Council are hosting a riparian plant sale on March 1-2. A variety of watershed- and wildlife-friendly species will be available for purchase.

Plants are sourced from Althouse Nursery, a native plant seller located in the Illinois Valley, and are offered at wholesale prices to Illinois Valley Landowners. (The SWCD & Watershed Council do not make a profit on the plant sale.)

Species include:

-Disease-resistant Port Orford Cedar
-Douglas Fir
-Bigleaf Maple
-Elderberry
-Snowberry

A detailed description of available plants can be found on the order form.

Plant orders MUST BE PRE-PAID by 22 February 2013.

Orders must be PICKED UP at the Josephine County Building, 102 S. Redwood Hwy, Cave Junction, OR on Friday, March 1 between 1:30 and 5:30 pm or Saturday, March 2 between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm.

You can download an order form: Riparian Plant Sale 2013 .  Forms are also available at public bulletin boards throughout the Illinois Valley. Contact Nancy at 541-592-3731 with questions.

Local horse and livestock owners are invited to attend a free workshop on Healthy Horse Keeping in Southwest Oregon. Beginning at 10 am and continuing until 3 pm, a variety of presentations will cover topics from horse health to managing mud & manure in your pastures, and a wealth of local informational resources will be available, free of charge. Pre-register by 18 February 2013 to receive a free bag of horse treats, offered in cooperation between IVSWCD & Illinois Valley Building Supply.

The workshop will be held in the Josephine County Building, 102 S. Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, OR and is presented by the Illinois Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, with funding assistance from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Call 541-592-3731 with questions or to register for the event. Horse owners who pre-register by 18 February 2013 will receive a 1-lb bag of horse treats on the day of the workshop.

Event Schedule

10:15 AM -10:30 AM Welcome & Registration

10:30 AM -11:15 AM Session 1: Horse Health and Preventative Care-Vern Meyer

11:30 AM -12:15 PM Session 2: Leave No Trace and Trail Safety-Carol Crawford, Sourdough Back Country Horsemen

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch–A Pulled Pork meal will be available for purchase from the Illinois Valley High School Equestrian Team for $6.

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Session 3: “You Be the Judge”: Equine Law Liabilities and Responsiblilities–Matthew Abts, Abts Law LLC

2:00 PM-2:45 PM Session 4: Pasture Managment–Elizabeth Murphy, OSU Extension

2:45 Final Comments

As of the Illinois Valley SWCD’s January 24th Board Meeting, the Zone 4 Director Position (mainly covering the Takilma area) remains vacant. A pdf map of the Distrct Zones is available for download. The Board is accepting applications for an appointee to fill the position until the 2014 election.

Requirements for the position include:

1. Zone director requirements: two options are available to an individual.

Option #1:

-Own or manage 10 or more acres of land in the district by:

+Residing within the zone that is represented; or
+Owning or managing 10 or more acres within the zone that is being represented; and

-Be involved in the active management of the property; and
-Reside within the boundaries of the district; and
-Be a registered voter.

OR

Option #2: 

-Reside within the zone that is represented; and
-Has served at least one year as a director or associate director of a district; and
-Has a conservation plan approved by the district board; and
-Be a registered voter.

Please contact Nancy or Kevin at the IVSWCD office at 541-592-3731 for more information or to request an application.

Dan can be reached at his office  at 1495 East Gregory Road, Central Point, OR 97502 or by telephone at 541.826.8774. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website is located online at www.dfw.state.or.us/.

You can also download a 2-part copy of Dan’s PowerPoint presentation:Rogue Fish 101 and Momentum for Restoration_Part 1_IV Stream School_2013 Rogue Fish 101 and Momentum for Restoration_Part 2_IV Stream School_2013

You can also download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation:Working In & On Streams_IV Stream School_2013

Kevin O’Brien can be reached at his office in the Josephine County Building at 102 South Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon. Call ahead at 541.592.3731 to confirm that someone is in the office. You may also reach Kevin via cell phone: 541.441.8801

You can download a copy of Kevin’s PowerPoint Presentation here:Stream Dynamics Watershed 101_IV Stream School_2013

Kathy Smith can be reached at her office  at 700 NW Dimmick Street, Grants Pass, Oregon 97526, Call ahead at 541.479.2401 to confirm that someone is in the office. The Oregon Water Resources Department website is located online at www.oregon.gov/owrd.

You can also download a copy of Kathy’s PowerPoint presentation: Irrigation and Water_IV Stream School_2013

Natural Resources Conservation Service Convenes Local Working Group to Discuss Natural Resource Priorities

Roseburg, Ore. (January 14, 2013) – Since the Dust Bowl, the ‘Soil Conservation Service’  has worked with local communities to determine resource concerns and to target technical and financial assistance available through the Farm Bill.  Now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the organization considers basic resource concerns affecting soil, water, air, energy, plants, animals and humans.  NRCS works in partnership with interested community members to prioritize natural resource concerns and identify those conservation activities of greatest interest to landowners.  The agency’s programs are voluntary and are therefore most successful when targeting support for issues identified by local people.

Farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and other agricultural and conservation organizations are invited to participate in NRCS’ annual meeting to review resource priorities February 6, 2013 at the Conference Room of the Illinois Valley Soil and Water Conservation District in Cave Junction at 1 pm.  For more information or if you require special accommodation please contact David Chain 541-673-6071 ext. 107 or Erin Kurtz 541-776-4270 ext. 108.

Date:           February 6, 2012
Time:           1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location:      Illinois Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, 102 S Redwood Hwy, Cave Junction, OR

Local Contact:        David Chain – District Conservationist    541-673-6071 Ext 107
Erin Kurtz – District Conservationist       541-776-4267 Ext 108

1. Greetings & introductions
2. Review of priority resource concerns currently being addressed
3. What has been done to address those resource priorities?
   1. ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION

i.    NRCS Conservation Implementation strategies – what we planned, how we’re doing, what do we need help with

ii.    Partner perspectives, projects

1. Overview/review of NRCS strategic plan – Available for review
   1. Are there issues/information that we can update?
   2. Are there any other accomplishments, roles, partner info we can include?
   3. Does the outline/emphasis of strategies look good?
   4. What programs, needs, opportunities are coming up in the next year?
      1. ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION