WELCOME!
to the
Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District
Mark Your Calendar!
January - February Deschutes County Board of Commissioners Meetings click here
Jan. 1 New Years Holiday
Jan. 3 Applications due for OSU Master Gardener Program - OSU Deschutes Extension Service Office
Jan. 15 - 16 Northwest Hay Expo Kennewick WA contact Mylen Bohle OSU Extension
Jan. 16 Deschutes SWCD Business Meeting 9:00AM Lyon Rm. 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend
Jan. 29 C.O. Forage Seminar, 4-H Clover Club Building, Prineville, OR.
Jan 29 - 30 Cannabis Collaborative Conference, Portland Expo. Center contact Mylen Bohle OSU Extension
Feb 5 - 6 Farm Fair and Trade Show Jefferson County Fair Grounds, Madras, OR
Feb 7 Central Oregon Pest Management Course, Riverhouse on the Deschutes, Bend. contact Mylen Bohle OSU Extension
Feb 20 Descutes SWCD Business Meeting 9:00AM DeArmond Rm. 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend
** Hot Topics **
Several irrigation districts in Oregon are working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Deschutes Basin Board of Control, Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA), and other stakeholders to develop Watershed Plan-Environmental Assessments that support irrigation modernization and provide local environmental benefits.
Wildfire was here before us. For millennia, our region was shaped by fire, and our mid- and lower elevation forests (think forests of ponderosa pine and mixed conifer species around Sisters, Bend, and Sunriver) were maintained by frequent, low-intensity fires, every ten to twenty-five years.
These natural fires are essential for stimulating fire-dependent trees and plants, maintaining wildlife habitat for certain species, cycling nutrients and sustaining other important functions of the forest ecosystem.
Deschutes River Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) - The goal of developing a Deschutes River Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is to provide sufficient, reliable water for residents and farmers while conserving fish, wildlife, and water resources. The HCP will eventually become part of an application for one or more Endangered Species Act incidental take permits (ITPs) that would authorize incidental take of listed species caused by covered activities. Final public comment due Dec. 3, 2019