Hood River County Rural Living Handbook

We are pleased to announce the completion and début of the Hood River County Rural Living Handbook! 

This handbook is intended to introduce current and prospective rural landowners to available resources in our county. It will address general questions on land use planning, gardening, livestock management, and other land management concerns.  In combination with the hardcopy publication (available from any of our many project partners, it is available for downloading below. 

Funding and Support:

This project was funded through a grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB).   It was written in cooperation with many contributing partners. 

Survey:

Have you read the handbook? Let us know what you thought.  Follow this link to fill out our short online survey.  We value your feedback! 

Workshops:

We will also be hosting six workshops during 2008 and early 2009 on topics from the handbook.  Follow this link to check out the workshop descriptions below.   

Hood River County Rural Living Handbook

(All of the following files require  Adobe Acrobat Reader)

 Download the 7.5 MB pdf of the entire document here.    

   Download a pdf of the Table of Contents here.

Download individual chapters here:

Note: While every attempt has been made to correctly paraphrase and/or quote laws, codes and regulations, if any discrepancy between this handbook and the official wording should arise, the official wording should prevail.

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Contributors to This Publication

Thanks to the many partners that made this publication possible!

Special thanks to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board who funded this project.

·    Gary Asbridge, USDA Forest Service

·    Jacque Betts, Hood River Garbage, Inc.

·    Chris Brun, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation

·    Henry Buckalew, Hood River County Forestry Department

·    John Buckley, East Fork Irrigation District

·    Steve Castagnoli, OSU Extension Service

·    Dave Compton, Middle Fork Irrigation District

·    Jeff Cook, Farmers Irrigation District

·    Elizabeth Daniel, OSU Extension Service

·    Anne Debbaut, Hood River County Planning Department

·    Casey DePriest, Hood River County Animal Control

·    John Dodd, USDA Forest Service

·    Tim Donahue, Windermere/Glenn Taylor Real Estate

·    Melanee Gillette, Hood River County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Council

·    Jean Godfrey, Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers

·    Ellen Hammond, Oregon Department of Agriculture

·    Carly Heron, Natural Resources Conservation Service

·    Vern Holm, Northwest Weed Management Partnership

·    David Jacobs, Oregon Department of Forestry

·    Jess Jordan, Department of State Lands

·    Marti Kantola, Six Rivers Community Mediation Services

·    Jordan Kim, Hood River SWCD

·    Nate Lain, Hood River County Weed and Pest Division

·    Joe McCanna, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation

·    Denise McCravey, RE/MAX Results, Inc. Realtors

·    Weisha Mize, Oregon Department of Agriculture

·    Don Nunamaker, Nunamaker Realtors 

·    Shilah Olson, Wasco SWCD

·    Pete Peterson, Westside Fire District

·    Anne Saxby, Hood River SWCD

·    Jason Seals, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife

·    Leo Segovia, USDA Forest Service

·    Genevieve Scholl-Erdmann, Hood River County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Council

·    Kim Smolt, USDA Forest Service

·    Steve Stampfli, Hood River Watershed Group 

·    Doug Thiesies, Oregon Department of Forestry

·    Jeremy Thompson, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife

·    Bob Wood, Water Resources Department

Special thanks to Mark Nilsson (www.marknilsson.com) for allowing us to use his beautiful artwork on the cover of this handbook and to Jackson County SWCD for allowing us to use their Rural Living Handbook as a guide.

2008 Workshop Schedule

The Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District is hosting a total of six workshops over the next year covering topics from the Hood River County Rural Living Handbook.  The first four workshops in this series are described below. 

You can register for any of these workshops through

Hood River Community Education at 541-386-2055

Pondering a Pond?:

Saturday, September 20, 2008, 10am to Noon

Are you considering installing a pond?  Who wouldn’t want a backyard pond for sparkling water, dockside fishing or enhanced property values?  But before you start moving in the heavy machinery you might want to attend this workshop.  Local Watermaster Bob Wood will help you understand what is involved in constructing a pond from permits that might be required to understanding your water rights.   A professional from Aquascape, Inc., the nation’s largest supplier and innovator of water feature products will share their expertise on options and alternatives for low maintenance water features and present ideas to bring the water gardening lifestyle into your own backyard for the entire family to enjoy.  This could be the class that saves you from digging a very expensive, dry hole in your yard!

Location:  OSU Extension Service (2990 Experiment Station Rd, Hood River)

Limit:  30

Class Fee:  $5.00

Forest Stewardship Planning Workshop

Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 6:00 to 9:00pm

This one-evening, introductory seminar will provide a brief overview on forestland management.  This is an excellent opportunity for woodland owners and tree farmers to learn how to plan for and achieve objectives for water, wildlife, esthetics and timber.  The class will be led by local experts from WSU Extension and the Oregon Department of Forestry.  Bring all of your forest management questions! 

Location:  OSU Extension Service (2990 Experiment Station Rd, Hood River)

Limit:  30

Class Fee:  $5.00

Backyard Tree Fruit Care

Date and Time TBD ~Watch for Updates!

Do you have fruit trees in your backyard?  Come join our local OSU Extension Service agent Steve Castagnoli as he explains basic management practices for backyard tree fruit such as pest and disease management, irrigation, pruning and county ordinances regarding tree fruit care.  Spend the morning discovering the specific care and maintenance techniques of pome (such as apples) & stone fruits (such as plums) and some alternative fruit crops such as berries. 

Location:  OSU Extension Service (2990 Experiment Station Rd, Hood River)

Limit:  30

Class Fee:  $5.00

3007 Experiment Station Road • Hood River • Oregon • 97031 • hrswcd@gorge.net • 541-386-4588