Projects

The Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District helps landowners resolve a variety of natural resource problems. To do so, we offer a variety of tools and resources to local landowners and managers. Here are just a few examples of projects that the District has been involved in.

Many of the projects shown here were funded in part by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's (OWEB) Small Grant Program. The Hood River Small Grant Team is now accepting applications for watershed restoration projects in Hood River County. For more information about this program, click here or contact us!

On the morning of November 5, 2007, the Hood River Watershed Group (HRWG) and many partners completed the last phase of a major stream clean-up on Indian Creek with the help of volunteers and a BPA helicopter used to haul the garbage out of the narrow stream canyon. For a full description and more photos of the project, follow this link.

Did you know that the average irrigation system using handlines and impact sprinklers emits about 475,000 gallons of water per acre per year? A simple upgrade from handlines and impact sprinkers to polytubing and micro-sprinklers can drastically reduce water use. In an average Hood River valley orchard, the water saved each year by upgrading to an efficient irrigation system can translate to over a million gallons of water left in-stream for fish and wildlife. The District has written many grants to help landowners install these more efficient irrigation systems on hundreds of acres of cropland.

For the past 100 years, the East Fork Irrigation District (EFID) has used Neal Creek to convey 42 cubic feet per second (cfs) of irrigation water from the East Fork Hood River to the Central Lateral canal in order to serve orchards and farms in the lower east side of the valley. Glacial silt from the East Fork Hood River has been introduced into Neal Creek by the irrigation system, which impairs water quality. EFID has also operated an irrigation diversion dam on Neal Creek (pictured above left) at river mile five with an outdated fish screen that fails to protect fish.

Completed in the fall of 2008, the Central Canal Pipeline Project was a three-phase, six year, multi-million dollar project to pipe the irrigation canal and resolve these problems. It has been one of the Hood River Watershed Group’s top restoration projects for many years. The entire project consisted of the installation of 4.55 miles of large diameter pipe. This project a) returns the lower 7.5 miles of Neal Creek to compliance with state water quality standards, b) opens an additional 4.8 miles of habitat on Neal Creek for two ESA-listed fish species, c) permanently conserves an estimated 3.44 cfs of East Fork Hood River water via the Oregon Water Resources Department Conserved Water Program, and d) protects Neal Creek from potential orchard chemical contamination.

The District helps landowners find funds and materials needed to fence livestock out of the riparian area (streamside corridor) of streams and rivers. A buffer zone is created between grazing areas and the stream. A riparian buffer zone will be revegetated with native plants to help restore the streambank and prevent erosion. Increasing vegetation along the stream also helps keep water temperatures lower by shading the stream. This is especially important in Hood River County as many of our area streams are exceeding state temperature standards. The larger the buffer, the more benefits are gained. It is very beneficial to fish and wildlife habitat, riparian health and water quality.

If you have livestock, you've probably dealt or are dealing with mud and manure in the areas they use the most. This can not only create an unhealthy environment for your animals, but for the environment too. Mud that is enriched by manure can harm aquatic life if it gets into surface water. This is not just a concern for those who live near water bodies since the nutrients and sediments can leach into groundwater too. This can be a really big problem if you draw from a well. The District has helped landowners convert what was once a muddy mess into a healthy home for animals and the environment. Creating hardened, yet pervious surfaces (such as HoofGrid) for heavy use areas, like paddocks, allows the landowner to easily and regularly remove manure, while giving animals a sturdy, dry place to be year round.

Got animals? Then you've got manure and managing it in a responsible way is very important for the health of your animals, nearby waterways and groundwater. Aside form storing the manure away from any waterways, one of the simplest things you can do is to cover your manure to prevent clean rainwater from being contaminated. The District has helped many landowners in the valley find funding for, plan and build manure composting facilities. These structures not only provide a covered place to store manure, but multiple bays in which the manure can be turned and composted for use as fertilizer on crops.

The list of recreational activities for which Hood River is known is ever-growing. So, it's no wonder that Hood River County's natural resources are starting to feel the impacts of recreational use. One area receiving particularly intense recreational use is Post Canyon. This area is heavily used by mountain bikers, ORVs, ATVs, motorcycles, equestrians and hikers and is bisected by waterways. That's why the District has been working closely with the Hood River County Forestry Recreational Trails Committee to implement projects like the one pictured here. This project was designed to protect and restore Post Canyon Creek from the impacts of motorized vehicles driving in and through this fish-bearing stream.