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| Water Quality |
The Coos SWCD is constantly working to improve water quality throughout the county. The District is currently the Local Management Agency for the Coos Coquille Area Agricultural Water Quality Mangement Plan developed as a result of Senate Bill 1010. Techniques used to improve and protect water quality include stream bank protection, critical area planting, drainage management, reforestation, erosion controls, improved animal waste management, sediment and debris removal, and the application of soils information. |
| Water Development |
Locating, storing and distributing clean water is a major job for community leaders and resource agencies. Water resource systems involve the installation of wells, pumps, pipelines, purifiers and other structures. The District is helping to coordinate water planning and development work among landowners, government agencies, and contractors in providing technical assistance on soils, stabilization plantings, appropriation needs and impoundment sites. |
| Pastureland Management |
Pastures, the basis of Coos County's dairy, cattle and sheep industries must be intensively managed to maintain and enhance their productivity for future generations. Cooperating with private landowners and the County Extension Service Agent, the District works to improve 1600 acres of hay and pastureland annually. Improved forage and soil stabilization can be accomplished through weed, predator and rodent control, drainage, use of soils information, fencing, rotation grazing and periodic reseeding. |
| Soil Stabilization |
Erosion not only wastes valuable soil, it contributes sediment pollution to our waterways. Soil slippage, landslides and gullies are erosion problems on more than 1,000 acres of Coos County. Slides and slumps destroy vegetation, structures, and utilities and interrupt transportation. Gully erosion affects more than 100 acres of pasture and woodland. Bare soils on subdivisions, dredge spoils, roads and other construction sites are also serious concerns. The Coos SWCD assists in the treatment of these concerns by providing technical assistance on soil structure and stabilization techniques. |
| Stream Bank Stabilization |
Stream bank erosion, which destroys valuable prime agricultural land and topsoil, and contributes to water pollution and sedimentation, is a severe problem on more than 100 miles of river and stream banks in Coos County. The problem is especially severe on the Coquille and Coos Rivers. Promoting cooperation among private landowners and public agencies, the Coos SWCD is works to protect severely eroding stream banks through bank shaping and seeding, the use of native willows, bioengineering, and livestock management. Coordinated application of these stabilization techniques is absolutely essential. |
| Sediment Management |
Excess sediment clogs drainage ditches, fills estuary channels and damages tidal waterways aggravating floods and bank erosion. Sedimentation also destroys fish habitat and shellfish beds, causes navigation hazards and detracts from the quality of water in Coos County. The District is continuing to identify opportunities for estuary channel restoration, especially along the Coquille River. The District reviews all applications for fill or removal permits within the waterways of the county. |
| Drainage |
Poorly drained soils and heavy rainfall saturate more than 10,000 acres of low-lying agricultural lands in Coos County resulting in water pollution, stagnation and loss of productivity. Cooperating with landowners and regulatory agencies, the Coos SWCD is working to improve drainage on 500 acres of agricultural lands annually through the use of ditch clearing, dikes, tide gates and grassed waterways. The District also provides information on grass and legume species adapted to wet conditions. |
| Forest & Woodland Management |
Intensive management of forests and woodlands not only provides watershed protection, it is the key to assuring future timber production, which is a basis of Coos County's economy. The District is working to assure watershed protection and increased future timber yields through the improvement of forests and woodlands. Improvements needed include impoundments, erosion control, fertilization, brush suppression and thinning. |
| Fish & Wildlife Habitat |
The protection of fish and wildlife is important not only for recreation but also for commercial fisheries and general environmental quality. Upland forestlands, wetlands, salmon spawning sites and estuaries are among the county habitats most in need of protection and restoration. The Coos SWCD is active in waterway improvements involving watershed protection and stream corridor management programs to re-establish vegetation, stabilize banks, remove debris and sediment, store runoff and utilize water efficiently. |
| Animal Waste Management |
Animal waste produced by farm animals can be used in productive, efficient and non-polluting ways. Manure can be returned as fertilizer to the county's 90,000 acres of agricultural land. The District provides technical assistance and can help landowners obtain cost-share funds for the construction of dry storage facilities, pumping equipment, liquid-holding tanks and improved drainage systems. |
| Weed Control |
Gorse, tansy ragwort and thistle are troublesome weeds infesting more than 80,000 acres of Coos County. Gorse, imported from Europe, has taken over many coastal dunes and hills forming dense stands that are extreme fire hazards in dry weather. Tansy and thistle are invading agricultural and grazing land displacing productive vegetation while causing injury, illness and death to livestock. Cooperating with weed control agencies, the Coos SWCD is working to control these weed infestations on more than 5,000 acres annually through the use of intensive pastureland management, natural predators (cinnabar moths and tansy flea beetles help prevent the spread of tansy), controlled burning, approved chemical sprays, mechanical methods, sheep grazing and cooperative compliance with weed control legislation. |
| Education & Information |
The Coos SWCD works to inform landowners and other citizens about the needs and ways to conserve and wisely use soil, water and related resources. District Directors hold monthly public meetings to discuss the latest developments in resource problems and opportunities facing Coos County and to implement the County's Natural Resource Conservation Program. A series of fact sheets developed in association with the Coos and Coquille AgWQM Plan are available at offices and farm supply stores in Coos County. When funding is available, the District sponsors workshops and demonstration site tours, the Watershed Ag Journal newsletter, and other conservation education activities. The Coos SWCD also sponsors the annual Dorothy Guerin Memorial Essay Contest for Coos County youth. The District Program is summarized every year in a comprehensive annual report. |
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