WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2020 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of assistance for residents and agricultural producers affected by recent wildfires. As of today, wildfires have burned nearly 6.9 million acres across 11 states. More than 31,000 personnel from the local, state and federal levels are working to contain 61 large ... Read More

The Harney Soil & Water Conservation District is seeking bid proposals for 899 acres of juniper cutting.  The project includes 4 separate cutting units and ranges from large medium density trees to light infestations of small trees. The project location(s) are approximately 55 miles from Burns, OR.  There is a mandatory bid tour to be ... Read More

The Harney Soil and Water Conservation District has seven positions (one position per zone and two at large positions).  Board directors are elected and are not compensated financially.  Requirements for service are: Actively manage 10 or more acres in the zone being represented and reside with the district boundaries (Harney County) Reside within the zone ... Read More

The District has two operational solar pumps.  They are currently out and will be available in October. ... Read More

Since we posted this warning about unsolicited seeds, an article in the Wall Street Journal published today (July 30th) has an update.  According to their article https://www.wsj.com/articles/mystery-seeds-spread-around-the-world-11596119184, the seeds have originated from several countries and have been distributed worldwide. And the Oregon Department of Agriculture requests recipients forward the seeds to them for examination: Anyone ... Read More

Contact: Cat Bailey USDA Expands Farmers.gov Features to Help Manage Conservation Activities PORTLAND, Oregon –  June 9, 2020 – New self-service features on farmers.gov      will help farmers and ranchers manage their conservation activities online and request assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). “These conservation features join a number of others already available ... Read More

ODA will have two meetings regarding House Bill 2437.  Details on the teleconference are in the events tab below.  These new rules create the notice process while ensuring that any maintenance is conducted in a manner that protects, maintains or improves ecological functions of the channels, and upholds state objectives for fish recovery, protects wetlands, ... Read More

The Harney Soil and Water Conservation District has seven positions (one position per zone and two at large positions).  Board directors are elected and are not compensated financially.  Requirements for service are: Actively manage 10 or more acres in the zone being represented and reside with the district boundaries (Harney County) Reside within the zone ... Read More

SageCon is short for Sage-Grouse Conservation Partnership.  It’s an organization that partners conservation groups, government agencies and special districts, and landowners/managers to see what steps can be taken to preserve the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. Sage-grouse like sagebrush.  Makes sense, right?  Some dangers to sagebrush are juniper encroachment and invasive weeds.  Juniper trees not only take ... Read More

Table 2. Actions and sub-actions from the 2015 Oregon Sage-Grouse Action Plan to address wildfire.  There are many more actions related to fire in the plan; only best fits are listed and highlighted here. Action Sub-action 1. Implement fire-reduction strategies 1-1. Develop spatial prioritization of at-risk habitat   1-4. Plant perennial vegetation parallel to rights-of-way ... Read More