Gilliam Lonerock Stock Watering Systems
Photos by the Gilliam Soil and Water Conservation District
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Solar powered well development, reservoir,
and upland trough at site #1.
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A spring development with a solar-powered pump and trough at site #2.
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| A solar powered well development, reservoir and two troughs at site #3. |
Pond and solar powered pump - three troughs are located approximately 400 yards away and across the Lonerock highway at site #4. |
Lonerock Creek and East Fork Thirtymile Creek are listed as steelhead spawning and rearing habitats and both creeks are water quality limited for temperature. The intent of the Gilliam-Lonerock Stock Watering project was to allow for natural riparian recovery and improvement of stream habitat function by removing livestock from having direct access to water from the creek. Four properties were involved in the project.
Property One
A riparian exclusion fence was built along the East Fork Thirtymile Creek, and a grazing management plan was created by the Gilliam Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). To entice cattle away from the creek, an upland well with a solar-powered pump was developed to provide water to a reservoir and two troughs.
Property Two
Work involved developing a spring with a solar-powered pump and trough, which encourages livestock to water upland in a canyon about 1.25 miles away from Thirtymile Creek.
Property Three
Work involved a watering system consisting of a solar-powered well, a storage tank, and watering trough. This system provides an upland water source for livestock about 1.25 miles away from Thirtymile Creek and the second property. Livestock fencing and a grazing management plan are also in place for both properties.
Property Four
This property is located between the East Fork Thirtymile Creek and Lonerock Creek. Active management and salt placement are keeping livestock out of Lonerock Creek, and fencing keep livestock from accessing East Fork Thirtymile Creek. Water is provided from a pond and a solar-powered pump pushes the water uphill to three side by side troughs. The troughs are located at the farthest point from Lonerock Creek, approximately 1.5 miles upland.
All solar pumps and livestock troughs have protective fencing and utilize wildlife escape ramps. Project partners include the Gilliam SWCD, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the landowners. The result is that 4.17 linear stream miles have been fenced and 60 acres of riparian areas have been protected. Four water sources were developed and NRCS Grazing Management Plans have been created for 2,155 acres.
Grass Valley Farm Conservation
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Grassed waterway protects draw from gully erosion.
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A close-up of the grassed waterway project. |
Water and sediment control basin.
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Before implementation the site consistedof a cropfield with a significant draw running through it. By implementinga grassed waterway with a water and sediment control basin near the lowerend of the draw the farmer was able to provide maximum protection from gullyerosion in the draw as well as effective protection from off-site sediment transport. The two practices really worked well together in this situation. Photos by Sherman Soil and Water Conservation District. |
The Grass Valley Canyon Watershed encompasses approximately 133,000 acres, including at least 100,000 acres of dry land grain. The stream has problems with high water temperature in the summer months and supports a resident trout population. The stream is not believed to support a stable steelhead population, although they have been seen after spawning six miles upstream.
The conventional crop rotation in this region is fall wheat – summer fallow, a two-year rotation in which the ground is tilled and left fallow through the summer of the first year; wheat is planted in the fall of the first year and is harvested at the end of the following summer. The consequence of this rotation is that every other year the land is vulnerable to heavy runoff and erosion, causing soil loss and sedimentation to streams during heavy storm events. Best management practices, including building terraces, water and sediment control basins, and grassed waterways, have been implemented since the 1960s, but erosion continues to be a major factor affecting water quality and agricultural stability. Another source of water quality impairment is believed to be the lack of riparian, or streamside, vegetation.
This project implemented 8,276 feet of terrace, 27 sediment basins, 8.7 acres of grass seeding and brush control, 1.5 acres of grassed waterway, and 6,403 feet of fence. Partners included the Sherman County Soil and Water Conservation District, OWEB, and the landowners.
The project improved infrastructure and management on six farms in the uplands, which is expected to result in lower peak flows, steadier base flows, and a healthier riparian corridor. Habitat for resident fish should also improve and crop soils will be conserved to remain productive. Fences and water developments have contributed to better utilization of upland range areas and re-seeding has reduced erosion and sediment delivery to the stream.
Changes will take time to occur. Best management practices for cropland conservation will continue to advance as technology is refined and proven and better practices become economically feasible.
Push-Up Diversion Removal
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Before and after push-up dam removal (photo by Grant Soil and Water Conservation District).
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This grant provided technical assistance to the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in the form of funding to hire engineers to design and organize several projects in the upper John Day Basin to improve fish passage.
Historically, agricultural diversion systems have consisted of gravel “push-up dams,” a method that is legal and successfully diverts water to agricultural sites. Other consequences of this method include degraded water quality, deteriorated fish habitat, and severely impeded fish passage.
The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Reclamation, Oregon Department of Agriculture, OWEB, and several area landowners helped the Grant SWCD implement a series of projects to divert water in other ways.
One alternative is to use pumping stations, which redirects the water through a suction pipe inserted into the river. Another effective method is the use of lay-flat stanchions. These permanent structures in the river are essentially invisible and not at all disruptive; water is diverted when boards are put in place for as long as the landowner wishes, and fish can still pass through the structures.
Ultimately, this project eliminated 32 push-up dams. Although a few sites are still in progress, work between April 2004 and December 2005 yielded seven pumping stations and 20 lay-flat stanchions. Streambanks and their vegetation appear healthier, and there have been reductions in turbidity and sedimentation. Fish passage issues have been alleviated at many locations along the John Day River.
Wheeler County Forest Enhancement
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Pre-commercial thinning projects on upland watersheds benefit the forest, wildlife, fish and stream health by reducing density of overstocked, diseased and bug-infested stands.
Photos by the Oregon Department of Forestry.
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| Views of treated areas - resurgence of native grass & forb cover; improved wildlife habitat; increased production of forage & timber; reduced erosion; and return of a natural fire regime cycle. |
Forest stand thinning is needed throughout eastern Oregon. This project focused on portions of Wheeler County where the density of overstocked, diseased, and insect-infested stands needed to be reduced. Forest overstocking is largely due to fire suppression practiced in the last century.
Overstocked stands are stressed because of competition for moisture and nutrients. The trees then become vulnerable to insect infestation, parasitic mistletoe infestations, and diseases. Because of the density of the stands, when wildfires do occur, they result in stand-replacing fires marked by several characteristics: the heat is so intense that nutrients are eliminated from the soil; perennial grasses and shrubs are completely destroyed, resulting in increased erosion; sediment loads in streams increase; and opportunistic annual grasses and weeds proliferate.
Partners in the thinning project include the Oregon Department of Forestry, OWEB, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the landowners. Work on this thinning project was done in the winter, spring, and summer of 2005 and continued into 2006. Overall, project operators thinned over 600 acres of excessively dense stands in 2005.
The project has been completed as planned. Benefits of this pre-commercial thinning include the resurgence of native grass and forb cover, improved wildlife habitat, increased production of forage and timber, reduced erosion, and the return of a natural fire regime cycle. In a healthy forest stand, a fire will burn cooler and on the ground, leaving large trees undamaged. Forest health in general has been significantly improved.
St. Clair Ranch Rosebud Creek Improvements
The focus of this project was to improve conditions in the Rosebud Creek drainage. Rosebud Creek provides spawning and rearing habitat for redband trout, which have been listed as a “sensitive” species by the State of Oregon. The watershed’s uplands are characterized by steep hillsides that transition into mixed juniper and ponderosa pine in the higher elevations. The historic use of the area has predominantly consisted of sheep and cattle grazing, while cattle are the predominant livestock today. Livestock share the uplands with mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and wild horses. The majority of restoration completed in the area prior to this project focused on improving conditions on the South Fork John Day River. This project focused on a tributary of the South Fork.
The project installed approximately 1.6 miles of four-strand barbed wire riparian pasture fence and approximately 1.4 miles of three-strand barbed wire cross fence. The riparian pasture will provide spring grazing adjusted to forage conditions. The riparian fence was constructed out of the four-strand wire due to the heavier pressure livestock puts on those fences. The landowner also implemented two spring developments and noxious weed control and reseeding
The project will be effective in achieving watershed restoration goals and will benefit the South Fork drainage. Improved control of grazing along riparian corridors, enhanced riparian growth, and reduced sediment loads by the establishment of perennial grasses through pasture management and animal distribution fit well with the previous restoration work completed on the property.
The 2005-2007 Biennial Report provides more information about accomplishments in each watershed basin.
Return to watershed basin map
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