Palouse Conservation District eyes adding more streams

Members of the Whitman Conservation District board are pondering whether to support adding more streams within the district to a state conservation program.

Jennifer Boie, District Manager of the Palouse Conservation District, asked the board on May 8 to consider supporting adding more streams in Whitman County to the program and presented the board with a sample letter to send to the state Farm Service Agency.

WCD board members balked at the language used in the letter and will meet May 22 to discuss what they want to send to the FSA or if they want to send any kind of response.

Boie said a proposal is being developed to request that the Palouse River Watershed be added as eligible for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) including the forest riparian buffer, grass filter strips, wetland enhancement and riparian hedgerow programs.

Boie said the proposal will be finalized over the next month and will be submitted to the Washington State Farm Service Agency Committee along with other letters of support.

Conservation partners have been requested to move forward together in support of this proposal, Boie said. Letters of support have been requested from local and statewide conservation partners who have been asked to add their own comments and arguments in support of CREP expansion.

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is an offshoot of the Conservation Reserve Program, the country’s largest private-land conservation program.

The proposed letter said that the Whitman Conservation District is in support of adding the Palouse River Basin including tributaries to the Washington CREP in an effort to improve water quality and fish habitat for downstream fish in the lower Palouse River and Snake River.

The following water quality impairments have been noted for the Palouse River Watershed: dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform bacteria, pH, temperature, toxics and sediment.

Expanded eligibility for CREP practices and willing voluntary landowner participation will reduce pollution loads in the Palouse Basin and will increase the chance of de-listing Snake River salmonid species from the Endangered Species List.

According to Boie, landowners in the Palouse River Basin have been increasingly vocal about wanting to find voluntary programs to help them maintain and come into compliance with water quality law.

Many landowners in the Palouse River Watershed are already on a wait list and are requesting to participate in the full suite of CREP practices including the forest riparian buffer, grass filter strip, wetland enhancement and riparian hedgerow.

The level of landowner interest and request for participation in the full suite of CREP practices is encouraging for the potential to greatly improve water quality, temperature and habitat for Snake River Endangered Species List.

The CREP program, with full support from FSA and the Washington State Conservation Commission, alongside the work the conservation district partners, increases the chances of bringing fish back to healthy populations. This is part of the letter that the WCD board has problems with.

The expansion of practices available through CREP would result in more riparian forested habitat in the watershed which would be a direct benefit to the wildlife species in the watershed.

The expansion of practices would result in cooler water temperatures and would be a great benefit to the local river fisheries. This is another point the WCD board discussed.

The increased opportunity for riparian habitat restoration would align directly with goals for habitat restoration on private lands in the Palouse River Basin.

CREP is a joint federal and state funded program that restores riparian (streamside) habitat for salmon and protects that habitat for 10 to 15 years.

Most of the funding, 80 percent, comes from the Farm Service Agency with the remainder through the Conservation Commission. CREP plants native trees and shrubs to improve riparian conditions and enhance wetlands along salmon streams. All of the costs for these improvement are paid by the program. In addition, the program provides oversight and maintenance for about five years after planting to assure success. The landowners are paid rent for allowing their land to be used for fish and wildlife improvements and receive a monetary bonus for signing up. Interested landowners should contact their local conservation district.

The commission currently has 1,021 CREP projects across the state.

The projects cover 13,662 acres along 735 miles of streams. CREP is likely the largest riparian restoration program in Washington.

More than 5.2 million native trees and shrubs have been planted.

CREP buffers are “no touch” buffers. Animals must be excluded. To that end, more than 1.5 million feet of fencing has been installed by this program.

The WCD board disagreed with most of the contents of the letter proposed by Boie and might write its own version of a letter if the board chooses to support adding any streams within the district.