Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Bryan Jones kneels to inspect the bank of Alkali Flat Creek with a planting from last year to build a riparian buffer in the foreground.
The Whitman Conservation District was awarded $33,861 by the Washington Department of Ecology to protect and improve water quality in Alkali Flat Creek. The funds cover the costs associated with fencing cattle from the creek and installing a riparian buffer.
"We try and get everything paid for," said Brian Bell, WCD manager.
This is the second round of funding for the district to help Dusty rancher Bryan Jones protect and improve Alkali Flat Creek.
Jones runs 30 head of cattle on four paddocks, averaging 23 acres each, that adjoin the creek. The cattle drink water from the creek, so part of the grant funding is used to set up water troughs elsewhere.
"So far, it's been really nice," Jones said of working with the district and DOE.
At first, Jones was concerned about getting weighed down by bureaucracy and excessive paperwork to receive government funds. He started by enrolling only his mother's property which includes just 1,000 feet of the creek.The first application required the whole farm to enroll.
Jones said it was an opportunity for DOE, the conservation district and a farmer to put together a project all could be happy with.
"The DOE so far has been excellent," he said, adding that he has spoken once to one DOE representative.
Ecology worked with him in contract negotiations and reduced the setback from the creek to 35 feet on each side at Jones' recommendation for what works in the Dusty area. The contract he signed is only three pages long;―in the past he has found the paperwork on collaborative projects to be "exhausting."
The grant application was submitted by the conservation district after Jones inquired about the program.
Bell explained that when landowners want to do conservation and water quality improvement projects, they contact the district and the district applies for the funds to do it.
In Alkali Flat Creek Livestock Exclusion Phase One, two of Jones' four paddocks were fenced off from the creek. In Phase Two the other two paddocks will be fenced off and a livestock bridge installed for the cattle to cross the creek.
In both phases, woody vegetation was planted to create a riparian buffer to shade and cool the creek and stabilize the bank.
"Trees and shrubs just do a heck of a lot better holding the stream bank in place," Bell noted.
He also pointed out that water temperature is inversely related to dissolved oxygen in the water. The cooler the water, the more dissolved oxygen the water can hold.
About 600 trees were planted along the creek in phase one at different levels. Willows were planted right next to the water with a variety of other plants higher up, including evergreen trees and shrubs.
The conservation district usually recruits the help to do the plantings. Phase one was planted by students from the Moscow alternative school.
Another reason for stabilizing and strengthening the bank of the creek is to combat the issue of entrenchment. Bell supplied an aerial photo of the section of creek from 1950. In it the creek slithers back and forth through the pastures. Today the creek is an almost straight line. Without the swerving bank continually slowing and re-routing the water, it is making a straight, fast run through and digging down deeper.
According to Bell, phase one is 90 percent complete. Once it is complete, phase two will commence and be completed in about a year. While there are more potential phases that could be accomplished to eventually encompass one mile of creek, Jones plans to wait a couple of years to see how things go with the first phases.
Bell encouraged any landowners interested in doing their own conservation projects to contact him at the Whitman Conservation District.
The grant was funded by DOE's Terry Husseman Account. The money comes from fines paid for water quality violations in Washington. A total of $331,000 was funded to 12 projects across the state with nine in eastern Washington and three in western Washington.
"This is a great program because we are taking a portion of the money we receive from those who harmed state water quality and are returning it to our community partners to help then enhance and restore streams and rivers," said Gordon White, who oversees Ecology's statewide shoreline, floodplain and wetland management activities, in the statement announcing the awards.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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