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Profiling Washington's Conservation Successes
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Dust and danger: Conservation provides
solution to what’s “blowin’ in the wind”
Don Walker knows he can’t count on the rain. In a good year, the Horse
Heaven Hills receives only seven inches of precipitation – about enough
to grow 26 bushels of wheat per acre.
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Economics, efficiency make conservation good
business decision for valley farmer
It would be hard to find a more diverse farming operation than what
you’ll find at The Roy’s Oasis Farms, near Prosser, Washington. On 1500
acres of irrigated farmland, fourth-generation farmer Brent Roy oversees
the production of peaches, apricots, nectarines, apples, cherries,
grapes and hops.
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A passion for fruit: Organic grower finds
niche farming with nature
He began his career in the fields – picking asparagus
alongside dozens of other workers, month after month, in the relentless
summer sun.
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Conservation buffers yield
wildlife, water quality thanks to farm family’s dedication
A few weeks ago, eight-year-old Campbell Schulke set out
to capture a crawfish from Dry Creek. He caught one. Then he put it in a
jar and proudly took it to school to show his buddies.
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Technology, tenacity keeps
Walla Walla producer growing with the times
He had worked from sun-up to sun-down – for 26 days.
Immediately after he picked up his $26 paycheck, 14-year-old Ramon
Walters went to town and bought a bicycle for exactly $26.
He didn’t have a penny left over.
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Program helps restore hydrology, wetlands, cultural resources on
Yakama lands
Tracy
Hames unfurls a three foot map across the hood of his vehicle. Nearby,
birds chirp excitedly as they flutter amid the branches in a willow
grove. A pair of ducks takes wing in the distance. Across the expanse of
tule reeds, cattails and shallow ponds, shorebirds feed – silently
pacing along the water’s edge, stabbing at insects with their spear-like
beaks.
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NRCS program protects sustainable farm from urban encroachment
In Seattle’s
sprawling metropolis, nestled near Highway 405 between NE 124th Street
and Woodinville-Redmond Road, you will find a little patch of country
living – The South 47 Farm.
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Saving more
than water:
Upgraded irrigation system provides additional
flow for salmon habitat
Living in the
shadow of the Olympic Mountains, Sequim Prairie farmers receive roughly
11 inches of rain annually and depend upon the Dungeness River for their
irrigation needs.
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Stewardship, Mexican President’s
visit top farm family’s business achievements
When Rene
Garcia was a field worker in the orchards of the Yakima Valley more than
30 years ago, he never imagined that one day he would own more than 800
acres of productive orchards; operate his own state-of-the-art packing
house and climate-controlled storage facility; and host the President of
Mexico during an official state visit.
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Meandering again: Jimmycomelately
Creek returns to its natural course
Jimmycomelately
Creek is flowing along its natural route again – a route that will
benefit endangered salmon by creating spawning grounds and wildlife
habitat. But restoring the creek back to its natural route was no small
task – requiring technical expertise, assistance, and work from the
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) and the local community.
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The Emergency Watershed Protection
Program restores stream bank, protects community from future erosion
It started
as a natural disaster: Heavy rainfall resulting in massive flooding –
lifting homes off of their foundations – sending them floating down the
South Fork of the Stillaguamish River.
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Yakima orchardist finds new career,
conservation efforts “very rewarding”
When she was a little girl,
Erica Garcia dreamed of working in an air-conditioned office in a big
city. Having toiled in the orchards of her family’s farm since she was
old enough to help clear brush or move irrigation lines, a career in
agriculture was the last thing from her mind.
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Beauty belies the weeds: Spokane
Tribe, NRCS work to restore native habitat
An ocean of pastel lavender
and yellow flowers carpet the undulating landscape of the Spokane Tribe
Indian Reservation – stretching as far as the horizon. These vibrant,
even beautiful, “wildflowers” look harmless, but their deceptive beauty
threatens an ecosystem, an upland bird species – and a way of life.
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Investment in habitat yields bounty
of wildlife, recreation and enjoyment for Washington farm family
A few years ago, while at his farm home near
Anatone, Ron Scheibe answered a knock at his door. Standing before him
was a bird hunter from Pennsylvania who asked for and then received
permission from Mr. Scheibe to hunt on his land.
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Conservation,
landowner cooperation help protect critical salmon stream
He’s a practical,
no-nonsense cattleman who wears a white hat – literally. But
professional biologists and conservationists who have worked with Tom
Hendrickson during the past few years believe he wears a metaphorical
white hat, too.
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Classrooms become hatcheries as
students raise salmon to learn about ecosystem
Students across
Washington are receiving the education of a salmon’s lifetime by raising
them in their classrooms for release into local rivers.
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Wetlands bring improvements to land,
family, wildlife and community
To view wildlife, most people have to turn
on the television or open a magazine. But all the Willms family has to
do is look out their window or step out their back door. On this
particular day, Marvin Willms was enjoying a hot breakfast when he
spotted a doe out of his window.
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Stewardship, tenacity, innovation
combine to create bright future for Berg farm
If you look
closely as you drive along State Highway 221 near the Berg farm just a
few miles north of Paterson, Washington, you’ll find agri-business caps
and tattered leather boots strategically placed atop dozens of
barbed-wire fence posts.
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Vision, dedication and conservation
transform eyesore into wildlife utopia
Most people
saw an eyesore. John Hamilton envisioned a sanctuary – a place where
wildlife would flourish, fish would splash, and physically challenged or
ill children would come to spend a peaceful weekend – a place where they
could briefly shed the bonds of illness while sharing some quality time
with their families.
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Conservation programs provide tools
for creating wildlife haven – hunter’s heaven
It’s hard to imagine an environment less hospitable for wildlife
than the vast and rugged central highlands of Washington. With an
average annual rainfall of less than nine inches, and temperatures that
range from well-below zero to more than 100 degrees, nature’s creatures
have to be superbly adapted to simply survive this harsh and unforgiving
ecosystem.
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...For more information on mule deer habitat click on to:
http://www.muledeer.org/ |
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Conservation program helps preserve
prairie, family ranching traditions
Standing among the native camas in a sea of green
sprinkled with yellow, blue, and lavender flowers, Fred Colvin imagines
that little has changed since 1865. And now, thanks to the Grassland
Reserve Program (GRP), little will.
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A place to come home to:
Ceremony marks return of salmon, tradition to Colville Reservation
Tom Louie didn’t know if
he would live to see the day when the spring Chinook came home again. It
had been some 80 years since the last time they had made their way up
the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers, into Omak Creek and onto the Colville
Indian Reservation.
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Growing with Conservation:
Orchard grower reaps CSP rewards.
The super market customers who buy Jesus
Limón’s apples and cherries will probably never walk through his
orchards to see his micro irrigation system – a system controlled by
state of the art electronics and embedded soil moisture monitors. They
will probably never know that he performs annual soil tests and leaf
tissue analysis to help him add just the right amount of nutrients for
his apple and cherry trees – saving water and improving water quality in
the process.
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Conservation, dedication,
all part of successful Whatcom County dairy.
To be successful in farming today producers need
to be business professional, marketer, scientist, and conservationist
all rolled up in one. To survive in today’s competitive markets,
producers must incorporate all of these aspects into their operations
and adapt quickly to changing market conditions and challenges.
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Making strides in conservation
step-by-step.
Yakima Valley producer Erasmo Cerda made the transition slowly – first
converting 10 acres of his vineyard from rill irrigation to sprinkler
irrigation. When he saw the dramatic improvement in his irrigation
efficiency, he converted another 40 acres. Then another 25 acres.
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Beginning
farmers improve water quality, bottom line through conservation program.
It’s said that farmers are one of America’s
"dying breeds." But the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
is working to breathe new life into America’s agriculture through its
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
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Orchardist
saves time, money, natural resources through NRCS program.
Juan De LaTorre is a hard working,
practical business person. So three years ago when he learned that the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) might be able to provide
technical and financial assistance to help him install a more efficient
irrigation system in his orchard, he decided it was worth looking into.
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