Rural Conservation

The Clackamas County SWCD Rural Conservation Programs provide technical assistance to maintain and improve the soils, water, forest, crops and wildlife of the county and region or solve problems related to those natural resources.  We have developed specialized services to meet the needs of large scale commercial growers and ranchers as well as to our many small farms.

The technical planning assistance capabilities of the District have been divided into several program areas; Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), Forestry, Large and Small Farms.  Each program area provides support to individual landowners, groups of landowners, and other partners for on site planning assistance, income generating enterprises and research and development activities.
   
We consider Large Farm landowners to be those landowners that derive the majority, if not all of their income from the farm or land, while Small Farm landowners derive most of their income from away from their farm.  Both large and small farm landowners are eligible for CREP, as long as they have a streamside area they’d like to restore.    
 
Below are Program Descriptions and a list of landuses and objectives to illustrate our services and how they might apply to your farm.

Rural Programs

Small Farms Program
Administered by Jason Faucera, Conservation Specialist

The Small Farms Program provides onsite evaluation of small-scale and lifestyle farming operations in order to identify resource and management based inefficiencies that can be solved through outcome based conservation project management.  Project management is provided in the form of planning, design, and implementation assistance with the goal of installing scientifically sound and economically feasible practices with measurable results.

Large Farms Program
Administered by Jeremy Baker, Conservation Specialist II

The Large Farms Program offers land management planning and practical technical assistance to address a range of soil and water issues while ensuring farm economic viability.  Agricultural producers of all types which include farmers, nurserymen, cattlemen or women, Christmas tree growers, etc. are eligible for assistance.

Typically, the Large Farms landowner is eligible for USDA Farm Bill program participation, but provides planning assistance for those that may not quality or desire financial assistance.

Riparian Restoration Program
Administered by Jenne Reische, CREP Coordinator

Rural landowners with riparian areas often contend with resource problems like stream bank erosion or invasive species. The District offers technical assistance and several programs that offer solutions to these common problems and help restore buffers to healthy conditions.  One of the conservation programs available is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program or CREP

CREP is a voluntary conservation program which helps rural landowners install riparian enhancement conservation practices along streams and rivers. CREP provides participants with free technical assistance and a variety of financial incentives. CREP will pay landowners to establish buffers of native trees and shrubs along streams and rivers, implement wildlife habitat enhancements such as bird boxes and raptor perches, remove invasive species like Himalayan blackberry and fence off livestock from waterways.

Land Uses Where Our Services Might be Helpful

• Cropland
• Pasture & Hayland
• Wildlife Areas
• Streamside (Riparian) Areas
• Forestland

Objectives We Can Help You Attain

• Water Quality/Quantity Improvement
• Rainwater Harvesting
• Pond Construction and Maintenance
• Learning About Your Soil (Web Soil Survey) PDF 6.87 MB
• Understanding Drainage
• Weed Control

For more information on Rural Conservation, contact

• Clair Klock, Senior Resource Conservationist, email
• Jeremy Baker, Conservation Specialist - large farms, email
• Jenne Reische - CREP, email
• Jason Faucera, Conservation Specialist – Small Farms, email