10/24/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/24/2024 17:19
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that five rural Oregon conservation projects have secured a total of more than $95 million in federal investment to help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners adopt and expand strategies that enhance natural resources while tackling the climate crisis. .
"These significant federal investments add up to huge benefits for Oregonians working to achieve a more sustainable future in rural counties by reducing the risk of wildfire, conserving water and strengthening ranching and farming," Wyden said. "I'm gratified these federal resources are heading to Central, Eastern and Southern Oregon - and I'll keep battling for similar federal funds that produce real results like these five standout projects."
"We must continue to find creative ways to conserve and protect Oregon's diverse lands, wildlife, and natural resources which are critical to our ecosystems and economy," said Merkley, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for the USDA. "These huge, multi-million-dollar investments from the Regional Conservation Partnership Program will help fight climate chaos and make our rural communities stronger now and into the future."
The $95.7 million for the five Oregon projects from the U.S. Agriculture Department's Regional Conservation Partnership Program will be distributed as follows:
"This award enables partners in the Deschutes Basin to implement major canal piping projects that permanently restore streamflows (3,900 acre-feet; 12 cubic feet per second) to the Deschutes River while helping relieve water scarcity for farmers," said Deschutes River Conservancy Executive Director Kate Fitzpatrick. "It also enables complementary on-farm efficiency upgrades to increase water savings. We are grateful for Senators Wyden and Merkley for continuing to fund critical programs like the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, supporting collaborative water solutions in the Deschutes Basin that result in real and significant outcomes for rivers and farmers."
"The award of our Greater Waterman RCPP project brings a renewed excitement following the devastation of the 2024 wildfire season in Wheeler County" said Cassi Newton, District Manager for the Wheeler Soil & Water Conservation District. "This project truly started at the local level with landowners eager to restore and protect the landscape. The project fosters future conditions that reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, return critical water to the basin, generate natural climate solutions that secure carbon, and meet the current and future economic and social needs of the basin. Wheeler SWCD is sincerely thankful for the support from Senators Wyden and Merkley in our efforts of restoring and protecting natural resources in the John Day Basin."
"Lomakatsi is excited to continue our long-standing partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and other agency, municipal, and nonprofit partners-including through Rogue Forest Partners-to increase community and ecosystem resilience across the Rogue Valley of southwest Oregon. This investment through the Farm Bill and Inflation Reduction Act will expand on two decades of collaboration reducing wildfire risk and building climate adapted landscapes within and adjacent to communities at some of the highest wildlife risk in the entire state, while supporting local jobs," said Lomakatsi Executive Director Marko Bey. "Lomakatsi is honored to serve as the lead on behalf of a robust partnership, as we scale our operations through this Alternative Funding Arrangement to strategically treat hazardous fuels on up to 10,000 acres of private land west of Medford and north of Jacksonville over the next five years, complementing resiliency work on adjacent federal and municipal lands in an all-lands approach."