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Soil & Water Conservation District outlines multi‑year sage‑grouse, juniper and fish‑passage projects
Summary
District manager Andy Gallagher told Crook County commissioners the district applied for a $5 million National Fish and Wildlife Foundation proposal, reported an OWEB‑related $10 million award, and described multi‑year juniper treatment, fencing and fish‑passage projects across several thousand acres.
Andy Gallagher, district manager for the Soil & Water Conservation District, briefed the Crook County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 7 about ongoing and proposed habitat restoration work, grant activity and technical assistance the district provides to landowners.
Gallagher said the district submitted an "America the Beautiful" proposal to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for $5,000,000 targeting sage‑grouse habitat across Crook County and portions of neighboring counties and reported the district was part of a $10,000,000 award through the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) in partnership with nearby districts. Gallagher said the district's small grant cycle will open soon and that about $15,000 remains available for smaller projects.
He described a large juniper treatment and migration‑corridor project covering several thousand acres with Oregon State University helping monitor outcomes; work includes annual grass treatments, juniper cutting and fencing retrofits to make fences more wildlife‑friendly. Gallagher also described a completed fish‑passage project that removed four diversion barriers and added headgates and screens to restore barrier‑free passage to a reservoir, and said the district plans additional fish‑passage phases for other landowners.
Commissioners asked technical questions about screening and paddle‑wheel designs, lay‑down fencing techniques for winter ranges, and maintenance needs for screens; Gallagher explained trade‑offs, flow and maintenance requirements. He noted ongoing retreatment needs where juniper resprouts after earlier cutting.
The presentation included funding and impact totals the district attributed to its work: roughly 60 grant‑funded projects over the last decade totaling about $2.3 million in restoration funding (about 80% of that paid to landowners and contractors) and roughly $550,000 in technical assistance grant funding. Gallagher thanked Crook County for an annual $25,000 operations contribution that supports grant writing and technical assistance.
Gallagher referenced specific landowners and sites involved in projects but the district's stated share of the larger OWEB award was unclear in the transcript; the presenter described the district's portion as 'about 200,000' but the recorded wording and scale were not explicit and therefore that specific portion is reported as not specified here.
