Tbunu January 29. 1970
rpk o
Heppner Soil and Water
Conservation District
26th Year
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1970
7:30 P.M.
LEXINGTON GRANGE HALL
1. Opening Meeting
2. Business Meeting .
3. Election of Two Supervisors
4. Introduction of Guests
5. Film "The Great Difference"
6. Review of Soil Surveys in
Morrow County
TALK:
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
AND DEVELOPMENT IN
MORROW COUNTY
By Amos L. Oleson, State Resource
Conservationist,
Soil Conservation Service
REFRESHMENTS Compliments of Heppner
Soil and Water Conservation District
District Objectives for 1970
1. Update district Program and Objectives.
2. Assist with planning on Rock Creek Watershed.
3. Continue emphasis on soil surveys.
4. Complete Lake Penland Project.
5. Encourage observance of Soil Stewardship Week,
o. Participate in state OACD annual meeting.
7. Assist In formulation of committees for North Morrow irriga
tion project
8. Meet jointly with Port of Morrow and Boardman S&WCD on
development of North Morrow County.
9. Encourage more wildlife developments.
10. Participate in organization of Oregon Administrative District
No. 12.
11. Continue emphasis on conservation education, Including grade
school tours.
12. Give assistance to Columbia-Blue Mountain RC&D.
13. Enter Goodyear Conservation Award Contest.
14. Be aware of other developments, either agricultural or indus
trial, as it affects conservation developments.
District Annual Report
Number
New Cooperators 23
Services to Individuals 675
Detailed Soil Survey
Conservation Plans 8
Units of Government Assisted 15
Services to Groups 43
Brush Control -
Chiseling & Subsoiling
Conservation Cropping System
Contour Farming
Crop Residue Management -.
Debris Basins 6
Deferred Crazing
Diversion -
Ponds 2
Irrigation Field Ditch
Grassed Waterway or Outlet
Irrigation Pipeline
Land Leveling -
Land Smoothing
Drainage Main or Lateral -
Pasture A Hayland Management
rasture A Hayland Planting
Pipeline - -
Proper Grazing Use
Range Seeding
Range Rotation Deferred Crazing
Spring Development 3
Stream Channel Improvement -
Drainage Field Ditch
! !
GEORGE GREEN of SCS explains detailed soil maps of Morrow County
to Heppner district supervisors.
Detailed Soil Map of County
Completed For Nearly 60,000 Acres
By DALE W. BONER
Soil Conservation Service
Heppner. Oregon
Irrlgon, Hermiston, Pilot Rock,
Stanfield and Condon. Names of
towns? Not in this case. These
are names that soil scientists
are using to identify the soils
In Morrow County.
Soils are mapped and group
ed according to a nationwide
system. These groupings are
given names, such as a town or
other geographic feature near
the place where the soil was
first mapped. Ritzville, Quincy.
Warden and Winchester are oth
er names used in the county.
Soil scientists travel over the
land augering many holes and
digging pits to look at the soil.
As they go along they look at
the slope of the land, the kinds
of vegetation and kinds of rock.
This Information is recorded on
aerial photographs and the soil
given a name.
A detailed soil survey was
started in Morrow County In
1969. The survey is being made
by the Soil Conservation Serv
ice at the request of the Hepp
ner Soil and Water Conservation
District. The Port of Morrow and
Morrow County also encouraged
the study. Morrow County is pro
viding financial assistance for
the, soil survey.
'Before any large develop
ment is started we need to know
what soils we have," says Ken
Turner, district supervisor and
farmer. Getting water from the
Columbia River has created
much interest in knowing what
soils can and cannot be irrigat
ed. Possible disposal and stor
age of warm water from nu
clear plants has made this a
more feasible irrigation project.
The survey team, headed by
George L. Green of The Dalles,
mapped 60,000 acres during the
past year. They started at the
Umatilla and Morrow County
boundary, moving west across
the south end of the bombing
range.
The information collected was
presented by Green to the coun
ty court at the last Heppner dis
trict board meeting. This includ
ed aerial photographs showing
District Achievements for 1969
1. Rock Creek Watershed project was authorized for planning.
2. Lake Penland Project engineering was completed and working
agreement signed.
3. 60,000 acres of soil was surveyed In the north end of the county
through agreement with county court.
4. Infiltration data was collected by college student for use in
irrigation management.
5. More grass seedings are being put in on diverted acres and
waterways.
6. Diversion and stubble mulch practices continue to increase
with nearly 25 miles of diversions completed the past year.
the different soils mapped and
a special soil survey report with
descriptions and interpretations.
Field mapping will continue
during the period, February
April, 1970. Green says they
should map 100,000 acres this
year now that they are more
familiar with the area.
Heppner SWCD
Supervisors
RAYMOND FRENCH,
CHAIRMAN
KEN TURNER,
VICE CHAIRMAN
DICK McELLIGOTT,
SECRETARY
ED GONTY, TREASURER
BRYCE KEENE
ALBERT WRIGHT
DAVID BAKER
RUDY BERGSTROM
Advisory Supervisors
D. O. NELSON
O. W. CUTS FORTH
PAUL PETTYJOHN
Resource Conservation
And Development
The Can-Do Projects
By EARL N. JONES
Soil Consorvcrtioa Service
Bond, Oregon
The foresight and determined
effort of the six Soil and Water
Conservation Districts, and more
recently of the three County
Courts and the three Port Dis
tricts, has resulted in planning
authorization for the proposed
Columbia-Blue Mountain Re
source Conservation and Devel
opment Project embracing all of
Morrow, Gilliam and Umatilla
Counties. This authorization
was announced by Agriculture
Secretary Hardin on January 12,
1970.
RC&D projects are based on
the premise that people in pro
ject areas can and will solve
their resource problems through
their own efforts if given some
encouragement and some help
by public agencies. Basically, it
is a "self-help" program. We
must keep this in mind, because
the moment a Drolect becomes
an effort directed and controlled
by other than local people its
effectiveness Is lost.
Local leadership in the Columbia-Blue
Mountain RC&D
Project has built from the bot
tom up rather than from the top
down. Local people make decis
ions about their project and
what they intend to do. They
recognize the need of the multi
county approach and set the
boundaries large enough to deal
with area-wide problems and
small enough for effective local
leadership.
RC&D projects were authorized
by Section 102, Title I of the
Food and Agriculture Act of
1962. The Soil Conservation
Service, U. S. Department of Ag
riculture, has been assJgnea pro
gram leadership.
The Columbia-Blue Mountain
RC&D project Is one of sixty
three !iieh Droiects in the United
States authorized for planinng.
Forty-five of these projects have
been authorized for project op
erations on completion of a Pro
ject Plan.
The six Soil and Water Con
servation Districts submitted an
application for planning assist
ance for an RC&D project in the
summer of 1963. An amended
application adjusting project
boundaries to include all of Mor
row, Gilliam and Umatilla!
Counties and adding as sponsors
the County Courts of Morrow,
Gilliam and Umatilla and the
Port Districts of Port of Morrow,
Port of Arlington and Port of
Umatilla was submitted to Ken
neth E. Grant, Soil Conservation
Service Administrator on De
cember 4", 1969. This amended
application received the approv
al and support of Governor Mc
Call. The sponsors of this applica
tion and amendment have been
very active and have carried out
several successful project meas
ures and have organized for ac
tion.
Two Supervisors from each of
the Six Soil and Water Conser
vation Districts constitute the
Coordinating Board. Edwin
Hoeft and Ralph Saylor from the
Southern Umatilla and West
Umatilla SWCDs, respectively,
serve as Co-Chairmen. The fol
lowing Resource Committees,
with their chairmen, have been
active: Community Develop
ment, Ralph Saylor; Cropland,
R. E. Irby; Publicity, Martin Bu
chanan; Rangeland, Raymond
French; Recreation and Wildlife,
Glenn Thome; Water, M. R.
Johns; and Woodland, Wayne
Bowman.
The 1967 Annual Report, Columbia-Blue
Mountain Resource
Area, presented at a Public
Meeting in Boardman on April
16, 1968, demonstrated very ef
fectively that the local sponsors
are taking their rural area devel
opment responsibilities serious
ly. This constructive document
probably contributed to the sel
ection of the Columbia-Blue
Mountain Resource Area for one
of the twelve national Project
Planning authorizations early in
1970. The outstanding Brochure
developed by the Port of Morrow
in the Spring of 1969 probably
provided a beneficial influence
in this selection.
The Local Sponsors have also
demonstrated their capability to
move confidently into project
measures involving works of
improvement, land treatment
and accelerated soil surveys
with a minimum of agency
tecnlcal assistance and encour
agement. This was done without
a funded RC&D project and a
formalized Project Plan. For ex
maple, the Lake Penland Rec
reation Project, a private irriga
tion development in Northern
Morrow County involving near
i mnnn nrres: the accelerated
soil surveys in 1969 and 1970 in
Northern Morrow county. .
the progressive activities of the
Port of Morrow, including the
industrial development consti-
(Continued on page 5)
Units
90.91X) acres
59,574 acres
106,4 acres
488 acres
3,284 acres
513 acres
454 acres
510 acres
5,064 acres
133,796 feet
3.233 feet
5 acres
10,423 feet
73 acres
53 acres
1,306 feet
3,130 acres
489 acres
2,700 feet
146,594 acres
215 acres
84.000 acres
15,710 feet
1.260 feet
1.0S8 feet
160.051 acres
THE FOLLOWING ARE HAPPY TO JOIN IN SPONSORING THIS REPORT IN THE
INTEREST OF CONSERVATION
BANKS
Bank of Eastern Oregon
First National Bank of Oregon
EQUIPMENT AND IRRIGATION
Morrow County Grain Growers
Padberg Machinery Company
Highland Machinery Company
Condon
Frontier Machinery Corporation
Pendleton
Stone Machinery Company
Pendleton
Courtright Irrigation
La Grande
Columbia Pump and Electric
Motors-Pcndleton
Farm ore Pump and Irrigation
Athena
SUPPLIES
Pettyjohn's Farm and Builders
Supply
Cornett Green Feed
Rietmann Hardware
Murrays Rexall Drug
PETROLEUM
Paul Pettyjohn Company
Mike Gray
Union Oil Service
Morrow County Grain Growers,
Inc., Petroleum Division
Ed Dick
Standard Oil Plant
FERTILIZER
Heppner Inland Chemical
Ekstroms
Bi-County Chemical
MACHINE HIRE
Gar Aviation
Dick Meador
White Grading Service
INSURANCE
Charles Ruggles Agency
Farm Bureau Agency
Vesta Kilkenny, Agent
Charles O'Connor
Turner, Van Marter and Bryant
POWER
Columbia Basin Electric Co-op
AUTOMOBILE
Farley Motor Company
Fulleton Chevrolet Company
Heppner Auto Sales, Inc.
HEPPNER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Tile Drain ..
31
Wells
Land Adequately Treated