Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, April 19, 2000
“Community Waters” theme of 2000 Soil and Water Stewardship
Keeping community waters
clean and plentiful is a com
mon goal all Americans should
embrace, according to organiz
ers of the 2000 Soil and Water
Stewardship Week, set for April
30 to May 7. The focus of this
year’s national observance is
on the total watershed man
agement approach to natural
resource conservation.
A watershed is defined as
an area of land that sheds wa
ter into a common water body,
such as a river or lake. There
are thousands of identified wa
tersheds in America. Since we
all live in a watershed, what we
do in our own backyard has im
portant consequences to every
one else who lives downstream
from us.
“Developing a positive stew
ardship attitude is important as
we work together to maintain
an adequate supply of clean
water,” said Kay C. VanNatta,
chairperson of the Columbia
Soil & Water Conservation Dis
trict (SWCD), local sponsor of
this year’s Soil and Water
Stewardship Week. “Our local
conservation district would like
to help take the leadership to
bring all interested groups and
individuals together to discuss
how to improve the health of
our own watershed,” VanNatta
added.
Columbia SWCD sponsors
three active watershed coun
cils in Columbia county, the
Nehalem River Watershed
Council (Maggie Peyton, Coor
dinator), the Lower Columbia
River WC (Margaret Magruder,
Coordinator), and the Scap
poose Bay WC (Co-Presidents,
Maddy Sheehan and Kehn
Gibson). Numerous salmon
restoration, assessment, habi
tat enhancements and water
quality improvement projects
are underway with each of the
watershed councils.
People interested in water
shed activities should contact
their local Council for informa
tion on projects and programs.
Columbia SWCD can provide
contact numbers.
The abundance of good,
clean water in our communities
is not guaranteed as some kind
of right. Rather, it is a resource
that must be earned and re-
eacned as time passes and
conditions change. While over
all per capita consumption of
water has decreased in the last
decade, water conservation ef
forts should never be aban
doned. Modern conservation
efforts are now focused on
ways to keep our natural water
supply system clean, helping to
keep down costs in water treat
ment facilities. For example,
farmers are now installing
Spring gardening
tips at m eeting
Chip Bubl, Columbia Coun
ty Extension Agent, will offer
some tips on Spring gardening,
May 11 at 10:00 a.m., at the
First Christian Church, 410
North Street, Vernonia.
Everyone is welcome. For
more information, call 429-
8202.
grassed waterways and filter
strips along the edges of their
fields and streams to prevent
soil and nutrients from being
washed into major streams.
Similar good management
practices are being installed
around construction sites and
large buildings and parking lots
in suburban and urban areas.
The technology is available
to ensure a clean water supply.
The real challenge, according
to VanNatta, is to develop the
collective community and polit
ical will to get the job done.
To learn more about how
you can help protect your wa
tershed, call Columbia SWCD
in St. Helens at 503-397-4555.
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