The Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District media and outreach specialist says most of her job is just “getting the word out.” Every election, board members are placed on the ballot, usually unopposed.
“A lot of my job has just been, ‘Hey, this is who we are. We’re here. This is what we’re doing,’” Cricket DeLoe says.
In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Soil Conservation Service, now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in response to the Dust Bowl — a whirlwind of dust storms across the Midwest caused by unsustainable farming practices.
Today, the Oregon Department of Agricultures supports 45 SWCDs throughout the state — including Lane County’s local one, the Upper Willamette SWCD. Nationwide, DeLoe says almost every county has at least one conservation district.
DeLoe says the Upper Willamette SWCD’s mission is to help farmers limit erosion, improving water and soil quality along the way. Non-regulatory in nature, she says the SWCD is “the carrot, not the stick.”
The SWCD works with private landowners, primarily connecting them with the resources and grants they need. However, a big focus for the Upper Willamette, DeLoes ays, is “the incredibly sexy topic of manure control.”
Runoff is a big concern for the SWCD. When manure is not properly applied to topsoil, and bio-soils — mini levees to stop runoff from reaching the watershed — are not built, water quality plummets.
DeLoe says if soil and water quality are improved, everyone’s quality of life — flora and fauna included — improves.
However, she says education is one of the bigger hurdles for SWCDs to jump over. Currently, every candidate in the race for a board position in the Upper Willamette SWCD is running unopposed: director at-large 1, director zone 2, director zone 3, director zone 4 and director zone 5 are all uncontested races.
DeLoe says that director positions are elected to hold the SWCD accountable. “It’s dealing with taxpayers dollars — it keeps us answerable to the people we serve,” she says.
Serving the local electorate is the most important role a SWCD can play. In response to the Holiday Farm Fire in 2020, which burned over 170,000 acres around the McKenzie River Valley, the Upper Willamette SWCD planted over one million trees and shrubs on over 200 privately owned parcels of land.
It’s not just the response to a natural disaster that makes the SWCD important, DeLoe says. The Upper Willamette SWCD awarded a $20,000 grant to the Vida Community Center for environmental education and an $8,000 grant to the Oakridge Farmers Market to support its locally sourced food.
DeLoe says that’s why they do it. “We’re the government, and we’re here to help,” she says.
To learn more about the Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District, go to UWSWCD.org or call 541-852-6680.