Aiding the Bluebirds.  Post by Michelle Blanchard, photos by Dennis Plank

Michelle had been a volunteer on the south sound prairies since the late 1990’s when she was riding her horse on Glacial Heritage and Dan Grosboll stopped her to tell her it was a nature preserve and horses weren’t welcome.  Rather than get up in arms about it, she asked how she could help and she’s been doing it ever since.

Aiding the Bluebirds

I’d been volunteering at Glacial Heritage for a couple years when I
was asked to help install nest boxes for Western Bluebirds.

We’d been trying to encourage bluebirds to nest on Glacial for a few
years. Dave Clouse and Sam Agnew were banding bluebirds by the dozens
at Ft. Lewis, and we were hoping that we’d get the overflow.

I spent an afternoon with two other folks, nailing bluebird boxes to
the oaks on the edge of Glacial’s riparian zone. I was frustrated.
Being a biologist, a birder and a licensed birdbander, I knew that
bluebirds, like most cavity dwelling birds, preferred a box that was
facing east or south, to catch the morning sun. But, as I was just a
‘helper’, with no say in where the boxes would go, the boxes were
placed facing west. I am sorry to say that, in the years after that I
spent monitoring those boxes, the only things I found nesting in them
was yellow-jackets and, once, a house wren. Not a single one hosted
bluebirds.

Later on, many more boxes were erected out in the middle of the
prairie, all facing south or east, and not only did we get bluebirds,
but also violet-green and tree swallows. Now the bluebirds on Glacial
Heritage are well established and have been raising broods for several
years.

I wanted bluebirds on my property, as well, so I put up several boxes
around my house. I went for several years without bluebirds and then
one day in 2008…jubilation! A pair of bluebirds were shopping boxes
and chose the box closest to my front window. They found it just right
in which to raise a family. In fact, they raised two.

I spent many hours watching the family dynamics. I learned that the
adults will feed the babies as long as there is a smidgen of daylight
left. At sundown, the female would enter the box for the night, and
the male would sit atop it until it was full dark. On several
occasions, I heard him ‘sing’ to the family. Bluebirds don’t really
have a song. They say “pew”. When the male sang, it was a soft, sweet
chain of ‘pews’, telling the family that all was well and he’d been
coming in a moment.

The summer went past, as it is wont these days, far too fast. I had
thought that, once the babies had fledged, that they’d leave. But no!
They seemed content to stay. I didn’t see them as often, but it wasn’t
uncommon at all to see them, hovering over the grass, plummeting onto
their prey like miniature blue kestrels. Late in the summer, I’d see
the juveniles practicing skills they’d need as adults. They’d check
out all the nest boxes, entering this one, perching atop that one,
even carrying grasses into a box.

Then came fall, with its rains, and then winter. 2008’s winter was a
brutal one. We had very cold weather and early in December, it began
to snow. It snowed virtually every day (with one or two days with just
a light dusting) for about three weeks. As snow does, it got deeper
and deeper. We made trails through it to get to the garage, the truck,
the bird feeders.

My home is in a ‘micro-climate’. I learned years earlier that most of
W. Washington was considered zone 8 for gardening. I was a failure at
raising vegetables until I tried growing as if it were Zone7…and
that did the trick. Even so, our weather here is one of extremes. If
the temperature in Olympia is 50°, guaranteed it’s only 40° in
Littlerock. We get higher temps in the summer, colder ones in winter,
heavier fog, more and longer lasting rain, higher wind, and more snow
than anyone else in Thurston County.

I grew up in Michigan so I am more than familiar with snow. I am not
ashamed to say I hate it. Yes, it rains a lot here, but I don’t have
to shovel it. I love living in Western Washington, because if we do
get snow, it’s not often and it’s not much. Except in months like
December 2008, when the snow demons felt particularly energetic and
decide to dump everything they had on my house.

I am not exaggerating that, after three days of  particularly heavy
snow with winds pushing it into drifts, the snow was up to my thighs.
I’d given up trying to keep my truck shoveled out. I was resigned to
being snowbound. I was well prepared for it. It was just snow. Until
the snow demons decided it wasn’t ugly enough. One day, they kicked
the daytime temperature just high enough for the snow to change to
rain.

Of course, it was rain for just a couple hours, then the demons
dropped the temperature again.

The next day, the rain had frozen into a thick sheet of ice atop the
snow. The feeder birds-juncos and chickadees-were skating about on the
surface. They’d done okay with just snow, but the ice locked ground
feeding birds out of their normal winter fare. It was the only time in
my life that I saw 7 Western Meadowlarks, (birds that normally migrate
south when the temperatures drop to below freezing) underneath my
hanging feeders, eating bird feed.

The ice was thick enough that I could slide my filled buckets of bird
feed on the ice without them breaking through.

My bluebirds were in trouble. Unlike many birds, bluebirds like their
food alive and kicking. They eat only insects. They don’t eat bird
feed.

They were fluttering around my house and garage, trying to find
something to eat. One was perched atop the roof, so puffed out to
conserve heat she looked like a tennis ball. At that time I’d been
taking the nest boxes down for the winter, so they didn’t even have a
box in which to shelter. (I keep them up year round, now, for just
that purpose.)

Western Bluebird puffed up to try to stay warm with it’s food source covered in snow and ice. Photo by Dennis Plank

I had nothing for them. I even tried putting out raisins, as robins
will eat raisins, and while bluebirds aren’t robins, they are…or
were..considered thrushes. They ignored them.

The snow hung around for three weeks, with the heaviest snowfall and
the ice at the very end. The Pineapple Express came early and was very
welcome. The weather broke and the snow began to melt. I found dead
bluebirds, huddled in little pathetic bundles in the lee of the
garage. I found a total of 6. It broke my heart. Their keels felt like
knife edges under my thumb. The birds had no fat on them whatsoever.
They’d literally starved.

Just another reason for me to hate snow.

It seemed that that winter had killed every bluebird in the area, for
I saw none for several years. Then, one fine morning in 2011, a mated
pair showed up in my front yard. They set up housekeeping in the same
box as my original pair. They successfully raised a brood and were on
brood #2 when disaster struck.

My neighbors at the time (thankfully, they’re gone) allowed their
dogs and cats to roam. They refused to obey the RCW that says it’s
illegal to let your cats roam. Animal Services does not enforce it,
nor does the Sheriff.

I saw one of their cats kill the male bluebird. I swear, if I’d had a
gun handy I would have shot it. I was devastated. And worried…now
the adult female bluebird had babies needing feeding and no male to
help.

I’m not certain why I thought of it, or where I read it, but I learned
that folks back East feed their Eastern Bluebirds live mealworms.  I
found a place in Tumwater (Fluffy and Floyd’s, a most excellent pet
food store*) that, at the time, sold live mealworms. I bought two
dozen. Would the birds eat them? Even recognize them as edible?

I put a bowl of mealworms directly beneath the opening to the nest box.

The adult female bluebird ignored it. She made several trips to the
box but didn’t look twice at the bowl.

My heart sank.

Then, salvation, in the form of one of her juvenile daughters from her
first brood entered the box. In a few moments, she poked her head out.

She looked down at the bowl. She flew out of the box to its roof and
cocked her head, focusing her attention on the worm bowl.

She dropped down to land next to the bowl. She watched it warily for
several moment, making sure it didn’t attack her. Then she hopped
onto the rim, looking intently at the crawling mealworms at its
bottom. She thought, aha! They move! She hopped into the bowl, ate a
worm, then another. Then she began to ferry the rest of the worms to
her siblings in the box!

Juvenile Bluebird retrieving mealworms. Photo by Dennis Plank

I was indoors, so she didn’t hear my shouts of joy.

Bluebirds are a ‘helper’ species. It is not unusual for the older
hatchlings help feed their younger siblings. In addition, they’re far
more willing to try new foods, ones their parents ignore.

While the adult and the juvenile were gone, I hurried out and dumped
every mealworm I had into the bowl and watched the juvenile feed them
all to her siblings. The next day I bought a LOT more. The juvenile
taught her mother to eat the worms. Even better, several days later,
an adult male bluebird showed up. The mother had found another mate!!

Now, my husband and I feed the bluebirds mealworms starting the moment
we see them hunting boxes in the spring.

Through trial and error, we’ve learned that the best worm ‘bowl’ is a
flat bottomed one, with sides high enough that the worms can’t crawl
out of it. In case of possible rain, we’ll put it under a covered
storage shed so that the rain doesn’t drown the worms.

Male carrying a mealworm to a convenient perch we’ve set up. Photo by Dennis Plank

We’ve trained them to come to a specific cue. We make a kissing sound
as we’re walking out with the worms. The bluebirds have trained US as
well. They’ll swirl around our heads if we’re outside or chitter when
they hear us on our porch. The males-for we have several pairs,
now-perch in our backyard and say “chuckchuck’. They’ll wait as we,
kissing ’til our cheeks hurt, place the worm filled bowl on the
ground. We’ll back off…not too far, and they’ll land. When they have
babies, the male, especially will take the worms to the box rather
than eat them.

We’ve watched as the male of the pair will encourage a fledgling to
land on or in the bowl, where he feeds it a worm. The babies don’t
take long to figure it out!

Male Bluebird feeding a youngster in a bowl we used to use. Photo by Dennis Plank

They’ve given us so much enjoyment, not to mention the opportunity for
my photographer husband to get some really great shots.

In the past, once they’ve all fledged, we’ve stopped feeding them. But
this is a La Nina year, and I bet my boots we’re going to have a heavy
snowfall. So we’ll be feeding them mealworms throughout the year.

Tonight, (it’s mid October) I placed the bowl filled with mealworms in
its usual spot. It’s actually a Tupperware box, much larger than the
original glass cake pan we’d used. I had to buy a larger container to
accommodate the crowd we have now. This evening, I watched as 11
bluebirds came to the new container and cleaned up the worms. Even as
often as I’ve seen it, it still thrills me. I’m not worried about snow
this year. When the snow demons hit us, I won’t let the bluebirds go
hungry.

One of the mobs from this year feeding. We believe there are at least two groups coming this year. Photo by Dennis Plank

* Fluffy and Floyd’s no longer sells live mealworms. But the Pet
Works in downtown Olympia,(right next door to the artesian well)
sells several types of live worms.

Wildfires and Prescribed Burns, Post by Dennis Plank with input from Mason McKinley, Sanders Freed, and Ivy Clark.  Images by Dennis Plank and Ivy Clark

Dennis has been getting his knees muddy and his back sore pulling Scot’s Broom on the South Sound Prairies since 1998. In 2004, when the volunteers started managing Prairie Appreciation Day, he made the mistake of sending an email asking for “lessons learned” and got elected president of Friends of Puget Prairies-a title he appropriately renamed as “Chief Cat Herder”. He has now turned that over to Gail Trotter. Along the way, he has worked with a large number of very knowledgeable people and picked up a few things about the prairie ecosystem. He loves to photograph birds and flowers.

Wildfires and Prescribed Burns

The Mima Fire of the afternoon of September 8th caused us to be evacuated and was stopped on the other side of the road we live on.

View Looking toward Mima Road from our driveway after the burn. We’re on the unburned side. Photo by Dennis Plank

The Fires:

In the aftermath of this rather traumatic event, I started to consider the difference between the controlled burns I was familiar with seeing and this event. To help clarify my picture, I sent an email to Mason McKinley, the long time burn boss for the Center for Natural Lands Management and an expert in controlled burns of prairie habitat. Here’s a copy of my question and his reply:

To Mason:

The part of the Mima fire east of Mima road ended at the road I live on.  We’re on the safe side so we suffered no damage.  However it occurred to me to white a PAD Blog post on how not to do a controlled burn.  When I proposed it to Sabra, her first question was:  “How hot was it?  Was it hotter than a controlled burn?”  Thinking that over and taking some pictures of various locations today I had the thought that it would be good to get an expert to come down and look it over and tell me how it compared with a controlled burn.

To Dennis:

“Interesting question. You can answer the question of “was it hotter than a controlled burn?” in many ways. From a safety perspective, it was definitely drier and windier that day than a day we would pick to burn. As fuels cure and dry out, and as wind adds more oxygen, the “energy release component” increases for any given fuel. This just means that more of the fuel is completely, rather than partially consumed and the fire needs to use less energy to first drive off water from within the fuel to get the volatile gases to release. That is the same thing that explains why damp firewood doesn’t burn as hot as bone dry wood and it leaves more residue in your chimney because fewer of the released gasses actually get hot enough to combust. So, it is scientifically reasonable to say that more energy was released per unit of fuel on that day than on one of our cooler, more humid and less windy burn days.

But really, the difference in heat released itself might not be a reason not to burn. With cured and dried flashy fuels, they just burn hot and a few extra degrees of temp or less RH doesn’t make a huge difference (though it can lead to more smoldering moss and heavy fuels). Sometimes you want a lot of heat and consumption – you just want to be able to control it. In this case, it was the wind in particular that was bad and the low RH means that broom and fir trees are going to be better able to send embers to quickly create spot fires that in turn can spread fast. Woody broom and firs are also more likely to get really hot and throw big flames in those conditions too (which I think describes the old race track). We would not burn here with that RH and how cured the fuels are and we would have prepped broom and firs to facilitate containment prior to burning. But I have burned other places where they are ok burning with RH in the teens. In the Midwest grass areas, they are not even afraid of stronger winds. It just depends on the burn objectives, types of fuels, what the containment lines are like and the various risks.

Even with that wind and those flashy fuels, if there had been an engine or three on site ready to respond right away when the transformer blew, chances are they would have been able to stop it quickly or hold it at roads or deploy other tactics. That is a huge difference between wildfires and RX. With RX we have the luxury of planning, scouting, prepping, getting equipment and firefighters lined out to address the biggest risks before there is even fire on the ground. Coming into an unscouted situation that has already been burning for 10-30 min, with flashy fuels, obscuring smoke, houses, fences, panicked residents, different fire teams from different agencies showing up at random times adds several magnitudes of chaos.”

So from the point of view of the person controlling the burn, it’s the lack of preparation that makes the real difference between a controlled burn and a wildfire.

The discipline of a controlled burn. Photo by Dennis Plank

Mason mentions the panicked residents. While I didn’t see any examples of real panic amongst my neighbors; everyone wanted to get back in to see their property and check on animals. They let people in for awhile (we happened to be at dinner then), and when we came back they had quit letting people in because the congestion caused by all the residents on these small side roads was impeding the mobility of the fire crews (of which there were an incredible number, especially considering how many worse fires were in existence at the time). This seems to me a good reason for evacuating residents in and of itself: it gives the fire crews a free hand to do their job and they did it incredibly well in this instance with only one house lost, even though the fire was right up to the walls of several.

One of several houses where the fire burned right up to the house. This particular house had dense shrubbery around three walls. Photo by Dennis Plank

In contrast, in a controlled burn, everyone knows what’s happening, the crews are in place, firebreaks are established and fall-back plans have been developed and are known by the fire crews.

Aftermath:

With the Mima fire, the event essentially ended with the fire being under control and the elimination of hotspots, an activity that lasted from Tuesday, when the fire started and didn’t cease until the following Monday. This seems to be typical of wildfires.

DNR Helicopters spent most of a day after the fire dumping water on the field surrounding a horse facility that spreads it’s manure on the fields. It smolders really well. Photo by Dennis Plank.

A fire crew going in to check for hot spots after the fire. Photo by Dennis Plank

I asked Sanders Freed, the Center For Natural Lands Management’s south sound preserves manager and one of his people Ivy Clark, a regular contributor to this blog, for input on what happens after the burn. Sanders, as is typical of him was very brief and to the point. Here’s his reply:

“The general prescription after a fire is an herbicide application- right when things pop back up, which are mostly non-native and invasive like hairy cat’s ear and ox-eye daisy. Then you seed back natives, usually with a drop seeder followed by a harrow to increase soil/seed contact. That’s about it- then you wait for spring to see what grows! There can be alterations of the plan for specific species and burn intensity- but that’s the gist.”

Ivy provided more detail and some graphics to help clarify the process:

Restoration with Burns. Graphics by Ivy Clark

“As we are back in the prescribed burning window for habitat restoration, we can see that essential irreplaceable part of prairie restoration that’s scary and exciting all in one. Fire doesn’t just kill weeds like broom and European hawthorn, it clears debris (fuel as we call it) that covers up ground and smothers more sensitive plants. Native prairie plants are adapted to germinate their seeds on exposed soil and when fire is kept out for too long, moss and duff and grasses fill in all the gaps they would need to keep reproducing. Fire clears ground for natives to get ahead. It also knocks back weeds that don’t actually die in fire, like hairy cat’s ear and blackberry.

Controlled Burn in Progress. Photo by Ivy Clark.

Crews Governing a Prescribed Burn. Photo by Ivy Clark

Since weeds are invasive because they tend to grow faster and earlier than natives, they will start regrowing before native plants come back up or seed newly encouraged by the fire germinate.

Hairy Cat’s Ear after a Fire. Photo by Ivy Clark.

This gives a great opportunity to spray herbicide over the burn area so that only weeds will die, making even more room for natives. With this newly cleared area and just about to emerge natives as fall rains begin, we can augment the native population with more seeds, possibly returning species that had been extirpated, further increasing native diversity and habitat function. And since it’s a prairie, it’s all the more beautiful as well. Each site gets a tailored mix of seeds, mostly forbs and plenty of annuals which suffer the most in degraded areas.

A Selection of Seeds to Be mixed with Fescue for Seeding after a Burn. Photo by Ivy Clark.

And of course Roemer’s fescue along with a few other native grasses. For high quality high priority sites that may get a checkerspot release within a year or two, we will also add thousands of plant plugs to boost the population of a few important flowers for the butterflies, ready to bloom for them the following spring.

Volunteers Planting Plugs on Glacial Heritage. Photo by Dennis Plank.

Fire is the start of this chain of restoration events that return health to the area that you just can’t get with any other method. It also kills a few established conifers and releases any oak seedlings struggling in their shade to grow faster into healthy full oak trees.”

And this is just part of the restoration process because fire rarely kills all the Scotch Broom and follow up pulling and/or spraying is required. And, of course this is not a one-time activity. On average, the prairie needs to be burned every four years or so to keep it in a healthy condition.

To me, the saddest thing about a wildfire like this (aside from loss of houses and lives) is the missed opportunity to put them to good use. This fire, coincidentally, followed a corridor from the south end of the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve to a within a five acre parcel and an old gravel pit of Glacial Heritage Preserve.

Some idea of the scope of the Mima Burn. Photo by Dennis Plank

Local Prairie Restorationists have long dreamed of connecting the two and most of the connecting properties are small private parcels that are not farmed, though they might have a few horses or other animals on them. Getting those parcels restored to healthy prairie would go a long way toward creating that larger ecosystem that’s more resilient to damage and degradation. It would take a lot of education of the local landowners and some means of accessing the herbicide and seeding equipment (and seeds-which are not cheap!) for the follow-up treatment. But if it could be done, it might be a way of turning what look like disasters into long term benefits both for the prairies and for the people who now live on them. We’re going to have more of these. Almost every summer brings a scary period where we’re afraid to leave the property for fear of fire and it’s only been a few years since the Scatter Creek fire just a few miles south of here. They’re going to happen, but they can be useful and good native prairie habitat doesn’t burn with the intensity of the non-native grasses and Scotch Broom.

DC-10 Adapted for Fire Retardant Dumping Turning for another Pass at the Scatter Creek Fire in 2017.

Wildlife Habitat Improvements through the Natural Resource Conservation Program, Post and Photos by Sabra Noyes

Although living most of her life in Washington, Sabra had no idea about prairies in Washington until she retired and bought a farm, Rosefield, not too far from Glacial Heritage Preserve. She never ceases to be amazed by the complexity and interdependence of life on the prairie.

Last week the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) posted about their program. As I have held four contracts with this organization, I would like to share how they helped me restore the native habitats on my farm.

When I moved to my farm in Oakville in 2010, there were just a few oaks left, the property having been logged a hundred years or so ago. The Douglas firs that grew in after had also been logged in 1998. As I looked across the landscape, I was confronted with acres of stumps, holes big enough to swallow my tractor. and the most luxurious fields of Canadian thistle, six feet tall, dense, and persistent.

Wanting to improve the picture I contacted the Grays Harbor Conservation District. They brought in NRCS and as a team with a biologist, forester, program manager, and technician we walked the property and they offered suggestions of what could be done. Acting on their recommendations, over the next couple of years, I contracted with NRCS to make significant improvements to the habitats on the property.

The first project was to restore eight acres back to an oak savannah. Cost sharing was available for many practices. The huge holes had to be filled in, blue rye grass seed planted and mulched. Fencing was installed to protect the area.

Oregon oak saplings were purchased, planted, and caged.

A simple to build and inexpensive cage, yet very effective. None of the 20 oaks planted were lost to browsing.  Photo by Sabra Noyes

An old maple and a large fir were girdled to create snags for nesting birds.

A “slow kill” of a maple and a fir tree.  Bark was removed emulating wildlife destruction.  Photo by Sabra Noyes

A brush pile was created – a wonderful habitat for birds, bugs, rodents, and reptiles.

Brush piles and snags have a life cycle with stages supporting different organisms.  As  snags and piles mature, new ones are created.  Photo by Sabra Noyes

Bird nesting boxes went up. A wildlife corridor connecting wooded patches was created using Oregon ash and native crabapples to provide cover and food.

A portion of the fence cost shared with NRCS protecting plantings in the wildlife corridor.  Photo by Sabra Noyes

A second contract was signed for improving a small remnant stand of Garry oaks. The understory of vine maples, cherry, and cascara was cut away from the oaks. This allowed lower branches to form (making for a healthier tree) [707]as well as providing an environment where sprouting acorns could become established. Additional oak saplings were planted such that, over time, there will be a three acre oak forest.

“Lion tailed” Garry oaks created by years of over shading. Cutting back competing trees, these oaks are now starting to branch out.  Photo by Sabra Noyes

Finally, there were two contracts for establishing a prairie. This prairie is described in an earlier blog post. NRCS provided cost sharing on two years of weed killing in preparation for establishing prairie plants, sowing of native Roemers fescue, planting camas bulbs, and wildflower seeding.

As it has been a couple of years since my last contract with NRCS, most certainly their programs and practices have changed. But if you have any inkling of wanting to improve a habitat, please check out their programs. They are a dedicated group with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

I am very grateful for NRCS. The environment on this farm has changed dramatically, which could only have been done with help. Every year my count of native birds (76 species) and plants increases, pollinators are everywhere and two years ago the Douglas squirrels showed up. The farm is becoming an island in the archipelago of prairies being restored throughout southwestern Washington.

Working for NRCS and with Landowners: The Wonders Never Cease to Amaze Me, Post by Susan Hoey Lees

I have been involved with agriculture in one form or another all my life. I have owned and operated a stable. Horses are still a passion, so I diligently manage our pastures for them and the pleasure of the wildlife that come to graze nearly nightly.

We manage our own forest lands, and I am also passionate for all types of gardens whether they be for edibles, flower/prairie viewing, cut-flowers or purely sharing my heritage fruit trees’ bounties with the wildlife and horses. Watching wildlife on our properties has always been a delight for me; but watching land and wildlife return and thrive on a customer’s property is especially delightful to me.

I am currently working as a Resource Conservationist with NRCS in the Chehalis Service Center, serving ranchers, farmers, private forest landowners and managers.

Working for NRCS and with Landowners: The Wonders Never Cease to Amaze Me

It has been 10 years since I made a rather radical career change to follow my heart and try to marry my passions for healing/restoring the land, the environment, agriculture and technical and design skills all in one. I did not know if I would be able to find my dream job.

I can now fondly recall one of the questions that my potential supervisor asked me in my first phone interview for an engineering technician position for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The question was; why do you want to work for NRCS?

I had innocently answered that I was seeking a position that would allow me to marry my passions and to help people help the land; and I could hear the interviewer starting to softly chuckle. I was horrified and inquired if I said something wrong, to which he inquired if I knew what the agency’s (NRCS) mission statement was. My heart raced and I was abashed and began to feel that my interview was going in a direction that was not boding well for me as he continued to chuckle deeply into the phone. I was mortified and shyly stated; no, I did not know the agency’s mission statement. My interviewer’s chuckle got even deeper, yet it contained a tickle of a hint of delight; finally, he stated that he felt I would fit in quite well with the agency as the NRCS mission statement was “Helping People Help the Land”. He offered me the position as a Civil Engineering Technician. I had in fact found, and was offered, my dream job!

Over the last 10 years I have held a few different positions with NRCS, in a few different locations, and have had the privilege of working with a wide variety of private landowners and land managers addressing a wide variety of resource issues. Often these landowners would seek financial assistance through one of NRCS’s financial programs to implement/install some of the recommendations. The result is almost always “helping people to help the land” through addressing resource concerns, protecting natural resources, and/or restoring degraded ecosystems.

The beginnings of NRCS are rather humble, the agency was formed as a result of the urgings of one man, Huge Hammond Bennett, to Congress to address the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s by conserving the nations precious resources. Conserving resources throughout the nation, not just in Dust Bowl territory, so there would be healthy soils to grow food, clean water to drink and grow crops, clean air to breathe, healthy plants for food, fiber & ecosystems, and healthy animals.

The urgings were so compelling that Congress established a federal agency called the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), and the legacy of using science-based technologies to address resource concerns affecting soils, water, air, plants and animals was developed.

The agency’s vision was and continues to be a simple one; use a partnership approach to work with landowners, community groups, local governments, Tribes, States and other Federal agencies on a voluntary basis. Thus, the agency began and continues to be a non-regulatory Federal agency working with landowners and land managers, offering technical and science-based knowledge for free, through site visits by NRCS staff with a landowner or manager.

The agency’s name was changed from SCS in the 1980’s to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with that name change also came the Farm Bill programs that began offering financial incentives/assistance to landowners and managers to implement the recommendations shared with them on how to address the resource concerns identified.

Here is a link to explore more about NRCS; who we are, the partnership approach, and a little about our Conservation Assistance. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/wa/about/

The list of NRCS practices (a term used to describe both management and physically installed components) is extensive. Recommended practices are dependent on the objectives of the landowner and the land use and resource concerns being treated, see examples below for common types of practices.

General practices used for many land uses: fencing, irrigation practices, livestock practices

Cropland practices often include: cover cropping, no-till, soil health, pest management, irrigation practices

Prairie restoration practices often include: invasive weed control, brush management, native species reseeding, upland wildlife habitat management

Ecosystem restoration practices often include: early successional habitat development/management, wetland enhancements or restorations, tree/shrub site prep & plantings, wetland wildlife habitat management, wildlife habitat planting (pollinator hedgerow)

Fish passage practices often include: barrier removals or aquatic organism passage elements, channel bed stabilization, critical area plantings, riparian buffers

Forestry practices often include: invasive weed control, tree/shrub site prep & plantings, pre- commercial thinning, riparian forest buffers, upland wildlife habitat management

The 2018 Farm Bill is the newest Congressional authorization that allows NRCS to have funding to incentivize landowners to implement practices to protect or restore natural resources. There are a few programs under this authorization, but the most popular is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Here is a link that covers all the current programs: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/wa/programs/farmbill/

NRCS is taking EQIP applications now, the deadline for all documents to be in is November 20^th, 2020. It is a good idea to begin talking with an NRCS staff person to discuss your resource concerns, your objectives and then decide if you want only the advice and information from the agency, or if you want to seek financial assistance through one of the programs to install/implement some of the practices that may be recommended during an on-site visit. Here is a link that will guide you through the basic steps of applying for the EQIP program: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/financial/eqip/?cid=nrcseprd1342638

There are NRCS offices throughout WA. I am working out of the Chehalis Office, in Lewis County, but have worked out of other counties. The attached link can be used to find the nearest local office to you. https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?service=page/CountyMap&state=WA&stateName=Washington&stateCode=53

The wonders never cease to amaze me when technical and environmental knowledge is shared with people who want to be good stewards of the land. Couple that knowledge with some form of financial assistance for the recommendations to be installed, and voila! the land & wildlife begins to recover, it becomes rejuvenated through the restoration process or management efforts. Follow-up visits are typically filled with delights as the landowner’s own passions and awe of the land’s healing process become re-ignited as they embrace a stewardship role for their lands!