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Fire Education Program
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Click here for more information on Three Rivers Fire Education Program
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PORTNEUF RIVER MONITORING STATIONS
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Three Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Council acts as the facilitator and administrator for the Portneuf Watershed Partnership (PWP). PWP was brought together in 2000 to assist stakeholders in the Portneuf Watershed with the monitoring necessary for the Portneuf River TMDL plan and implentation. The Project increased the spatial coverage of the continuous monitoring network in the Lower Portneuf River; seven continuous monitoring stations (that means 24/7 monitoring!) are now included in all monitoring activities. The continuous monitoring stations have helped to document the status of water quality and detail daily, monthly, and seasonal trends in the Lower Portneuf River. In addition to the continuous monitoring effort, monthly water quality field sampling activities are ongoing for each of the continuous monitoring stations. Data from all the stations can be accessed at www.portneufriver.org
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COMMUNITY FORESTRY PROGRAM
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 What is a community
forest? Really, it’s not a forest at all. In a forest, trees grow in
competition with one another and the surrounding ground isn’t covered with lawn
or mulch.
The trees in a forest don’t receive maintenance, supplemental irrigation, or
applications of pesticides to help assure their overall health. The community forest is a collection trees and
other vegetation in and around a town, village or city. Traditionally it has
referred to tree-lined streets, but a community forest also includes trees
in home landscapes, school yards, parks, riverbanks, cemeteries, vacant
lots, utility rights-of-way, adjacent woodlands and anywhere else trees can
grow in and around a community. Shrubs, flowers, vines,
ground covers, grass, and a variety of wild plants and animals also are part
of the urban forest. Streets, sidewalks, buildings, utilities, soil,
topography and, most importantly, people are an integral part of the
community forest. The community forest is, in fact, an ecosystem.
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| FORT HALL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT |
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During 2002 and 2003, a demonstration project on
the Fort Hall Indian Reservation looked at alternative potato production
practices to reduce pesticide use. Shoshone-Bannock tribal leaders
started this project to address tribal members concerns about their
environment, particularly their groundwater. Potato growers commonly use metam sodium (a pesticide to
treat several pests and diseases) before the potato seed is planted.
Instead of treating the soil with metam sodium, a special crop is planted the
fall prior to potato planting. This special crop has been coined "green manure"
because it is mixed with soil in a manner similar to how animal manure is
added to the soil. When green manure is incorporated into the soil, it
improves the fertility and physical characteristics of the soil.
For more information about the demonstration project click here.
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HARVEST CONNECTIONS |
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A Community Supported Agriculture Organization
What is Community Supported Agriculture? Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a new approach to growing, selling, buying and consuming food. While new in name, in many ways CSA harkens back to an earlier time when people knew where their food came from, ate in harmony with the land and the local seasons and enjoyed a balanced and nutritional diet of basic natural foods.
CSA is about community. It is about relationships between farmers and consumers and the land. Consumers or “shareholders” buy directly from the farmers in a CSA for a full growing season (14 weeks in 2004) receiving weekly baskets of products. Unlike farmers market, supporters of CSA actually share in part of the farmer’s risk. That is, they pay in advance for a part of the farmer’s total crop, agreed to by both partners in the winter. Crops that do well will be abundant in the share, crops that do not so well will be less abundant.
Why would anyone support CSA farmers when they could just as easily go to the supermarket or pick up what they want from a farmers market? Across the nation supporters say the primary reason is to receive an overall quality of goods that support the local small farmers in the area. They also say they like the fact of knowing how their food is produced.
To join the local CSA, Harvest Connections call Doris Medford at 208-254-9142
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NATIVE AMERICAN
POSTER CONTEST
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In 2002 Idaho NRCS wanted to celebrate the richness of Idaho's American Indian culture in a more visual way. What better way than through artwork. One Idaho tribe will be featured over the course of five years during American Indian Awareness Month. This Idaho poster contest as a way to help learn the art and culture of Idaho tribes through an artist’s eye and experience. The artisans are all tribal members and their art work hand-drawn, highlights the culture of the tribe(s). Along with the artwork the artist provides a written description of the artwork. Contest sponsors include the Forest Service, Rural Development, Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. To view the posters click on the year To learn more about each tribe click on their link below Shoshone-Bannock - www.shoshonebannocktribes.com or www.shoban.com Coeur d' Alene - www.cdatribe.com Nez Perce - www.nezperce.org Kootenai - www.kootenai.org Shoshone-Paiute - itcn.org/tribes/dkvly.html
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COMMUNITY GARDEN
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CARBON CREDITS
FROM IDAHO RANGELAND
Three Rivers RC&D Council along with the High Country RC&D and the Soil Conservation Commission is getting the word out to Idaho farmers on how they might get paid to fight global warming. Because plants absorb carbon dioxide and store it in their root systems, farmers can trap carbon in their rangeland and grassland thus reducing greenhouse gases. Industry is paying for that carbon “offset” or credit because it is a cost effective way to reduce the carbon dioxide that they are emitting. The credits are bought and sold on the Chicago Climate Exchange similarly to how stocks are sold on Wall Street.
Three Rivers RC&D Council has hired Kevin Koester to explain the carbon credit pilot project for Idaho and how farmers can sign up for this new source of revenue. To view the forms, click the links below Rangeland Survey Form Rangeland Sample Survey Form FAQ Grassland Survey Form Grassland Sample Survey Form FAQ
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