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Monday, March 22, 2010

ARRA Simulus Crews

      For several months now Dayton Valley Conservation District has utilized a crew of 5 that has accomplished a variety of jobs for the district. The crew has been paid for by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act stimulus program. The crew has been a monumental force in accomplishing work that wouldn't be accomplished due to understaffing.
      There are two main projects that were completed so far. Clearing dead Perennial Pepperweed in preparation for herbicide application in the spring. Also the crew is working on a section of river using bio-engineering bank stabilization techniques that utilize willows to hold back soil. This project is located along a section of the old Rolling A Ranch in Dayton.
       The clearing of the dead Perennial Pepperweed is important because at 6' + tall it would hinder our efforts at applying herbicide. The sprayer booms are only effective on plant material 3' tall or less. 
    
        So far DVCD has been very pleased with the accomplishments of our hardworking crew . Even with all of this great progress there is still a staggering amount of work to be done in the future. Also the crew has generated more than $500,000 in matching funds from willows harvested for several projects. This money we recieved from ARRA to pay for the crew is used as matching funds for other grants that keep the district funded for additional restoration projects. We would like to continue the success we have had with the crew this past year and at this point we did not receive the funding we were hoping for to keep the crew running non stop this year. As of April 2, 2010 the crew is on a break for 5 weeks and will return to help with the spraying of noxious weeds in the area. If anyone knows of any other sources of funding that may work for our crew your help would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully we will be able to keep our crew and their jobs safe.
-Blake

Carson River Workdays Crew

Carson River Workdays Crew