Introduction

What is the Jackson County Rural Living Handbook?

The Rural Living Handbook is intended to introduce current and prospective rural land owners to various available resources. The increased independence and self sufficiency of rural life entails a heightened need for self reliance and strong relationships with neighbors. Often, newcomers accustomed to services normally provided by urban governments are shocked by the hard work required to manage rural property. This can lie in stark contrast to idyllic images of country living.

This handbook should be a resource in determining if rural life is for you. It contains a list of agencies and organizations that can assist you in clarifying regulations, policies, rights, and planning decisions as you transition to living in rural Jackson County. It will provide answers to general questions on land use planning, gardening, livestock management, and wildlife concerns. The Resource Directory will be helpful in directing you to assistance with the natural resource management of your property.

The Rural Living Handbook was developed by the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District with funding through a Title III Grant from Jackson County and a private sponsor.

Is rural living for you?

Encountering the unexpected can be disheartening:

• You discover that you don’t have access to the irrigation water that runs through your own land
• You lose a pet or livestock to a predator
• You are responsible for a fire that starts on your land and spreads to other properties
• The deer have eaten everything you just planted
• There is no garbage service where you live
• You are responsible for the quality of the water that leaves your land
• You are surprised at the cost of building structures needed to protect livestock from predators
• You don’t have enough time or energy to mow fields, maintain fences, spray weeds, feed livestock, deal with muddy facilities, doctor sick animals, vaccinate healthy animals,
  etc.
• Your domestic or agricultural water source has dried up
• Minerals or pollutants have entered your well
• It takes more time and money to drive to town than you ever expected
• It takes more time to learn about and maintain domestic wells and pumps, sewer systems, irrigation pumps, ditches, hand lines, etc.
• You discover that the access road to your property is not publicly maintained and it
  is your responsibility to maintain it
• You learn that the forested land next to yours will be logged
• Your neighbor applies pesticides or herbicides that drift onto your land

Any questions or comments related to the handbook should be directed to the Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation District. The handbook is to serve as a reference for everyone, so please pass it around and share its information. There is also a resource directory with the name and phone numbers of all the agencies listed within the Handbook.