At times JSWCD has certain areas of the county that arise as areas of focus for work. While we do serve all areas and residents of the county, projects and needs arising in these areas will likely be of elevated importance for the district. 

District-selected Priority Areas 

These are areas that the district has identified as having a priority natural resource concern and thus, are a key area of focus for district work.

CURRENT:

Little Butte Creek Water Quality

Little Butte Creek is a tributary that enters the Rogue River immediately upstream of a major drinking water intake for the Medford Water Commission. The Little Butte Creek Watershed is a priority for the district because of 1) the quantity of inflow into the Rogue River from Little Butte Creek, 2) its proximity to the drinking water intake, 3) the amount of recreational use it receives, and 4) the signficant water quality concerns in the creek. The district designated the Little Butte Creek Watershed a priority area in 2013. Learn more about some of the district's work in the area by visiting the page to the right.

Obenchain fire restoration and preparedness

In recent years, fire preparedness and restoration has arisen as a key area of focus for JSCWD as a result of the 2020 Almeda and Obenchain fires. JSWCD has focused on fire restoration and preparedness work in the Obenchain fire area, while our partner Rogue River Watershed Council has been a leader in the Almeda restoration work.

Natural Disaster Response

JSWCD seeks to adapt and meet the needs of the county as they evolve and one key need that may arise is responding to and recovering from natural resource-related emergencies. Natural disasters JSWCD has responded to include floods, fires, and droughts.

CURRENT: NONE

JSWCD's longer-term work and focus in the Obenchain area (above) evolved out of our short-term response to this disaster when it occurred. 

Strategic Implementation Areas (SIAs)

SIAs are agricultural areas identified by Oregon Deaprtment of Agriculture as critical for water quality improvements; when an SIA is identified, JSWCD is a key partner that helps achieve water quality improvements in that area. 

CURRENT: None

There is not an active SIA within Jackson County at this time. Visit our SIA page to the right to learn more about SIAs and our past work in them. 

Conservation Implementation Strategy Areas (CISs)

As with SIAs, CISs are also partner-identified areas of priority, the partner in this case being the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS works with local partners to identify county-level natural resource priorities and concerns and designate CISs. Areas designated as CISs are eligible for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) dollars to address the given natural resource issue. Learn more about CISs in Oregon here. 

Current: NONE

JSWCD is not currently a partner on an active CIS. However, JSWCD was a key partner on a CIS that was recently completed: Bradshaw Drop. Learn more about the great work done to address agricultural water quality and efficiency concerns in this project here and by visiting our page to the right.