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Oregon coastal family honored nationally for land stewardship
Tuesday, March 04, 2008 | No comments posted.
PORTLAND (AP) — A Curry County family has received a national award for its land stewardship as part of a conservation awareness campaign by the U.S Department of Agriculture.
The Wahl family is featured in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service national campaign called “Conservation: Our Purpose. Our Passion.” They join seven other families nationally who were honored for their conservation work.
The agency said Wahls have taken steps to protect all the resources on the 2,000-acre sheep and cattle ranch on the Southern Oregon coast.
“We’ve been here so long that I can’t even imagine not having this,” said Mary Wahl, whose ancestors from Scotland began raising sheep on the Oregon coast in 1874.
Over the past century, the tradition of caring for the land has passed from generation to generation, she said.
They said the family wants a future that involves ranching, “and part of having ranching keep going is conservation,” Wahl said.
The Wahl family ranching operation has spread across 2,000 acres grazed by sheep and cattle, with timber-producing forests.
Their 4,000 head of sheep are rotated daily using a system of permanent and temporary electric fencing designed to minimize impacts on the land, avoid erosion and maintain high quality forage.
The grazing land is dotted with chains of ponds, each buffered by thick vegetation to keep the soil stable and the water clean while providing a haven for wildlife.
The conservation measures on the Wahl ranch also provide benefits to aquatic and wildlife species along the coast. Over the years, the family has taken steps to maintain stream, riparian and wetland habitats that provide critical food, shelter and rearing habitats for native fish, birds and mammals.
One example is their work to improve water quality, fish habitat and fish passage along the Elk River and its tributaries, areas important to threatened or endangered species.
Five miles of riparian buffers that control soil erosion and prevent pollutants from entering the water, improve access to a wetland and nearly a mile of habitat for native fish such as coastal coho salmon, cutthroat trout and steelhead.
Terry Wahl, Mary’s brother, said it’s important to the family to keep the conservation tradition alive.
“One of my best things going is, I can be here, my family and I, and have a look around and I get to see the results,” Terry Wahl said.
———
Natural Resources Conservation Service: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov
The Wahl family is featured in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service national campaign called “Conservation: Our Purpose. Our Passion.” They join seven other families nationally who were honored for their conservation work.
The agency said Wahls have taken steps to protect all the resources on the 2,000-acre sheep and cattle ranch on the Southern Oregon coast.
“We’ve been here so long that I can’t even imagine not having this,” said Mary Wahl, whose ancestors from Scotland began raising sheep on the Oregon coast in 1874.
Over the past century, the tradition of caring for the land has passed from generation to generation, she said.
They said the family wants a future that involves ranching, “and part of having ranching keep going is conservation,” Wahl said.
The Wahl family ranching operation has spread across 2,000 acres grazed by sheep and cattle, with timber-producing forests.
Their 4,000 head of sheep are rotated daily using a system of permanent and temporary electric fencing designed to minimize impacts on the land, avoid erosion and maintain high quality forage.
The grazing land is dotted with chains of ponds, each buffered by thick vegetation to keep the soil stable and the water clean while providing a haven for wildlife.
The conservation measures on the Wahl ranch also provide benefits to aquatic and wildlife species along the coast. Over the years, the family has taken steps to maintain stream, riparian and wetland habitats that provide critical food, shelter and rearing habitats for native fish, birds and mammals.
One example is their work to improve water quality, fish habitat and fish passage along the Elk River and its tributaries, areas important to threatened or endangered species.
Five miles of riparian buffers that control soil erosion and prevent pollutants from entering the water, improve access to a wetland and nearly a mile of habitat for native fish such as coastal coho salmon, cutthroat trout and steelhead.
Terry Wahl, Mary’s brother, said it’s important to the family to keep the conservation tradition alive.
“One of my best things going is, I can be here, my family and I, and have a look around and I get to see the results,” Terry Wahl said.
———
Natural Resources Conservation Service: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov
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