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Water: 5 Star Wetland Restoration & Grants

Tillamook County, Oregon, Five Star Restoration Project

 

Five-Star Restoration Program Descriptions

Tillamook County, Oregon, Five Star Restoration Project
EPA Region 10

In 1996, a 100-year flood devastated Tillamook County. Restoration of areas damaged by the 'great flood' continues today. Local partnerships have accomplished a great deal of restoration work over the past two years, and built a solid foundation for a Five Star Restoration Partnership Project.

The National Association of Counties and EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds awarded a $10,000 Five Star grant to Tillamook County and the Management and Training Corporation (MTC). MTC, among many services, administers youth employment programs under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The Five Star project took place during the Fall of 1998 and included some of MTC's longstanding partners, namely: the Tillamook County Board of Commissioners; Tillamook County Soil and Water Conservation District; the Oregon Options Program; the Rural Education Corps (an Oregon Youth Conservation Corps program); the Tillamook County School District; Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; and Oregon Department of Forestry; and the Tillamook Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Project partners contributed in-kind services and funds for the project to support fourteen high school students. Five of the students were funded under the JTPA's year-round education program. Staff salaries for county and state agency staff, MTC and the Rural Education Corps were contributed to match the Five Star grant. A Tillamook County Soil and Water Conservation District staff person provided many hours of hands-on assistance. Grant funds were used to support counselor and crew leader/teacher salaries, supplementtransportation costs and purchase tools. Total project costs were $50,000.

The students' work included restoration in the field, classroom learning about watersheds and wetlands, as well as team building and job skills training. The project focus was to provide an alternative educational experience to studentshaving difficulty in traditional school settings. Specific field activities included: in-stream root wad placement and fish habitat restoration; tree and willow plantings to control stream bank erosion; stream restoration and fencing at South Prairie Grade School; and installing bird blinds, trails, boardwalks and a bridge for a new wetlands educational study area at Camp Magruder.

Tillamook County, the Rural Education Corps and MTC have partnered on many successful projects and reaped mutual benefits. Since 1996, flood relief and restoration projects necessary to protect the county's watersheds and wetlands have served as outstanding educational and job training opportunities. The youth participants in the Five Star project received credits toward their high school diplomas and learned the value of being a community voluteer. Rachel Lippert, the Rural Education Corps crew leader/teacher who supervised students feels they also developed a "solid work ethic, community volunteering pride and sense of ownership or stewardship for their county."

EPA Grant Amount: $10,000
Matching Funds: $40,000

Contact Information: Louise Minisce
Tillamook County Manager
Management & Training Corporation
1800 Front Street, Suite A
Tillamook, OR 97141
Phone: (503) 842-6675
Fax: (503) 842-6677


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