Agricultural News
Caddo County Hosting Groundbreaking Commemorating Conservation Projects
Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:59:45 CDT
The South Caddo Conservation District in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the North Caddo Conservation District and the West Caddo Conservation District, have begun construction on the first of many conservation infrastructure projects planned for installation in Caddo County. Currently nearly $20 million worth of improvements to the county's conservation infrastructure are in various stages of design, contracting, and construction.
To commemorate these investments in which each dollar of state and local funds garners enough federal match to install $4.33 worth of conservation to the vulnerable soil of Caddo County a groundbreaking ceremony will be held Friday July 15, 2011. Participants for the event will meet at Anadarko's Randlett Park and depart at 10 a.m. to the site of construction for the flood control structure designated as Sugar Creek L-44.
"The Oklahoma Conservation Bond is making responsible investments in Oklahoma's future," said state Sen. Ron Justice. "Proper conservation of our water and of our soil resources is beneficial to all of the current and future residents of Oklahoma," he added.
Caddo County soils are of the Pond Creek type, which is very erosive. Early agriculture and attempts to reduce flooding on Sugar Creek actually created more problems for the stream. Today Caddo County is home to 710,000 acres of cropland and 30,000 people. And the county is also home to more than 100 flood control structures that were built by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (now called the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) and area conservation districts. These structures, installed primarily in the 1950s and '60s, help to reduce flooding through greater water storage, thus preventing damage to fields, roadways, and communities.
Caddo County's conservation infrastructure was severely battered in August 2007 when Hurricane Erin reformed as an inland tropical storm and ravaged western Oklahoma. In addition to homes and buildings flooded and roads washed away, flood control dams and conservation practices in the area were severely battered and damaged.
Funding for the vital repair and rehabilitation work is coming from the USDA NRCS, the Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA), the American Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the North Caddo Conservation District, the West Caddo Conservation District, and the South Caddo Conservation district. A capital improvement bond devoted to conservation work, passed by the state Legislature in 2009 was critical to providing the state match for federal funding. State Sen. Ron Justice and Rep. Phil Richardson were instrumental the passage of the bond legislation. Additional work is being performed by private landowners and by the Caddo County Board of Commissioners. The sponsors also expressed special thanks to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for its help in making the projects possible.
Conservation projects underway in Caddo County include:
Flood control dam Sugar Creek L-43, sponsored by the West Caddo Conservation District, has recently completed rehabilitation.
Flood control dam Sugar Creek L-44 is in the initial stages of being rehabilitated.
The first two miles of a 22-mile project to repair conservation practices in the Sugar Creek waterway that were damaged or destroyed during the 2007 flooding are also currently under construction.
Farrow Drop, a channel stabilization structure, is under construction in South Caddo Conservation District.
There is also a program for landowners of property located in the channel and floodplains of Sugar Creek and Sugar Creek tributaries to install conservation best management practices.
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