Umatilla County
Umatilla County has an area of 3,231 sq miles, or 2,067,840 acres total. 75 percent of the acres, or 1,550,880, are privately owned. The private acres consist mainly of 570,000 dry cropland acres, 145,000 of irrigated cropland, 520,000 forestland, and 315,880 acres of rangeland. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation sits on 172,000 public acres of mainly rangeland. The NRCS office, located in Pendleton, offers voluntary technical and financial assistance to private landowners interested in natural resource conservation improvements. Historically, the NRCS office has focused on soil quality for cropland, and forest health issues and has more recently been focusing on improving irrigation efficiencies and air quality.
Current Financial Assistance Opportunities for Farmers, Ranchers and Forest Owners in Umatilla County
The following Conservation Implementation Strategies are available to help Umatilla County agricultural producers address targeted resource concerns identified in the Long Range Plan. Click the project names below for more information:
- EQIP Wildfire Disaster Recovery
- Drought and Wildfire Watering Strategy
- Climate-Focused Sustainable Livestock Production in Oregon
- East Oregon Forest Restoration (RCPP)
- JDU Basin Forest Resiliency
- Soil Health Management Planning and Implementation
Additional Funding Opportunities...
In addition to the local projects above, producers may also apply for statewide programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Organic Initiative, Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative, On Farm Energy Initiative, and conservation easement programs. Visit with your local District Conservationist for more information on these and other programs, or visit the NRCS Programs webpage.
Local Work Group Meetings
Every year, NRCS hosts a Local Work Group meeting where farmers, landowners, conservation partners and other members of the community discuss the natural resource needs for the county. Based on feedback from those meetings, NRCS updates the county's Long Range Plan and develops new Conservation Implementation Strategies to address those resource concerns. You may contact us anytime to express concerns or comments about conservation needs in the county, and we encourage you to attend the next Local Work Group meeting in your county. For more information about Local Work Group meetings, contact your local NRCS office.