Helping the river and its users

A group of Baker Valley farmers and ranchers, along with government officials, figured out how to keep water in the Powder River, and keep cattle out.

Which sounds like a boon for the river and its inhabitants, but like a potential disaster for those farmers and ranchers.

All of which makes the Powder River endeavor the epitome of a well-conceived, and well-run, public-private operation.

People who attended the recent Oregon Cattlemen’s Association meeting in Baker City got a look at the nearly $3 million project, which is just north of Baker City. It includes fences to keep cattle away from the river, troughs to ensure the cattle stay well-hydrated, and replacing open, water-wasting ditches with pipelines.

The fences prevent cattle from trampling the river’s banks and polluting the water with their byproducts.

But the ranchers who own the cattle came out ahead on the deal, too, because the pipes that feed the off-river troughs save enough water that ranchers can graze more animals in the area than they did before.

Replacing ditches with pipelines, and swapping flood irrigation for center-pivot sprinklers, also has saved millions of gallons of river water.

Rob Thomas of the Thomas Angus Ranch, one of the outfits that spent considerable sums of its own money to gain a share of the federal dollars, said the ranch has so much extra water available that it’s been able to add thirsty crops such as corn and potatoes to its rotation.

None of this was free, of course — the nearly $3 million tab attests to that.

But the success of the Powder River project proves that it’s possible to protect both the environment and the linchpin of a local economy.

When our tax dollars go for work of that nature, we consider it a wise investment, and one absent the slightest odor of bacon or ham.