Fall 2014 Newsletter

Will be in your mail box shortly!

OR

Read it in COLOR here now.  Go to About Us and view under “Newsletter”.

September 10th Board of Supervisors Meeting

September 2014 Agenda

And the winners are….

Thank you to all who stopped by the District Pollinator Booth at the McCone County Fair this past weekend.

Congratulations to the winners of the Flower seed bomb tool kit (slingshot & many flower seed bombs).

Kaitlyn Thoeny (child category)

Larry Schipman (adult category)

 

McCone County Fair August 14-16

We will be at the McCone County Fair August 14th, 15th & 16th hosting an informational pollinator booth.

Information will be on pollinators–bees, butterfiles, birds and bats.  There will be pollinator literature and kids activity pages.  Free give-a-way:  Pollinator seed box and noxious weed posters.  There will be a drawing for two flower seed bomb tool kits.

Pollinator seed box:  May contain annual sunflower, purple prairie clover, plains coreopsis, blue flax, black-eyed Susan, blanket flower, sainfoin, white clover, yellow sweet clover, tansy aster, butterfly weed, showy milkweed*, alfalfa, goldenrod, Rocky Mountain bee plant, Western yarrow, wild lupine, hairy vetch, lemon bee balm and white evening primrose.

* Showy milkweed is native to Montana and in large quantities, may be toxic to cattle.  Please note that there are not sufficient quantities in each sample to cause any harm.   This seed is contained in the pollinator mix because it is the main food source for Monarch butterflies.  Without milkweed, the Monarch caterpillars die.  We are doing our part to protect this beautiful butterfly.

We hope to see you at the Fair!

Round 2–Ground Water Sampling Program Sign-Up Date Extended to September 1, 2014

For Immediate Release: August 1, 2014

ROUND 2: Ground Water Sampling Program Sign-Up Date Extended to September 1, 2014.

Circle, Montana, August 1, 2014 – Rural water users have voiced concerns about the potential effects on their water supply from oil development. People are worried about chemical storage, waste management accidents at well heads or injection pits, and accidents/spills during chemical and product transportation. Further uncertainties of production water disposal, frack water injections and large withdrawals of ground water have also been revealed.

The purpose of this new monitoring program is to establish baseline groundwater quality and availability in advance of oil and gas activity in our area. McCone Conservation District will prioritize and select domestic and stock-water wells to evaluate based on the proximity to a potential source of contamination such as active or abandoned oil/gas wells, injection wells, waste or chemical management areas. Selected wells must be registered with the Ground Water Information Center (GWIC).

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) and Montana Salinity Control Association (MSCA) are assisting the Conservation District with this program. Each well selected will be evaluated on-site for field parameters and water availability. Well samples will be analyzed for drinking water quality and for indicators of contamination specific to energy development activities.

Well sampling and lab fees total approximately $1,200 per well, but a DNRC grant covers most of the expense so McCone County residents can participate in this program for $120.00 (10% of total cost).

If you are interested in having your well sampled, please contact Mary Hendrix at McCone Conservation District at 406-485-2744 x100 or email Mcconecountycd@yahoo.com to begin the sign-up process. Sign-up ends September 1, 2014.

 

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New photos under “Your Photos”

See what regional and local producers are doing.  Photos from Fallon County Soil Health Tour and Circle Soil Health Tour now online!

Cover Crop Field Tour July 29th

More details to follow …

McCone Conservation District announces a new ground water sampling program

For Immediate Release:  July 1, 2014

Circle, Montana, July 1, 2014–Rural water users have voiced concerns about the potential effects on their water supply from oil development.  People are worried about chemical storage, waster management accidents at well heads or injection pits, and accidents/spills during chemical and product transportation.  Further uncertainties of production water disposal, frack water injections and large withdrawals of ground water have also been revealed.

The purpose of this new monitoring program is to establish baseline groundwater quality and availability in advance of oil and gas activity in our area.  McCone Conservation District will prioritize and select domestic and stockwater wells to evaluate based on the proximity to a potential source of contamination such as active or abandoned oil/gas wells, injection wells, water or chemical management areas.  Selected wells must be registered with the Ground Water Information Center (GWIC).

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) and Montana Salinity Control Association (MSCA) are assisting the Conservation District with this program.  Each well selected will be evaluated on-site for field parameters and water availability.  Well samples will be analyzed for drinking water quality and for indicators of contamination specific to energy development activities.

Well sampling and lab fees total approximately $1,200 per well, but with a DNRC grant covers most of the expense so McCone County residents can participate in this program for $120 (10% of total cost).

If you are interested in having your well sampled, please contact Mary Hendrix at McCone Conservation District at 406-485-2744 x100 or email Mcconecountycd@yahoo.com to begin the process.  Sign-up ends July 25, 2014.

 

How Much Water Falls During a Storm?

Maybe it is the middle of July in Montana (instead of Georgia) and both you and your tomatoes are wilting in your yard, both looking to the sky and hoping for rain.

Or maybe a low-pressure cell has been napping overhead and your arm is hurting from holding that umbrella while you watch your basement fill up with water.

Either way, you would like to know how much rain has fallen–how many gallons have come down from the skies onto your roof, yard, block, or town.

To figure out how….go to http://water.usgs.gov/edu/sc2.html

Here’s a sample:

How many baths can you get from a rainstorm?

Your entries		Amount of water that fell
Area	Rainfall (inches)	Total gallons (US)	Cubic feet	40-gallon baths
5000 acres	1 inches	135,770,000 gallons	18,151,091 cubic feet	3,394,250 baths

 

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