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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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