The Rogue National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), a program managed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), provides funding to enhance water quality. Through a collaborative partnership with the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District (JSWCD) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), NRCS offers funding to Jackson County residents for land improvement projects that directly benefit the water quality of the Rogue River.

The NWQI accelerates voluntary private land conservation investments by providing dedicated financial assistance through NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319, and other funding sources. These resources help focus state water quality monitoring and assessment efforts where they are most needed. A key component of NWQI is implementing conservation systems that avoid, trap, and control runoff in high-priority watersheds. As part of this initiative, a multi-phased area-wide plan is developed for each targeted region. This Rogue NWQI Plan serves as the framework for the area-wide strategy, with a strong focus on Source Water Protection (SWP).

The Rogue Drinking Water Partnership (RDWP) Source Water Protection (SWP) project area covers 148,273 acres across six USGS 12th-field watersheds: Indian, Kanutchan, Lick, Lower Antelope, Reese, and Whetstone creeks (Figure 1.1, Table 1.1). Selected through collaboration with RDWP, DEQ, and NRCS, the project area spans from the Rogue River above Shady Cove to 2.75 miles upstream of the Gold Hill surface water intake. It lies primarily (78%) within the 783,300-acre Upper Rogue Watershed, which stretches from Crater Lake’s headwaters to Dodge Bridge and comprises about 25% of the Rogue Basin.

Are you a landowner wanting to learn more and see if your property qualifies for this project?

Contact:

Josh Bilbao, JSWCD Agricultural Resource Conservationist

(541) 423-6172

josh.bilbao@jswcd.org

or

Peter Winnick,  NRCS District Conservationist

(541) 423-6174

peter.winnick@usda.gov

Additional Resources:

Community Meeting Presentation Slides

Rogue NWQI Initiative Plan

Medford NWQI Website

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/state-offices/oregon/national-water-quality-initiative-medford

Oregon NWQI Website

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs-initiatives/national-water-quality-initiative/oregon/national-water-quality-initiative