The State Forestry Department will be at the Deer Creek Conservation District office at 300 S. Broadway in Weatherford on March 14 with their annual Truckload Tree Sale. The sale will run from 2:00-4:30 p.m.

                Containerized seedlings are sold with a minimum of 50, and bare-root seedlings are sold with a minimum of 100. Prices vary depending on variety and number of seedlings.

                Seedlings are to be used for natural resource conservation and forest management-related projects. They must not be used for ornamental/landscape plants and cannot be resold as living plants.

                Those interested should arrive early for best availability.

                For more information, call the DCCD office at 580-772-7670.

            The Deer Creek Conservation District reminds it is time to start thinking about your spring and summer gardens. DCCD will again offer bulk seed to the public this planting season. The district will have several from which to choose.

            For sale are “Contender” bush beans, “Kentucky Wonder” bush beans, “Kentucky Wonder” pole beans, “Jackson Wonder” Lima beans, “Detroit Dark Red” beets, “Green Sprouting” broccoli, “Hales Best Jumbo” cantaloupe, “Danver’s 126″ carrots, “Imperator 58″ carrots, “Snowball” cauliflower, “Georgia” collards, “Peaches ‘N’ Cream” corn, “Kandy Korn” corn,  ”Indian Ornamental” corn, “Blackeye #5″ cowpeas, “Pinkeye Purplehull” cowpeas, “Boston Pickling” cucumbers, “Garden Sweet Burpless” hybrid cucumbers, “Imp. Siberian” kale, “Bibb” lettuce, “Black Seeded Simpson” lettuce, “Buttercrunch” lettuce, “Clemson Spineless” okra, “Emerald” okra, “Tendergreen” mustard, “Oregon Sugar Pod” edible pod peas, “Jack-o-Lantern” pumpkin, “Small Sugar” pie pumpkin, “Cherry Belle” radishes, “Bloomsdale” spinach, “Black Zucchini” squash, “Straightneck” squash, “Crookneck” squash, “Spaghetti” squash, “Lucullus” swiss chard, “Purple Top” turnips, “Black Diamond” watermelon, “Sugar Baby” watermelon. Also available is dill seed.

            The seeds prices vary depending on the type of seed.  

            DCCD will also have seed potatoes and onion plants available beginning this week. “Yukon Gold”, “Kennebec White” and “Lasoda Red” potatoes will be available. Choices on onion sets will be red or yellow and on plants will be, “White Bermuda”, “Red Burgundy” and “Vidalia”.  

            Deer Creek Conservation District also has Survivor Fescue seed available for those shady areas of your yard. The spring planting season is March 1-April 30.

            Stop by the DCCD office at 300 S. Broadway in Weatherford or call at (580) 772-7670.

                March 1 through April 30 is the time to plant Survivor Fescue under your shade trees. Survivor is a mixture of turf-type tall fescues, which produces a darker and finer leaf.

                Survivor has exhibited excellent ability to survive under heat and drought conditions, in poor soils and under low maintenance. It has also shown very good cold tolerance.  It has good resistance to turf disease and turf insects.

                Other grass seed available for order through Deer Creek Conservation District this spring include Plains Bluestem, Texas Tough Bermuda, yard Bermuda, weeping lovegrass, native mix and seed oats. Call the office at 580-772-7670 for pricing.

                To help make your gardening a little easier this year, try our Hydrosource watering crystals. Hydrosource is a dry granular superabsorbent that looks like rock salt, and when hydrated makes gel chunks that can gather hundreds of times their weight in water and nutrients.

                Hydrosource can reduce watering by as much as 75 percent and extend watering intervals as much as 400 percent. Condition of your soil, water quality, type of plants and how much wind and heat your plants are exposed to will affect the performance.

                One-half teaspoon of dry granules will absorb approximately one cup of water. One pound of dry crystals absorbs approximately 20-35 gallons of water. That amount of hydrated crystals is enough to treat 60 one-gallon pots, 15 five-gallon pots, or up to 100 square feet in gardens.

                For more information, stop by the office at 300 S. Broadway in Weatherford.

                Deer Creek Conservation District has copies of the 2011-2012 tree seedling information and order forms available in the Weatherford office. The Forestry Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry oversees the seedling program.

                Seedlings are offered for a wide variety of species to be used for conservation and reforestation purposes. The seedlings are distributed as bare-root, one or two years old and 10 to 30 inches in height. A limited number of species are also available as containerized seedlings for reforestation and windbreaks, or on difficult sites where an established root system provides an advantage.

                Bare-root seedlings are generally available from January through April and containerized seedlings are generally available in early March. All orders are on a first-come, first-served basis.

                New this year are seedling packages for wildlife habitat improvement.  The packages available include deer habitat, songbird habitat and rural wildlife habitat. Combinations of trees, shrubs, vines, flowers and grassy areas provide essential food, cover and nesting or breeding sites native wildlife species must have to thrive.

                Deer Creek Conservation District also holds its annual Truckload Tree Sale each spring, at which the Forestry Service also offers seedlings for sale and advice on selecting and planting your seedlings.

                To pick up an order form, stop by the DCCD office at 300 S. Broadway in Weatherford or call 580-772-7670 for more information.

                Rehabilitation work is progressing on Cobb Creek Site 1 (Crowder Lake) south of Weatherford. The project is co-sponsored by the Deer Creek Conservation District and Southwestern Oklahoma State University and is an approximately $4.2 million project.

                Work in currently suspended until cooler temperatures allow for concrete work.

                The dam was constructed in 1959 for flood control in the Cobb Creek watershed. The structure has now reached its intended lifespan and is being rehabilitated to ensure safety and continue to provide benefits for another 100 years.

                Oklahoma has 2,105 watershed dams which provide $71 million in annual benefits. In the next ten years, the state will have more than 1,000 dams past their design life and in need of attention.

                 Besides the main purpose of flood and sediment control, the dams provide fish and wildlife habitat, recreational areas, livestock water and protection of roads and bridges and other structures downstream.

                The water at Crowder Lake sits at its lowest planned level to accommodate the work. While rehabilitation work is underway at the site, bank fishing only is allowed. There are also restricted areas, which are construction areas, marked by no trespassing signs. Anyone going into those areas will be ticketed.

                The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing technical assistance and 65 percent of the construction costs. Funding for rehabilitation of aging watershed dams is made available through annual appropriations by Congress authorized under the Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 2000, authored by Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas.

                Cobb Creek Site 1 was originally built as a low hazard flood control structure. It has since been reclassified as high hazard. Several structures have been built below the dam since original construction. If there was a breach there could be great loss of land and lives.

                For more information on this or other projects, call the DCCD office at 580-772-7670.

 The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) and other sponsors presented awards to outstanding conservationists and conservation educators during Conservation Day at the Capitol on March 22. The various awards were cosponsored by Chesapeake Energy, the Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

Deer Creek Conservation District in Weatherford had two recipients from the district this year. Justin Kliewer of Thomas-Fay-Custer schools was chosen as one of five in the state as Outstanding Educator. Loren Liebscher of Hydro was named as the state’s Outstanding Landowner/Cooperator.

In the awards ceremony that took place in the Governor’s Blue Room, presenters included state Sec. of Agriculture Jim Reese, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts President Joe Parker and Oklahoma Conservation Commission Executive Director Mike Thralls. In addition, representatives from Chesapeake Energy, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma were present to help present awards. Several honorees also received Legislative Citations from their home area state senator or representative.

Liebscher received the Outstanding Landowner/Cooperator Award, cosponsored by the Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma. Liebscher is a cooperator with and was nominated by the Deer Creek Conservation District. Jay Pruett, Nature Conservancy, presented the award. Liebscher has been a cooperator with DCCD since 1991. He has moved away from an intensive cultivation row cropping system and put the land into native grasses. He has transformed a part of his land into a major agritourism attraction in western Oklahoma  at P-Bar Farms. Thousands of people visit the farm each year to enjoy a variety of activities from the corn maze to the petting zoo. P-Bar Farms is also home to the no-till flour mill that produces whole wheat flour from wheat grown only by local farmers practicing no-till farming. Liebscher hosts schools and teaches Ag in the Classroom during field trips where he exposes students to agricultural processes.

Other activities with which he has been involved include holding a plasticulture workshop and a Farm to School program. He has also been president of the Oklahoma Agritourism Board and a presenter at a Women in Ag Conference.

Kliewer is an Agriculture Education instructor and FFA advisor for Thomas Fay Custer where he teaches Ag exploration, Ag science, animal science, natural resources, plant and soil science and horticulture.  His students participate in local land judging competitions and speech contests. Kliewer takes his students on numerous field trips where they study soils, erosion, plant identification and farming practices. He also places a strong emphasis on the historical relevance of conservation. His students have put in to practice many of the concepts they learned in the classroom and on field trips, including establishing a hay meadow on acreage adjacent to the school’s Ag complex.

Conservation Districts are local subunits of state government responsible for care of renewable natural resources. Each district is a governed by a board of five volunteer directors, and cooperates with the Natural Resources Conservation Service for technical assistance.

For more information on how you can protect our natural resources, contact the Deer Creek Conservation District at 580-772-7670.

It is obvious Weatherford’s Carol Gaunt believes in commitment to a cause. He was in the education field for more than 33 years because he believed in turning students into productive and educated citizens. He has been a member of the local American Legion for decades because he believes in honoring our veterans. Next year will mark 30 years he has been a director of the Deer Creek Conservation District because he believes we should all be good stewards and take care of our natural resources.

Gaunt was recently honored for his commitment to the conservation district and his diligence in keeping conservation in the forefront. He was named as the most recent recipient of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Hall of Fame Award.

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission established the Oklahoma Conservation Hall of Fame in 1985. Each year, one or more friends of conservation and/or conservation district directors are inducted in recognition of a positive influence on Oklahoma’s conservation programs.

OACD President Trey Lam named Gaunt to the Oklahoma Conservation Hall of Fame during the organization’s banquet on Feb. 28. In addition to serving on the Deer Creek Conservation District Board since 1982, Gaunt has served as vice president and president of OACD. He has also been an area director.

He has served on numerous committees throughout the years and has also spent many hours visiting with elected officials locally, at the state capitol and even on the national level, to educate them about conservation and the importance of funding and support.

Gaunt was surprised when all his children and grandchildren arrived for the presentation, and said having them all there was a highlight of the evening.  He said being chosen took him totally by surprise as well.

“It’s humbling,” Gaunt said. “It’s not what I did, but we did as a team.”

DCCD’s directors and staff have a combined 122 years of service to the district and to conservation.

Gaunt believes getting involved in conservation came naturally to him, growing up seeing the need for practices on the land.

“I grew up on a sandy land farm,” he said. “I’ve had sand in my eyes from the lack of conservation.”

During his time on the Deer Creek Conservation District board he has seen programs increase and water conservation practices improve.

Gaunt said he works to set an example and hopes future generations will continue to be committed to the cause.

“I want to pass on the love of conservation of our natural resources,” he said.

 A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the Cobb Creek Site 1 (Crowder Lake) rehabilitation project. The flood control structure has exceeded its lifespan and is now considered a high hazard structure. Following rehabilitation, the dam will be designed to continue to protect land and resident for another 100 years.

Deer Creek Conservation District and Southwestern Oklahoma State University are co-sponsors of the project, which is expected to begin in February 2011.

On hand for the ground breaking were DCCD directors and staff, SWOSU and Crowder Lake representatives, and officials from NRCS, OCC and OACD.