Conservation essays earn awards

During the WSU Research in the Dryland Cropping Area and the Adams Conservation District wheat production meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29, five students received awards for their soil essays. Over 40 students from the Lind-Ritzville Middle School and the Washtucna Schools sixth grade classes entered essays in the competition.

The students wrote essays about field buffer zones and how those zones can protect the quality of the soil, water and air. The essays also discussed the additional benefits of buffer zones in the local environment.

Washtucna School District had two essay entries from Levi Tobin and Madisyn Gallaher. Each school district’s top performers received an award, and Tobin received second place for his essay and Gallaher earned first place as candidates from Washtucna.

From Lind-Ritzville Middle School, Briana Brozovich received a third place award for her essay, Lacey Miller won second place and Anna Vlk took home the first place trophy.

In the overall competition, Vlk earned third place for her essay, Tobin was awarded second place and Gallaher won first place. The top essay writers read their award winning papers to all in attendance at the annual meeting and are printed below.

By Madisyn Gallaher, Washtucna sixth grade, First place overall

A buffer zone is a vegetated area designed to create a border around farmland and prevents erosion from water and wind storms. Buffer zones help wildlife by providing cover, safety from predators, food, and a home for animals and birds. Buffer zones can protect cities and farms from extreme erosion and flooding from wind and water. Lastly, they contribute to keeping our air and water clean.

Buffer zones are beneficial to wildlife and humans. The zones aid wildlife by providing cover among the grasses and bushes, safety from predators, food and a home. They help farmers protect their fields from flooding, wind erosion, and loss of top soil. Buffer zones keep the top soil in place. In Adams County, there is a lot of wind erosion which causes dust storms. The wind picks up the soil particles and blows them away. The plants in the buffer zone break up the direct wind speed which disperses the wind not allowing the soil to get a direct blast. Soil particles stay in farmers’ fields. The roots of a plant also help stop erosion by anchoring the plant in the soil. Plant roots grasp the soil to prevent land slides.

Buffer zones save towns, cities, and farms when they prevent flooding around populated areas. Vegetation planted along these ditches block the wind and slow it down or break it up. Plants will also do the same for a dust storm. Most erosion is cause from wind or water in Adams County. Farmers want to keep sediment from forming in draws from run off, so buffer zones help prevent water erosion. Farmers often plant strips of these buffer zones across fields as a deterrent to erosion. Moving water is to main agent of erosion in farmers fields in the spring or during the rainy years. Keeping Adams County’s light soil on the ground in the fields can be challenging with the amount of wind we experience. Buffer zones can protect soil particles from getting blown away.

Plants and soil can act as filters because if there was water erosion, the plants would stop most of the soil and debris from sliding away. Plants will keep most of the dust out of the air if there is a dust storm. Plants also will take the carbon dioxide out of the air and make oxygen for humans and wildlife.

Buffer zones do so much for us. They provide wildlife with safety, food shelter and a home. Buffer zones prevent erosion and keep our water and air clean. As humans continue to learn more and more about erosion, I believe that there will be more and more buffer zones in Adams County.

By Levi Tobin, Washtucna sixth grade, Second place overall

A buffer zone is generally a relative zonal area that lies between two or more fields. Buffer zones help keep soils in place, protect creeks and water, and provide valuable safe havens for wildlife. Three types of buffer zones are water pollution hazard setbacks, vegetated areas, and engineered buffers.

Water pollution hazards setbacks are areas that separate a possible pollution hazard from a waterway. Engineered buffer zones are specifically designed to treat storm water before it enters into stream, lake or wetland. These zones are comprised of a multistage system including series of sediment trapping chambers, a gravel filter and integrated bioretention system. It is designed and sized to capture and treat storm water run-off and clean the water. Vegetated buffer zones are in natural areas that exist to divide land fills and promote good stewardship of the soil.

Buffer zones also keep soil in place. They do so because the trees which grow into the ground and hold on to the soil. The reason plants grip the soil is the fibrous roots spread out onto the soil and entirely grab a hold the ground and prevent erosion from occurring. Much of the soil in Eastern Adams County is light and these buffer zones are of great benefit to the farmers.

Water quality protection is very important. Water is one of the daily requirements for life. Every living thing requires water. When mud, pesticides, herbicide pollutants contaminate water, the drinkable water could poison animals, plants and humans. Buffer zones help prevent those pollutants from making our drinkable water unusable.

A field buffer zone is a conservation effort around fields that help protect our natural resources. They act as filters that help reduce the spread of contaminates between air, soil, water, humans, and animals. They also provide habitats for wildlife and make our environment safer and a prettier place to live.

Several studies have documented the increase of property value to the addition of buffer zones. At the same time, the costs of understanding a buffer zone are mutual benefits that these areas provide. Erosion control, clean water, soil management and wildlife protection are just a few. Buffer zones may increase land value, while providing farmers and conservationists with very real ecological benefits.

A buffer zone is planted between two fields. They provide safe homes for all wildlife, protect soil erosion and help keep our water drinkable. Buffer zones are important in Adams County because our soil is sandy and these help farmers and land owners preserve their top soil.

By Anna Vlk, Lind-Ritzville sixth grade, Third place overall

Today I am going to talk about field buffers. Field buffers are small areas or strips of land in permanent vegetation, designed to slow water runoff, provide shelter and stabilize riparian areas. The field buffer I chose is a riparian buffer and I am going to tell you some of their uses. A riparian buffer is a vegetated area next to water resources that protect water resources from nonpoint source pollution.

One of the benefits of having a riparian buffer is that they have filter sediments. Riparian buffers are the perfect choice if you want your streams and creeks to be purified. They are very beneficial to nature, animals and humans. A riparian buffer filters out pollution and battles drought protecting both water quality and quantity.

Riparian buffers also decrease stream bank erosion. Root systems of riparian buffers help stabilize stream banks and slow down runoff water to prevent erosion. Otherwise the current in the creek takes the soil and creates stream bank erosion.

Lastly, riparian buffers provide cooler water. The shade of riparian buffers can cool streams by 4–9 degrees Fahrenheit. Shaded and cooler water means healthier streams, particularly for temperature because of sensitive fish such as trout.

In conclusion, riparian buffers are beneficial to various things; they have filter sediments, decrease stream erosion and make water cooler. In my opinion riparian buffers are the best field buffer!