The ideal country home provides fresh air, productive soils, and clean water. Many people look for homes based on location, view, and house style. Rural home seekers must do more. In the absence of city utilities, buyers must choose a property that can provide the basic needs: drinking water, sewage treatment, and other considerations.

The wide, open spaces of the country are truly something to care for. You can do many things to maintain the quality of life you desire. Take responsibility to sustain the land, water, and other natural resources in your watershed. Get started by properly caring for your well, septic system, and other things in your own backyard.

This worksheet will help you determine the health of your stream and help guide your next steps.

This worksheet will help you evaluate the current condition of your stream.

This handbook is designed to introduce current and prospective landowners to life in rural Multnomah County. The issues to be considered in owning rural land are varied, and newcomers are often surprised by the complexity of managing rural property. Use this handbook as a resource as you manage your land.

The land drains into tributaries and tributaries flow into the river. As the water flows downhill, it moves over the land or drains through the soil. Along the way, water picks up woody debris, leaves, and needles that provide the foundation of food and shelter for aquatic life in streams. Water can also carry motor oil, fertilizer, pesticides, and eroded soil. Small actions like driving the car, fertilizing pasture, or even walking the dog can inadvertently pollute the watershed you live in. As the tributaries flow into the river, so do the pollutants. It all adds up.

Most woodland owners own fewer than 10 acres of forestland or woodlot. Many want to take care of the land and keep it productive for themselves and for future generations. This is what sustainable forestry is all about.

Near stream areas can provide flood and erosion control, wildlife habitat, and higher property values. Read on to learn how to protect your environmental and real estate investment.

This OSU Extension publication will get you on the right track for choose streamside plants and trees.