Wetlands are important Willamette Valley habitats that provide shelter and breeding areas for thousands of species. They reduce flooding by storing water and improve water quality through their filtering and cleansing abilities. Wetlands are characterized by their hydrology, hydric soils and water-tolerant vegetation. Wetlands used to cover much of the valley floor, but many acres have since been drained for agriculture or development. Because of their importance and rarity, they are protected. Before making changes to your property, contact Benton SWCD to determine if you have hydric soils. If hydric soils are present, check with Department of State Lands to see if you have a wetland. Wetlands are considered waters of the state. Projects that will add or remove 50+ cubic yards of soil require permits.
Benton Soil And Water Conservation District is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and
channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, Benton Soil And Water Conservation District
has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and
commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and
other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome
feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.
If you need any special assistance or accommodations:
Benton Soil And Water Conservation District has designated a compliance officer for website disability-related accommodations.
The compliance officer has received training in website accessibility and updates the site in accordance with those best
practices. Contact our accessibility officer to report an issue.
Compliance Procedures and Reports
In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards,
Benton Soil And Water Conservation District regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely
changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.
Linked Documents and Third Parties
Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do
not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our
agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties,
we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.
