NEWS RELEASE 

United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Box 33124
100 East B Street
Casper, Wyoming  82601

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Nick Biltoft, District Conservationist, NRCS 307-856-7524, ext. 109

High water threatens residents and homes

Rapid response through the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program is credited with protecting 15 Fremont County residents who were in harm’s way and saving 5 homes and the area’s only access road from the ravages of the Wind River, swollen by rains during high spring runoff and the 11th wettest year on record since 1891.

“We were amazed at the quick response to our situation; the dike was only hours from breaching,” said Samuel K. Thornley, who resides in the affected area located five miles northeast of  Riverton.  “I tried to hide my anxiety from my family, but when my 11-year-old daughter said, ‘Dad, if we go to sleep and the river breaks through, will we die?’ I realized just how frightened she was.”

The EWP Program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  It provides technical and financial assistance to respond to emergencies created by an event that causes sudden impairment to a watershed.  The program is designed to relieve imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural occurrences. 

“This program is specific to implementing emergency measures because of a natural disaster,” said Xavier Montoya, Wyoming NRCS state conservationist.  “It allows NRCS to provide emergency assistance within 24 hours.  The time element is always critical in these situations.  We surely appreciated the quick response of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in granting access and egress to tribal lands and to the Lower Wind River Conservation District for acting as sponsors for the project.”

Nick Biltoft, district conservationist, and Dan Murdock, area engineer; from the Riverton NRCS office, were on site in less than two hours from the initial call to assess the overall situation and potential hazards and begin the EWP Program application process.  The application was approved for funding to purchase materials to repair and reinforce the dike that protected the residents and homes in the area.

“It was fortunate that one of the landowners had access to dump trucks, a bull dozer, and other heavy equipment and knew how to operate it,” said Biltoft.  “He hired a couple of side dump trailers from the Northern Arapahoe Tribal Construction Company, as well as other local trucks and semis to haul the larger rock from Lander.”

NRCS staff will continue to monitor stream flow reports and updates on rain or snow melt information provided by Riverton’s Weather Service office.

-End-

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