Activity Report for the Period 10/17/2016 – 10/28/2016

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ACTIVITIES
Jay Udelhoven
Completed:
  • Caught up with staff and paperwork after being gone for three weeks.
Planned:
  • Boards/Committees: Prepare for and attend November Board meeting.
  • External Engagement: Meet with watershed councils to start planning for next year's work under the Strategic Partnership Agreement.
  • Policies/Planning/Reporting/Budgeting: Finalize FY16-17 first quarter progress report.
  • Program Implementation: Attend meeting with EcoTrust to discuss their Ag in the Middle project which we provided funding for.
  • Supervision/Leadership: Attend Pacific Program's Leadership Training graduation.
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
ACTIVITIES
Program Supervision / Finance & Budget Lissa Adams
Completed:
  • Populated FY16-17 first quarter progress report with Finance and Operations statistics and financial information. Continued to follow up with auditors on FY15-16 annual financial report, which should be ready for approval at the December board meeting.
  • Prepared and reviewed September financial reports for inclusion with November board packet. Followed up with VALIC regarding termination of retirement plan and worked with them to prepare a resolution and plan amendment to be presented at November board meeting. Worked with Phyllis on several payroll related issues including retirement plan contributions and various retroactive salary adjustments.
  • Met with the Center for Equity and Inclusion along with Jay, Angela, Chelsea and Laura to discuss possible ways we might work together to create an organizational Equity Plan and training for staff and board.
Planned:
  • Work with vendor to replace failing signage at Williams Avenue grounds. Continue Fiscal and Contracting policy review.
  • Work with Jed to solicit new IT support quotes.
Office Management Jed Arnold
Completed:
  • I've been spending more time than usual on the phone helping out constituents: lots of calls regarding workshops, the election and stormwater questions.
  • Updated board minute archive and cleaned up some board meeting records.
  • Spent more time than normal addressing IT issues: see IT section below.
Planned:
  • Widely distribute job posting.
  • Attend CDE Diversity course.
  • Begin researching vendors for desktop support.
Facilities Management Scot Wood
Completed:
  • Drywall repairs in the board room are completed.
  • Stuart, Rowan and I, along with some very helpful framers, pulled the poly on the new prop house.
  • Stuart and I leveled out pea gravel in the space between the new curing shed and new prop house and then relocated the hardening off tables into that area.
Planned:
  • Painting and trim are next for the borad room door and then done!!
  • Stuart and I will start to build the tables for the new prop house.
  • The contractor is set to start construction of the new greenhouses next week.
Marketing & Media Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Assisted with workshop promotion, material creation, review and/or editing, and printing for Urban and Rural Lands.
  • Finalized Urban Lands campaign spreadsheet. Reviewed with Katie and Angela and discussed integrating their program data. Set up new related tracking analytics and integrations for the website and campaign tools.
  • Opened new hosting plan under GoDaddy for development site at emswcd-dev.net. Set up hosting configuration and databases; in process of importing, rebuilding and configuring a copy of the website for continued plant sale development.
  • Professional development: attended Learning Point Group's "Collaborate" leadership and collaboration workshop with Suzanne.
Planned:
  • Finalize development website configuration and resume plant sale store development.
  • Finalize and review 6 half-page outreach brochures and send to print.
  • Work with Suzanne and Andrew to update website and conduct outreach for PIC applications; conduct press outreach.
Information Technology Lissa Adams,
Jed Arnold,
Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Jed: several desktops have been misbehaving and I have identified a network configuration issues as the likely problem with the wireless projector.
  • Lissa: continuing to address several network related issues including mail archiving and restricted access to individual document folders.
  • Online support called in to schedule updates on several stations that required computers to be reset or started up.
Planned:
  • Jed and Lissa will respond to staff IT issues and questions as needed.
RURAL LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Julie DiLeone
Completed:
  • Competed Rural Lands quarterly reports for Board and ODA.
  • Attended the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership Science Work Group ecosystem monitoring presentations.
  • Met with our new ODA water quality planner about the upcoming Sandy Ag Water Quality Biennial review.
Planned:
  • Final meeting of the Metro Capital Grants Review Committee.
  • Completing one annual review for staff member that was on leave.
  • Coordinating the re-invigoration of the Sandy River Basin Partners.
Rural Water Quality Aaron
Completed:
  • Worked with construction contractor of the stream crossings at Headwaters Farm to complete punch list of final items, including clean up.
  • Attended the Oct IJC meeting.
  • Chelsea and I led a tour of the stream crossings at Headwaters Farm to neighbors on the North Fork of Johnson Creek.
  • Completed a draft of my Annual Performance Review form.
Planned:
  • Schedule my Annual Performance Review.
  • Complete draft of Workplan.
StreamCare Lucas Nipp
Completed:
  • Completed my last two days of StreamCare weed treatments in the lower Beaver Creek canyon. 28.70 acres. Saw some spawning Chinook salmon. Cool!
  • Completed site preparation in the forested portions of Oxbow Farm. Finished the weedy tree treatments on about two of the 14.65 acres that were prepared here.
  • Retrieved the final two temperature sensors we had monitoring water temperatures throughout the rural areas. I looked at the data from Headwaters and we did not exceed the temperature standard all summer!
Planned:
  • I will be at equity training most of next week.
  • I will submit the second draft of the Dianna Pope Natural Area.
  • Further analysis of the continuous temperature data we collected in StreamCare watersheds over the summer.
Technical Assistance Jeremy Baker
Completed:
  • Project planning site visit back out to Multnumah Grange. Met with gutter installer to determine how gutters will be hung and determine the locations of downspouts to ensure drainage will be directed to rain garden areas. Sizing and locating the rain gardens has been particularly tricky as the Grange roof is quite large and space to locate these raingardens is very limited.
  • Site visit with Lucas to Diana Pope Nature Area (DPNA) to review drainage issues in and around that area. We took several slope shots and recorded slope lengths to better understand and predict how water is moving around the area.
  • Out sick for the later part of last week.
Planned:
  • Now that Grange rain garden locations are certain and we know how they will most likely be drained, I can tabulate the exact size of the rain garden. We will then review the size of the garden with the landowner, stake out the location to be sure everything fits as planned. I will also begin making plant type and quantity recommendations.
  • Working with Lucas on a plan to treat drainage and storm water movement around Headwaters and through DPNA.
  • Trying to get RUSLE2 (NRCS erosion prediction planning tool) downloaded and functioning on my computer.
Weed Management Chris Aldassy
Completed:
  • I spent 2 days at a Learning Point Training for 'Project Leadership' skills.
  • I surveyed two new private properties in Corbett and found a bunch of the usual suspects. 15 total acres. 15,000 m² ivy, 3000m² clematis, 750m² garlic mustard, 100m² yellow archangel.
  • I visited many moderately infested Garlic Mustard sites with Jon where we sprayed rossettes to get a jump on the 2017 season. We sprayed several sites totaling 855m² gross, and about 40m² net.
Planned:
  • I hope to have crews out doing site prep on restoration sites in the gorge controlling ivy, clematis.
  • Jon and I will be getting permission to work on several new locations in Corbett to properties adjacent to areas infested with clematis.
  • Jon and I are going to be surveying for ivy near known infested areas adjacent to Moffett creek.
Weed Management Jon Wagner
Completed:
  • Chris and I attended a two day project leadership learning point training.
  • Chris and I controlled 855 gross square meters of garlic mustard rosettes over 25 acres.
  • I finalized the weeds best mangement practices for several important weeds. I met with Julie and Lucas and wrote a proposal for the Diana Pope Nautral Area wildlife surveys. I met with Chelsea, Katie and Alex and created three gif animation for workshop and project outreach.
Planned:
  • I will attend an equity training. I will add best management practices for false brome, clematis and spurge laurel. I will meet with Alex about illustration projects. I will meet with Julie and Chelsea about water quality outreach.
  • Rural lands will attend a two day equity training.
  • Chris and I will survey, outreach and control for clematis and Ivy.
Outreach & Education Chelsea White-Brainard
Completed:
  • Professional Development: Completed 4-class series through PUGS (Portland Underground Graduate School), "The Problem with Privilege: Bias, Fragility and Taking Action to End Racism". Attended workshop through NAO (Nonprofit Association of Oregon), "Evaluation: How to Meaningfully Measure Impact".
  • Held "Fish Friendly Farm Tour" with Aaron out at Headwaters Farm for streamside landowners. Promoted "Beneficial Insects for Rural Properties" workshop, which will be held at the Columbia Grange on 11/16.
  • Collaborated with Erik, Angela, and Jeremy on planning and designing for CLIP promotion.
Planned:
  • Work with Jeremy and Alex to post an article about drip irrigation to the website homepage in anticipation of the November issue of Digger magazine, which is about irrigation efficiency. This is part of a larger campaign that includes running an ad in the same issue that promotes CLIP funded drip irrigation projects.
  • Work on 5-year Strategic Plan for the Education and Outreach Committee of the 4-County CWMA (Cooperative Weed Management Area).
  • Continue to promote the "Beneficial Insects for Rural Properties" workshop.
URBAN LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Kathy Shearin
Completed:
  • Had my 14th work birthday!
  • Katie and I attended the Clean Rivers and StreamsStormwater Outreach Forum - an effort to create a unified message across NW Oregon around stormwater messaging.
  • Attended Beaver Creek partnership meeting. We had presentations on the fish surveys, the 40-mile loop and on the SALMON SAFE CERTIFICATION that the college just received/engaged in!
Planned:
  • Work with UL team to dilineate out marketing and outreach tasks.
  • Reviewing final report for the MHCC Retrofit Analysis.
Technical Assistance Erik Carr
Completed:
  • Ongoing participation in 2017 CONNECT conference planning, including serving as lead for Trends/Analysis track.
  • Numerous site visits, including staff visits with Scot and Lissa and oak habitat visit on Overlook Bluff.
  • Attended the Intertwine Equity Summit and an urban pesticides presentation by USGS.
Planned:
  • Technical assistance, as needed.
Outreach & Education Angela Previdelli
Completed:
  • Represented EMSWCD at a meeting about future Grant Butte development. Meeting held and hosted by Metro.
  • Presented about Urban Lands to Lents Neighborhood Association.
  • Attended East Portland Action Plan monthly meeting and connected with community organizations.
Planned:
  • Meeting with Sara Ennis from SRBWC to discuss outreach efforts on Mount Hood Community College.
  • Attending Columbia Slough Watershed Council Board meeting to discuss homeless concerns on the slough.
  • Leading the second Plant Sale meeting.
Outreach & Education Katie Meckes
Completed:
  • Gathered presenter availabilities for spring workshops.
  • Showed Andrew where database was glitched up. Thanks to his investigative action, it is now resolved!
  • Updated Contract Presenter details on website.
  • Attended Intertwine Fall Summit on 10/18 and Clean River Stormwater Outreach forum on 10/25.
  • Posted a short educational video to Facebook: How to Clear Your Stormdrains and Help Prevent Local Flooding.
Planned:
  • Spring workshop initial planning tasks will include form & website updates and host invitations.
  • Catch up on this season's Database processes that were put on hold while it was not functioning properly.
  • Send post-workshop survey to Fall 2015 participants.
  • Attend Regional Pollinator Outreach meeting on 11/1.
CONSERVATION LEGACY
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Andrew Brown
Completed:
  • Attended Portland Metro Region Conservation Acquisition meeting, hosted by Metro. Worked on job annoucement and recruitment for the vacant Land Legacy Program Manager position.
  • Assited the Grants Manager with setting up the online PIC 2017 application, including associated supporting documentation.
  • Produced first FY16-17 quarterly report.
Planned:
  • Pursue distribution of Land Legacy Program manager position annoucement, to list-serves, organisations and potential candidates.
  • Test online grants application system and ensure live deployment goes smoothly.
  • Work on EMSWCD database issues, and develop authoritative GIS layer with other program staff.
  • Work on revisions to Headwaters 5 year plan.
Grants Suzanne Easton
Completed:
  • Working on ZoomGrants set up - new on-line application system for PIC grant program.
  • Attended Environmental Education Association of Oregon annual conference.
  • Coordinated Unconscious Bias workshop for staff to be held on Oct. 28.
  • Meetings and phone calls with prospective 2017 PIC grant applicants.
  • Site visit - Columbia Riverkeeper in Hood River.
Planned:
  • Finish ZoomGrants set up for November 1 launch date.
  • Attend Intertwine Summit.
  • Attend professional training on collaboration.
  • Conduct outreach for PIC 2017.
  • Process new SPACE grants.
Headwaters Farm Rowan Steele
Completed:
  • Met with Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to look at a possible City property for HIP graduates.
  • Coordinated current stormwater and road improvements, propagation house wrap-up, and upcoming hoophouse construction.
  • Attended the National Farm Incubator Training Initiative's Field School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Planned:
  • Closing 2017 Headwaters Incubator Program application window and then compiling and distributing application packets to reviewers.
  • Co-hosting Farmland Access Workshop.
  • Attending the Portland-Area Farmer Development Annual Meeting.
Headwaters Farm Stuart Moeller
Completed:
  • Helped facilitate the conclusion of the propagation house construction project.
  • Worked with contractor on stormwater management, including placing seed, straw, and waddles in disturbed areas.
  • Prepping hardening-off area and relocating hardening-off tables.
Planned:
  • Constructing tables for the new propagation house.
  • Native hedgerow site preparation.
  • Equipment maintenance.