Activity Report for the Period 9/11/2017 – 9/22/2017

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District
Sections:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ACTIVITIES
Jay Udelhoven
Completed:
  • External Engagement: Met with Chair of June Key Delta House to discuss engagement opportunities; met with Executive Director (ED) of The Intertwine Alliance to discuss a new initiative of theirs; met with ED of West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) to discuss equity and leadership; attended Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting.
  • Boards/Committees: Prepared for and hosted annual meeting and September board meeting.
  • Policies/Planning/Reporting/Budgeting: Reviewed and finalized draft FY16-17 Annual Report.
  • Leadership/Supervision/Training: Met with staff from Center for Equity and Inclusion (CEI) to discuss next steps in our training and planning; finalized three program supervisors performance reviews; met with staff and management team during 1x1s and team meeting; completed CEI homework.
  • Program Implementation: Met with Multnomah County representatives to discuss tax implications of EMSWCD purchases of ag land parcels which have been in a tax deferred status; participated in site visit to Headwaters Farm to look at progress at the Guerrero parcel and other infrastructure projects; reviewed EcoTrust’s final PIC grant report.
Planned:
  • External Engagement: Attend WMSWCD annual meeting; review internal coordination of Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA); set up meeting with SPA partners for initial discussion regarding Year 3 funding.
  • Boards/Committees: Prepare for and host October board meeting; attend Land Legacy Committee meeting; attend Grants Committee meeting.
  • Policies/Planning/Budgeting: Update draft personnel policies as per committee recommendations, preparing for presentation to the full board.
  • Leadership/Supervision/Training: Attend lawsuit deposition; attend CEI meeting; finalize one program supervisor performance review; meet with staff and management team during 1x1s and team meeting.
  • Program Implementation: Nothing specific planned.
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
ACTIVITIES
Program Supervision / Finance & Budget Lissa Adams
Completed:
  • On vacation the week of 9/11; catching up from being on vacation; prepared for, set up and attended annual/board meeting; continuing to prepare documents and schedules for annual audit fieldwork.
  • Working with Alex on the Marketing board briefing; attended a webinar for the new online banking system for the Oregon State Treasury's LGIP account; met with Robin at CEI over lunch to check in on equity work.
  • Worked with Online Support to resolve file permission issues.
Planned:
  • Finish audit preparation and schedule fieldwork.
  • Meet with Equity Team and CEI for first followup meeting; prepare materials for October board meeting.
Office Management Lindsay Nelson
Completed:
  • I set up the Grange for the Annual and Board meeting.
  • Read the articles assigned from the equity team.
  • Met with Lissa to debrief on Annual/Board meeting.
  • Sent out information in regards to upcoming committee meetings.
  • I switched all of the benefits administration over from Jed to Lindsay.
Planned:
  • I need to finish reading to page 100 of the equity reading to get caught up.
  • Finishing minutes from Annual/Board Meeting. Put together the committee packets for the meeting.
  • Organize the storage closet in the Board room. Order more t-shirts, create an updated contact list for staff, finalize minutes from Personnel Committee meeting, filter through Jed's emails for resources, research outlook settings.
Facilities Management Scot Wood
Completed:
  • The exterior painting has been done. The building should be in great shape for the next couple of years.
  • WasteXpress has completed the hazardous waste removal. The property is finally completely cleaned of all trash and hazardous waste!
  • Rowan and I met with contractors for the new storm water additions along the main and north roads.
Planned:
  • I'll be having Honke Heating in to do the bi-yearly HVAC maintenance.
  • I will be attending the Small Farms School to expand my limited knowledge on various aspects of soil health and natural resource conservation.
Marketing & Media Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Created a presentation on Marketing activity and planning for an October board meeting briefing, reviewed and revised with Lissa. Performed related research and collected data on marketing activity, metrics, analytics, program history, etc.
  • Promoted fall workshops, Headwaters Farm program and tour, partner events. Two new website posts, updated HIP and grants forms. Added new listings to the Conservation Directory and Manure Connection tools. New staff website user accounts, photos and bios.
  • Worked with Chelsea on setting up a nursery event and custom registration form, sent postcard to print.
  • A lot of final activity preparing for the Annual Meeting. Helped set up at the meeting and take photos. Worked with Lindsay to notice several Board and Committee meetings and get information posted and updated.
  • Assisted staff with content edits and several minor support requests.
Planned:
  • Send PIC Grants press release. Draft, revise and send Headwaters press release.
  • Continue to promote fall workshops and Headwaters recruitment in October, and assist as needed with Rural Lands events, printing and website setup.
  • Finalize Marketing briefing after management review, present to staff and then to Board at the October Board meeting.
  • Work on updating campaign analytics spreadsheet and related data tracking materials.
Information Technology Lissa Adams,
Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Lissa and Alex responded to staff IT issues and questions as needed; see notes in their individual reports above.
  • Alex assissted with network, software and printing issues, and issued tickets to Online Support to continue to support staff.
  • Alex helped get Josie's user and email/spam accounts all set up, helped Katie with some hardware questions.
Planned:
  • Lissa and Alex will respond to staff IT issues and questions as needed.
RURAL LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Julie DiLeone
Completed:
  • Attended various meetings concerning the Eagle Creek fire.
  • Sandy River Basin Partners meeting: discussed draft of State of the Sandy including messaging around fish data, status of in stream projects, plans for fall OWEB grants, and learned how ODFW developed the restoration and fish targets in the Lower Columbia Recovery plan.
  • CLIP (Cooperative Landowner Incentive Program) team met to discuss potential applications for the October Board meeting and some clarifications to the guidelines.
Planned:
  • Check in meetings with Rural Lands staff.
  • Monitoring for Results class #3
  • Sandy River Watershed Council meeting on September 25th.
Rural Water Quality Aaron Guffey
Completed:
  • Met with an erosion product vendor and a nursery to discuss logistics of a field day/erosion product demonstration.
Planned:
  • Work with Jeremy and Clackamas SWCD to create an Erosion Solutions design for a nursery.
  • Work with Chelsea to develop a listening session with nurseries and an erosion control training for nurseries
StreamCare Lucas Nipp
Completed:
  • Rowan and I met to discuss management of pollinator areas at Headwaters Farm.
  • Got three days of crew work conducting maintenance sprays on StreamCare sites in Beaver Creek. 19 acres treated.
  • Conducted a tour of the Dianna Pope Natural Area as a part of the National Young Farmers Coalition Conference.
Planned:
  • I will attend the Beaver Creek Conservation Partnership meeting and the Portland Ecologiss Unite meeting on ecological resilience.
  • I am starting to work on getting the Conservation Partner signs out on StreamCare sites. I will begin contacting landowners about placement of signs on their properties and acquire needed supplies.
  • As crews become available, I will continue maintenance on StreamCare sites.
Technical Assistance Jeremy Baker
Completed:
  • Site visit to review and photograph progress on a CLIP funded Access Road in Gresham. Project is near completion.
  • Attended CLIP team meeting to review 2 potential projects (1 urban, 1 rural) as well as discuss CLIP process and possible changes to the program.
  • Set up meeting with Chelsea to create another livestock workshop to be held at the Corbett Grange.
Planned:
  • Planning for erosion control project at J Frank continues. We're creating treatment alternatives to address surface flows on one portion of the property.
  • Meeting with Land Legacy program staff to review and discuss draft Conservation Plan for Headwaters farm.
  • Finalizing a conservation plan and preparing to draft a CLIP application to address manure management on a large horse rescue operation in the the gorge.
Weed Management Chris Aldassy
Completed:
  • Chris was on vacation this week and unable to submit a report.
Weed Management Jon Wagner
Completed:
  • I began a report summarizing findings from the first year of wildlife surveys at the Diana Pope Natural Area. I wrote and illustrated a new Waterwoman and Dirtman Comic about knotweed and made an illustration for manure management outreach.
  • Lucas and I collected our monthly water quality samples and conducted the monthly wildlife surveys.
  • I controlled 59 square meters of knotweed at 6 private properties.
Planned:
  • Chris and I will continue to outreach for and control knotweed in the target area.
  • I will finish the Diana Pope Natural Area report. I will follow up on the monitoring webinar session and worksheets.
  • I will work with Chris and Julie to plan post-fire fall/winter strategies.
  • I will work with Chris and Andrew to refine our data collection strategies and begin to transition into a database strategy.
Outreach & Education Chelsea White-Brainard
Completed:
  • Finished redesigning and updating the invasive weed fact sheets for the 4-county CWMA (Cooperative Weed Mangement Area). Worked with Alex to get them up on our website. Coordinating with partners to get hard copies printed. Researching translation services.
  • In partnership with Oregon Association of Nurseries, Aaron and I began planning and promoting an Erosion Solutions listening session with nurseries.
  • Attended planning meeting for the "Nursery Field Day, On the Ground Erosion Product Demonstration."
Planned:
  • Table at Small Farm School on September 21st.
  • Continue promoting/planning the Erosion Solutions listening session and begin promoting and planning for the "Nursery Field Day."
  • Plan for and promote a fall livestock workshop at the Columbia Grange.
URBAN LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Kathy Shearin
Completed:
  • Assisted with a tour and presentation to Mt Hood Commuity College board about the retrofit project.
  • Met with the Mt Hood Community College advisory team to discuss alternative designs after preliminary soils tests were completed.
  • Presented weeds workshop hosted by the Friends of Baltimore Woods.
  • Attended EMSWCD Annual Meeting.
Planned:
  • Working with OSU Extension to finalize the contract for the IPM web-tool.
  • Working with CLIP recommendation team to revise and update the CLIP process.
  • Assist with the Lower Sandy River floating clean-up.
  • Plan to attend OR IPM web tool listening session on September 28th.
Technical Assistance Whitney Bailey
Completed:
  • Attended Metro UERC Brown Bag lunch presentation: modeling the effects of land use change on flooding in northwest streams.
  • Provided assistance to 8 landowners and partners re: CLIP, blackberry removal, the rain garden incentive program, rainwater capture, ivy control, and stormwater planters.
  • Participated in several planning meetings re: CLIP, Conservation Corner, and marketing/messaging.
  • Scheduled a rain garden presentation to Multnomah County staff in October.
  • Met with one HOA interested in collaborating on naturescaping and water conservation.
  • Attended the Johnson Creek Interjurisdictional (IJC) monthly meeting and EMSWCD Annual Meeting.
Planned:
  • Presenting one urban CLIP application for the Board's consideration.
  • Following up on planning meetings and landowner consultations.
Outreach & Education Angela Previdelli
Completed:
  • Presented at Powell Valley Garden Club in East Portland.
  • Attended Stark Street Culvert tour.
  • Attended Rosewood Initiative's monthly partner meeting. Made connections with three new organizations.
Planned:
  • Table at Salmon Celebration.
  • First Equity Team meeting with Center for Equity and Inclusion.
  • Present to Night Crawlers Garden Club in Gresham.
Outreach & Education Katie Meckes
Completed:
  • Held 2 meetings to work toward finalizing Urban Lands outreach messaging and elevator pitches.
  • Began training and orientation for the new Education & Outreach Intern, Josie Moberg!
  • Co-authored a blog post for the Oregon Environmental Council which will be featured in their October Living Green newsletter.
  • Fall workshop supply preparation, and organization of back-stock handouts, pamphlets, etc.
Planned:
  • Continue training and orienting Josie to the details of her internship position.
  • Prepare presentations to deliver in October at a Community Conservation & Repair Fair at Mt. Hood Community College, and for 3 classes at Rosemary Anderson High School.
  • Continue Equity reading and schedule a meeting with Rowan to debrief homework exercises.
  • Continue outreach for fall workshops, send November events to papers and community groups.
CONSERVATION LEGACY
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Andrew Brown
Completed:
  • Worked on planning content for Grants program, and preparations for the grants Committee meeting with Suzanne.
  • Worked on Land Legacy planning content for natural areas and access to nature lands, including spatial analyses.
  • Contracted facilitators, and continued preparations for the November strategic planning retreat.
  • Undertook preparations for and participated in the EMSWCD annual meeting.
Planned:
  • Prepare for and participate in Land Legacy Committee and Grants Committee meeting.
  • Meet with facilitator and continue planning and preparations for November Strategic planning retreat.
  • Assist Rowan with concept planning for new frontage property.
Grants Suzanne Easton
Completed:
  • Prepared for Grants Committee meeting, which is now rescheduled for October 5th; met with CLIP team to review applications and process issues.
  • Conducted 3 site visits: Depave - Ascension Catholic Chuch; Hands-on Greywater Workshop; Farm Feast - Janus Youth; Lynch Wood Community Garden.
  • Worked on improvements to SPA administration and oversight.
  • Met with Nellie and separately with Jay and Andrew to discuss strategic planning for Grants Program.
  • Conference call with Gray Family Foundation and Metro to discuss status of ODS funding.
Planned:
  • Equity: Check in with partner on Equity homework; meet for first session with CEI and Equity Team.
  • Meet with Allison to discuss strategic planning for Grants Program.
  • Update and finalize Grants Committee packet; hold Grants Committee meeting.
  • Meet with Jay and Andrew to discuss SPA administration and oversight.
Land Legacy Matt Shipkey
Completed:
  • Finalized mailing and presentation on second half of strategic planning.
  • Attended and assisted with conference on farmland affordability and access.
  • Farmer outreach strategy scoping commenced.
  • Various activities associated with potential acquisition.
  • Various activities associated with Oxbow valuation assignment.
  • Evaluated Natural Resources Land opportunity.
Planned:
  • Acquisition in contract and due diligence commenced.
  • Outreach strategy development.
  • Oxbow Term Sheet finalized, related foundational documents near completion.
  • Equity Discussions.
Headwaters Farm Rowan Steele
Completed:
  • Outreach: Offered tours to prospective farm incubator applicants and interns at Zenger Farms; presented and provided tour of Headwaters Farm to the Land Access Innovations Conference attended by land trust professionals and staff from conservation organizations; presented at Small Farms Conference and orchestrated the Land Evaluation.
  • Coordinating cover cropping process and general land winterization.
  • Updated the Headwaters Incubator Program application paperwork for the website and confirmed the application review group and meeting time.
Planned:
  • Conducting outreach around upcoming incubator applications.
  • Continuing to work on cover cropping, taking soil samples, and transitioning out of the growing season.
  • Working on getting critical stormwater work underway.
Headwaters Farm Stuart Moeller
Completed:
  • Prepping areas for cover crop and sowing seeds.
  • Conducting mechanical tillage to improve drainage.
  • Farm clean-up and organization.
Planned:
  • Setting cover crop in areas under EMSWCD management.
  • Land management: weeding pollinator areas and conducting sub soiling if soil moistures allow.
  • Helping to consolidate silage tarps to a winter location.