Our Native Plant Sale is now open!

Pacific serviceberry (Amelanchier_alnifolia)

Choose from over 40 species of beautiful and affordable bare-root trees and shrubs! Remember, quantities are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit our NEW Native Plant Sale website at emswcdplantsale.com to start shopping!

VISIT OUR NEW
PLANT SALE STORE

Update as of 12:30 PM, January 16th

Due to an overwhelming enthusiasm for local native plants, you will notice several species have already sold out. Please note that we are not able to add any more stock to our store. If you do not find the plants you are looking for from our Native Plant Sale, please check out this list of Local Sources of Native Plants, which features eight other annual Native Plant Sales, as well as many local retail and wholesale native plant suppliers. Thank you for your interest in native plants!

A note about why our quantities are limited:

The popularity of our sale has grown substantially over the years, which is wonderful. As a result of this, many plants sell out very quickly. We wish we could expand our sale to meet this increasing demand, but we are a small organization with space and storage limitations. Unfortunately, we cannot order more plants because we are already operating at maximum capacity.

Plant Pick-up Day is on Saturday, February 16th from 10 AM – 3 PM at our office, located at 5211 N. Williams Avenue in north Portland.

Link

Upcoming EMSWCD Board and Committee Meetings

The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD), serving all of Multnomah County East of the Willamette River, has scheduled Board meetings and Committee meetings at the District Office (5211 N. Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97217) for the months of January through June 2019.

Visit this page to see a calendar of upcoming meetings.

Nature Notes 6 – Leaves and snow

Welcome to EMSWCD’s Nature Notes series! Nature Notes shares small moments and interesting observations from our property, as well as related natural history tidbits, on a weekly to monthly basis.

November 30th, 2018

Natural Leaf and Snow Management

Tempted to pull out that leaf-blower for one last fall clean-up? Please consider raking instead. Not only are leaf blowers noisy, they are also very bad for the environment and human health.

Did you know…

  • Two-stroke engines emit hundreds of times more air pollution than cars. This pollution contributes to global warming, smog and acid rain.
  • Air pollution also raises risks of cancer, heart disease and asthma, especially in children.
  • The forced hot air damages plants and soil organisms, and compacts soil which makes plants more vulnerable to summer drought.
  • Electric leaf blowers create less air pollution and are somewhat quieter, but raking is still a better alternative.

leaves with beads of water

Leaf cover is beneficial for the soil and also provides habitat for many pollinators and beneficial insects – leave those leaves!


Read more →

A note about elections

We’ve received a number of questions about the elections this year and wish to provide some helpful information.

  • Oregon Revised Statutes determine soil and water conservation district board director eligibility criteria and election process. ORS 568.560 (3) details zone director qualifications. ORS 568.530 (2) – (4) details the write-in procedures.
  • The Oregon Department of Agriculture processes candidate paperwork, determines eligibility, and forwards to the county elections office.
  • The Multnomah County Elections Division counts votes for qualified candidates who filed the necessary paperwork by the identified deadlines.
  • The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD), as a government agency, does not participate in the election process and does not lobby for any specific candidate or issue.

EMSWCD has three Board Director positions on the ballot. As identified below, there are two incumbents running for the Zone 3 and At-large 2 positions. . In addition, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has informed us that, as of November 7th, 2018, two write-in candidates had been determined eligible and one candidate’s eligibility was under review for the Zone 1 position.

Zone 1 write-in candidates:

  • Gabrielle Rossi
  • Paula Gagnon
  • Rachelle Dixon (under review)

Zone 3 candidate:

  • Michael Guebert

At-large 2 candidate:

  • Allison Hensey

If you would like more information about Board Director positions, qualifications, and elections, please see our Board page or the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s website.
 

This post was first published on October 26th and edited on November 1st, 2018 for clarification and to include updates on write-in candidates. The post was again edited on November 5th and November 7th, 2018 to include further updates from the Oregon Department of Agriculture on write-in candidates.

Nature Notes 6 – Winter gardening for birds and pollinators

Honey bees visit late-blooming Douglas asters

Welcome to EMSWCD’s Nature Notes series! Nature Notes shares small moments and interesting observations from our property, as well as related natural history tidbits, on a weekly to monthly basis.

October 15th, 2018

Winter Gardening for Birds and Pollinators

The goldenrod has gone to seed, and honeybees are scouring the last of the fall asters. Here at EMSWCD, we employ a few simple practices to reduce the fall garden work and help birds and pollinators survive the winter. Read on to learn what you can do!

Did you know…

  • Birds feed on seeds and insects through the winter. In the spring they will need lots of insects to feed their young. You can help birds by leaving lots of habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects to shelter safely through the winter.
  • Adult butterflies, ladybugs, and many other beneficial insects overwinter in rock crevices, under bark, and in leaf litter. They lay their eggs in stems, on twigs, and under leaves. Pollinators and their larvae shelter in hollow standing stalks, and beetles take refuge in clumping grasses.
  • A natural winter garden is a healthy pollinator hotel!

Read more →

Another success for the Working Farmland Protection Program

We are pleased to announce that our Working Farmland Protection program has closed on yet another important working farmland transaction. This September, EMSWCD acquired a 20-acre property in Corbett, ensuring a future for agriculture on this blueberry, raspberry and blackberry farm.

In the short term, the property will be made available for lease to agricultural operators. The property will likely ultimately be sold to a farmer with the protections of a working farmland easement – a legally binding blueprint for the future of the property which ensures it will remain in agricultural use. As part of the transaction, EMSWCD also secured an option to acquire a working farmland easement on another 20-acre property owned by the sellers. Read more →

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