We’d like to introduce our two new Associate Board Directors, Carrie Sanneman and Mike Gerel! Both Mike and Carrie come to EMSWCD with extensive backgrounds in conservation, restoration and water quality. Carrie manages the Clean Water program at Willamette Partnership, and Mike is the Director of Programs at Sustainable Northwest. Learn more about Mike, Carrie, and the rest of our Board on our Board page.
If you are planning on applying for a SPACE Grant in August, please note that our regular September Board Meeting will not be held until September 18th, 2017, in conjunction with our Annual Meeting on the same date. This means that SPACE Grants for the month will not be considered until that date. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Grants Manager, Suzanne Easton, at (503) 935-5370 or suzanne@emswcd.org.
It seems like tansy is everywhere this year, but its predators are not far behind…
Tansy is a dangerous pasture weed because it is poisonous to livestock, causing liver damage when ingested.
What to do if you have tansy on your property
We don’t recommend mowing, which can extend the life of the plant beyond its normal two years and increase the chance that it could get into hay. Some plants are beginning to seed now, so mowing now is more likely to spread infestations further.
Your best bet for removal is pulling or digging. Unfortunately, the ideal time to pull the plants was between May and June, after they bolted but before they flowered. At this point, it may be better to wait until next year to remove them. If you need to pull it this year, you’ll want to bag it and dispose of it in the trash so the seeds don’t spread. When left alone, the seeds disperse by wind, but they only travel an average of 10 feet from the plant, so letting it go to seed in place will not cause rapid spread.
Tansy predators making a comeback
Tansy has two main biological controls (“biological controls” in this context means natural predators that help control invasive plant or other pest populations) that feed on it when it starts to spread: the cinnabar moth and the flea beetle. Cinnabar moth caterpillars have been spotted around the district (see photos) this summer. Although less visible, it’s really the flea beetles that do most of the work, attacking the root crown, leaves, and leaf stalks during the rainy season. We will be looking for the small, golden flea beetles come October.
EMSWCD is currently conducting a survey of residents in our service area, in order to measure awareness of our organization and services we offer. If you have received an email from Consumer Opinion Services asking to participate in the survey, we hope you will give your feedback. Your answers will help us understand how to better serve your needs.
If this is your first time learning of EMSWCD, welcome! We invite you to learn more about the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. Our mission is to help people care for land and water, and we offer a variety of services to help people, organizations and partners do so. Call us at (503) 222-7645 or use our Contact Us page to get started.
EMSWCD offers:
Farmers, make sure you are counted in the 2017 Agricultural Census! You may request the report form all through June.
Producers who are new to farming or did not receive a Census of Agriculture in 2012 still have time to sign up to receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture report form by visiting agcensus.usda.gov and clicking on the “Make Sure You Are Counted 
” button through June. NASS defines a farm as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year (2017).
Please visit the agcensus.usda.gov website to be added.
Update: the comment period ended on June 26th, 2017. We will post a front page announcement when the final version of the plan is approved. Thank you!
A site conservation plan has been developed to outline management of the Dianna Pope Natural Area over the next five years. You are invited to read and comment on the Dianna Pope Natural Area Site Conservation Plan, which can be viewed here.
In 2012, the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) purchased 58 acres of property along Orient Drive east of Gresham, Oregon. Approximately 75% of the property became EMSWCD’s Headwaters Farm, home of the Headwaters Incubator Program. The Dianna Pope Natural Area was established on the remaining 14.5 acres of the property, which runs along 0.41 miles of the North Fork of Johnson Creek. Efforts began in early 2013 to restore vegetation to the area, returning it to a more natural condition. Find out more about the restoration work performed to date and our restoration and management plans for the next five years in the document. We welcome your feedback!
Our Naturescaped Yard Tour takes place this Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM! Registration for the event is closed, but if you did not get a chance to register, you can still email Katie Meckes at Katie@emswcd.org, and you will receive an auto-reply with a link to the Yard Tour guide.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at naturescaped yards that are bursting with color, creativity and function on this free self-guided tour. The tour gives you the chance to see up to 9 yards that demonstrate naturescaping principles in action.
On Friday, April 14, 2017, the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) and the Multnomah Grange signed a 20-year Memorandum of Agreement for the use and improvement of the Grange facility, located in rural east Gresham. Under the agreement, EMSWCD will help bring some needed improvements to the facility, which will then be used by EMSWCD for public meetings and events geared towards helping community members improve soil and water conditions on their properties. Jay Udelhoven, EMSWCD Executive Director, said of the agreement, “What a great marriage of need and opportunity! We’re in need of a reliable meeting location and the Grange has an opportunity to meet those needs by making some minor improvements to their facility.”
