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.
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.”
Join us on Thursday, April 20th at the next Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting! Jeremy Baker and Aaron Guffey, two of our Senior Rural Conservationists, will both present at the meeting as guest speakers. Jeremy will speak about a new cost-share project for installing drip irrigation for better water management, and Aaron will share the work EMSWCD is doing with nurseries to help address erosion issues. Staff from Clackamas SWCD will also be in attendance.
The meeting takes place at the Country Insurance office in Wood Village (832 NE 223rd Avenue, Suite B, Wood Village), and runs from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Please RSVP if you plan on attending: call (503) 502-8596 or email hbushue@gmail.com. More details in the Multnomah County Farm Bureau newsletter linked below.
Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting newsletter
The health of your soil determines the health of everything growing in it – the food you eat and the crops you produce! Learn all about how to care for your soil at Soil School 2017! The event will be a day packed full of information for small farmers, landscapers, gardeners, grounds managers and anyone else who wants to improve their soil.
Attendees will learn about soil structure/composition and analysis, as well as topics such as planting for pollinators, cover crops, irrigation, landscaping with native plants, composting, invasive weeds, fungi, permaculture, composting, pest management, and rebuilding urban soils.
For more information, please call WMSWCD Communications Coordinator Carolyn Lindberg at (503) 238-4775 ext 101 or email at carolyn@wmswcd.org.
