Activity Report for the Period 2/27/2017 – 3/10/2017

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ACTIVITIES
Jay Udelhoven
Completed:
  • Boards/Committees: Prepared for and hosted March board meeting; met with nine associate board director applicants.
  • Policies/Planning/Budgeting: Drafted position statements on policy issues for staff consideration; worked on revision of personnel leave policies.
  • Program Implementation: Met with representatives of the West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District to discuss representation on the Linnton Interagency Mitigation Bank Review Team; attended PIC Grant Review Committee meeting to assist with evaluation of PIC grant applications; attended the Mt. Hood Community College's board meeting with partners of the Green Retro-fit Project; met with landowner near the Headwater's Farm to discuss activities and coordination.
  • Supervision/Leadership: Met with staff and management team during 1x1s, team meeting, and all staff meeting.
Planned:
  • Boards/Committees: Prepare for and host ad-hoc committee meeting to discuss associate board director applicants.
  • External Engagement: Attend Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting; participate in Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's and Portland Bureau of Environmental Service's strategic planning sessions.
  • Policies/Planning/Budgeting: Continue revision of personnel policies.
  • Program Implementation: Meet with the Multnomah Grange board to discuss improvement and use of their site for public workshops and other events.
  • Supervision/Leadership: Meet with staff and management team during 1x1s, team meeting, and all staff meeting.
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
ACTIVITIES
Program Supervision / Finance & Budget Lissa Adams
Completed:
  • Finalized the first draft of the FY17-18 budget and presented it to the Budget Committee; prepared January financial reports and presented at the March board meeting.
  • Continuing to work with staff on submitting transfer/rollover paperwork to finalize close-out of our terminated VALIC retirement plan.
  • Minor IT troubleshooting for connectivity and remote log in issues; continuing to evaluate proposals and gather information for possible new IT support contract.
Planned:
  • Make requested changes from Budget Committee to the FY17-18 budget; continue refining current year projections to inform FY17-18 beginning balances and resources.
  • Review new phone system options once all information has been gathered.
Office Management Jed Arnold
Completed:
  • Quite a bit of work lately supporting a busy board schedule with PIC Grants, Budget and Board of Directors meetings.
  • Scrubbed names and other potentially biasing information from all the Senior Conservationist position applications and formatted for hiring panel review.
  • Worked with insurance broker to align the renewal dates for all of our employee policies. During this process I discovered that in our rush to put health insurance in place when OHCoOp shut down we ended up with some redundent vision covereages. Those redundencies have now been removed, which will result in some (very modest) savings on our monthly employee insurance costs.
Planned:
  • Continue work with multiple vendors on bids to replace the office's dated phone system.
  • I will be working with two vendors to try and negotiate more favorable rates for contracted IT support. We hope to make a selection some time this month.
  • Recruitment related work continues for the Land Legacy and Senior Conservationist positions.
Facilities Management Scot Wood
Completed:
  • I have found two more fire sprinkler contractors that will be submitting bids for the whole building fire sprinkler system.
  • I met with the two electrical contractors that have furnished bids for the new prop house and curing shed electrical project.
  • All of the damaged trees have been removed or trimmed up to prevent future damage.
Planned:
  • I will be meeting with two more concrete contractors to solicit bids for various concrete repairs around the office grounds.
  • I will be working with Rowan and the electrical contractor that will be picked for the project to ensure all is completed to our specifications and satisfaction.
Marketing & Media Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Plant sale: final refund documentation, processing and follow-up; some basic numbers reporting.
  • Media: continued coordination with Gresham Outlook reporter and Kathy for invasive weeds article, worked with Katie to coordinate and promote a linked workshop, gathered and formatted invasive weed photos for the article. Designing an ad for the Spring Home & Garden insert the article will be printed in. Followed up on other ad opportunities.
  • Continued to promote individual spring workshops and assisted Chelsea with outreach, printing cards, and planning for upcoming rural workshops.
  • Began Yard Tour planning with Urban Lands team; helped Katie set up events manager to receive Yard Tour volunteers and save staff time.
  • General material work: working on general EMSWCD info brochure and event display panel. Helped a grantee with formatting a presentation.
  • Research for EMSWCD history project and rewriting the existing draft.
Planned:
  • Continue developing general District materials.
  • Continue working on history project
  • Taking vacation towards the end of the next reporting period.
Information Technology Lissa Adams,
Jed Arnold,
Alex Woolery
Completed:
  • Jed and Lissa responded to staff IT issues and questions as needed; see notes in their individual reports above.
Planned:
  • Jed and Lissa will respond to staff IT issues and questions as needed.
RURAL LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Julie DiLeone
Completed:
  • Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board small grant team meeting to review 4 proposals, including one we submitted.
  • Made some progress on the five year plan for rural water quality.
Planned:
  • Continue work on 5 year plan for rural water quality.
  • Coordinate Sandy River Basin Partner meeting.
Rural Water Quality Aaron Guffey
Completed:
  • Completed an online training for soil erosion prediction software.
  • Met with Chelsea to discuss outreach strategy for the erosion prevention initiative.
  • Connected with the OSU extension department that works with nurseries.
  • Shared my experience with permitting of stream crossing projects with Johnson Creek Watershed Council.
Planned:
  • Help develop a mailer and website content for outreach to nurseries.
  • Researching the application of cover crops for erosion prevention.
StreamCare Lucas Nipp
Completed:
  • I emceed the Columbia Gorge Cooperative Weed Management Area's 5th Annual Invasive Species and Exotic Pest Workshop. There were over 100 people in attendace and some great presentations including detection dogs, dogs that can detect weeds, wildlife, and pollution sources.
  • I oversaw a crew to plant the last site for StreamCare this season. Overall including planting at Oxbow Farm, and at Headwaters, around 45,000 plants were installed on 29 sites.
  • I completed a draft of a Riparian Management Plan so a landowner who graduated from StreamCare can enroll in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Riparian Lands Tax Incentive Program.
Planned:
  • I will be workign to finish the Dianna Pope Natural Area Site Management Plan and getting it ready for presentation to the Land Legacy Committee in April.
  • I am attending a workshop titled Agricultural Biodiversity on Western Farms. The workshop will focus on beneficial insects, native bees, hedgerows, beetle banks, etc.
  • I have two site visits set up for Johnson Creek with landowners who are interested in enrolling in StreamCare.
Technical Assistance Jeremy Baker
Completed:
  • Prepared and presented CLIP application focused on mud management and soil health to Board.
  • Attended Climate Adaptation workshop at Mt. Hood Community College hosted by the Sandy River Basin Council. Discussion surrounded how we can add to or adjust existing conservation strategies to maintain watershed resiliency during these changing climatic times.
  • Met with Chelsea to develop livestock mailer to landowners in Beavercreek area of the county.
Planned:
  • Working with Xerces Society Conservation Director Mace Vaughan, NRCS State Biologist Christopher Hamilton, and NRCS Basin Resource Conservationist Dean Moberg on a NRCS Beetle Bank Tech Note, which will help to create a practice standard to promote the construction of beetle banks on farm ground.
  • I made several site visits out to Headwaters Farm during these past few wet weeks to monitor how water is moving (or not moving) in and around identified problem areas, through fields and eventually off the property to Johnson creek.
  • Participating as a member of the hiring committee for the Urban Lands Senior Conservationist. We have completed initial review and ranking, and are setting up interview times in the coming weeks.
Weed Management Chris Aldassy
Completed:
  • Jon and I planted ~1000 trees and shrubs that didn't sell at the plant sale. We planted at 2 restoration sites in the Gorge, and planted a pollinator hedge at a property in Corbett.
  • Attended the Columbia Gorge Co-operative Weed Management Area Invasive Species workshop, and the 4 County CWMA invasive species workshop.
  • Finalized contracts for contractors and permits for upcoming garlic mustard work.
Planned:
  • Ivy control and monitoring will resume in the gorge.
  • Garlic mustard monitoring and contractor co-ordination.
  • Landowner outreach to new landowners in project areas.
Weed Management Jon Wagner
Completed:
  • I prepared weeds presentation slideshow, edited weeds implementation plan and entered and organized data.
  • I attended the invasive weeds workshop.
  • Chris and I planted ~1,000 plant sale leftovers and hand-pulled 8 square meters of ivy at Ellowah Falls. Chris and I also conducted early garlic mustard surveys in Corbett.
Planned:
  • I will continue to define weed management unit areas will Chris and Andrew and work on data management. We will begin garlic mustard season planning and outreach. I will purchase materials for reptile, amphibian and rodent surveys. I will create a new Dirtman and Waterwoman comic.
  • We will continue ivy and spurge laurel control and begin early garlic mustard rosette control.
Outreach & Education Chelsea White-Brainard
Completed:
  • Sent postcard to promote rural spring workshops on weeds and pollinators.
  • Designed signs for garlic mustard dumpster.
  • Worked with Aaron to develop an outreach strategy for the erosion prevention campaign.
Planned:
  • Continue promotion of rural spring workshops through social media, email, website, and fliers.
  • Work with Jeremy to design mailer for livestock owners in the Agricultural water quality focus area.
  • Facilitate messaging session to develop key messages for erosion prevention campaign. Work with Aaron to design mailer for nursery growers about soil erosion prevention. Update erosion web pages so they align with the erosion prevention campaign messaging.
URBAN LANDS
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Kathy Shearin
Completed:
  • Attended the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council's Climate Adaptation Workshop.
  • Attended and represented the EMSWCD at the Columbia Slough Watershed Council Board Meeting.
  • Attended the Northwest Adult Conservation Education meeting.
  • Gave Urban Weeds workshop at Trillium Charter School.
  • Met with primary funders for the Mount Hood Community College Retrofit project.
  • I was interviewed about urban weeds for a feature article in the Gresham Outlook's Home and Garden special edition.
  • Met to select interviewees for the Senior Urban Conservationist position.
Planned:
  • Preparing letter to Troutdale City Council regarding proposed change to Development Code.
Outreach & Education Angela Previdelli
Completed:
  • Reviewed and ranked 32 applications for the Urban Lands Senior Conservationist position. Met with hiring team to select 11 interviewees.
  • Designed post card for Gresham Plant Swap - an event organized by us, Backyard Habitat, City of Gresham, and Johnson Creek Watershed Council.
  • Met with Sara Ennis from SRBWC to discuss outreach efforts on Mount Hood Community College.
  • Opened Yard Tour for applications and volunteer outreach.
Planned:
  • Conduct first and second interviews for Urban Lands Senior Conservationist position.
  • Review Yard Tour applicantions and select which yards to visit.
  • Conduct volunteer outreach for Yard Tour.
Outreach & Education Katie Meckes
Completed:
  • Updated Yard Tour webpage content and sent announcement to recruit for 2016 Yard Tour hosts and volunteers.
  • Created a new Yard Tour Volunteer registration option through our event management plugin. This streamlines processes and saves Angela time.
  • Presented at Monday's Board Meeting to provide the Board with details of the Urban Lands paid internship idea.
  • Angela and I met with Sara from Sandy River Basin Watershed Council to draft up a plan for initial engagement with Mt. Hood Community College staff and students regarding outreach for the Mt. Hood Community College Stormwater Retrofit.
Planned:
  • Formalize internship proposal and submit for approval at April Board meeting.
  • Deliver educational presentations at the Children's Clean Water Festival on March 14th.
  • Attend Children & Nature Network Symposium at the Oregon Zoo next Monday, March 13th.
  • Continue workshop program management: outreach, registration and wait list management, host communications, attendance documentation.
CONSERVATION LEGACY
ACTIVITIES
Program Management Andrew Brown
Completed:
  • Pursued the Land Legacy Program Manager position recruitment. Pursued active ag property acquisition with landowner.
  • Reviewed 2017 PIC applications and assisted with the 2017 PIC review committee meeting.
  • Produced various mapping projects, including Growing Gardens School Gardens Survey results, and site plan for Headwaters road realignment permit application.
  • Attended Sandy River Basin Watershed Council Climate Adaptation workshop.
Planned:
  • Finalize Land Legacy Program Manager position appointment. Pursue potential ag property acquisition projects.
  • Assist Grants Manager with 2017 PIC recommendations to the Board.
  • Work on EMSWCD climate change response plan, and Headwaters 5-year plan.
  • Work on authoritative GIS data for Headwaters, Weeds, and StreamCare programs.
Grants Suzanne Easton
Completed:
  • Held PIC Review Committee Meeting on March 1st. The team ranked 32 PIC applications by subject category.
  • Prepared preliminary recommended funding allocations that will be discussed and finalized with staff prior to the April Board meeting.
  • Follow-up to PIC Review meeting on specific issues/questions raised during meeting.
  • Finalized SPACE applications for Board packet - Board approved funding for six SPACE projects. Attended Intertwine Project Leaders meeting.
Planned:
  • Continue to prepare PIC 2017 recommendations for April Board meeting.
  • Present at the Children and Nature Symposium, Intertwine, on March 13th.
  • Attend Equity Grantmakers meeting on March 16th.
  • Start planning for Environmental Educators convening.
Headwaters Farm Rowan Steele
Completed:
  • Offered annual tractor training and coordinated an incubator farmer record keeping cohort.
  • Attended the preliminary Oregon Bee Project meeting to develop bee-friendly farm certification.
  • At Headwaters Farm: received truck load of recycled silage plastic for use by farmers as a tool for weed suppression, season extension, and reduced tillage; installed automated irrigation in the new prophouse; prepped the farm for next week's electrical installation.
Planned:
  • Attending and presenting at the Agricultural Biodiversity on Farms conference.
  • Coordinating project to get electricity to the new prophouse and curing shed.
  • Revisiting the Headwaters Farm Five-Year Plan.