Minutes of June 6, 2007 Watershed Council Meeting:

Minutes:
The June meeting of the MRWC took place at Philomath City Hall and began at 7:10pm. Sandra Coveny gave us an update of her activities in grant applications, and the good news is that there are 6 new grants from OWEB. Sandra passed out copies of her monthly Coordinator's report, and brought us up to date on fish passage activities at Rock Creek. The creek has been identified as one of our high priorities and the MRWC has several collaborators partnering with this work including the City of Corvallis and the Siuslaw National Forest.

Newton Creek Restoration Project: Marissa Balough and Kayla Martin, two students from Jeff Mitchell's Philomath High School ecology class, gave us a truly excellent slide presentation summarizing the highlights of this work. The restoration project which took place at an old mill site close to downtown Philomath, began 1½ years ago. Over the prior years Newton Creek became too warm, with little riparian and too much turbidity. After the mill was sold, the new landowner recognized the need for restoration. Another student, Colby Davidson, made a huge find when he was successful in catching fish (northern pike minnows, yellow bullheads, red-sided shiners, speckled dace, brown bullhead, torrent sculpin and Cutthroat trout) in the stream. This lead to removal of the small dam on the creek and restoration of the riparian area began. The students planted grass to prevent erosion and a clover crop to fix nitrogen. They planted 1000 willow cuttings and 1000 seedlings of 7 different species, including ponderosa pine, oak, cottonwood, alder, elderberry and ninebark. They discussed the purpose of their plantings and the possible problems they might encounter due to wildlife, droughts or floods. They graciously answered our questions.

Steering Committee Elections - Wayne Phillips gave us a brief statement of his interest in becoming a member of the MRWC Steering Committee. Wayne is a landowner in the Cardwell Hill area, is a woodland owner, and has completed the Master Woodland Manager course. A motion was made and seconded, with full consensus to elect Wayne as a new Steering Committee member.

Announcements:
Willamette River Educational Paddle Trip - June 23rd. The trip is limited to 50 participants. There will be presentations on Native Americans of the area (Ted Cox), geomorphology (Steve Taylor), historical role of the riparian (Patricia Brenner), and ornithology (Paula Vanderhuel). Large rafts will be available for those who prefer not to paddle canoes or kayaks.
Kids Day for Conservation - October 20th - This year the theme is "What's in your Watershed".
Starker Forests will replace the culverts on Enos Creek, a tributary of Woods Creek, this summer. This culvert replacement augments the culvert replacements done by the MRWC and Benton County Public Works last summer.

Newton Creek Wetland Field Day - Karen Fleck Harding gave a brief slide show of the May 15th educational event - part of the Healthy Waters Institute Pilot. Philomath 7th graders were treated to a paddle on the ponds and wetlands, and saw lots of wildlife including a bobcat, osprey, and Pileated woodpeckers. There were 12 stations, each with different, hands-on activities, from wetland soils to native fish to reptiles and amphibians to pond turtles, and more. Oregon Trout, Philomath High School students, Marys Peak Natural Resources Interpretive Center, Philomath Scout Lodge, and 56 volunteers participated. The school would like to have this as an annual event and incorporate it into their curriculum.

No July or August meetings of the MRWC will be held.

Meeting adjourned at 8:25.