Clearly the success of any watershed council depends on the involvement of a diversity of citizens from within the watershed. The education and outreach committee has the opportunity to facilitate the involvement of these watershed residents and users so they can learn about and share watershed concepts, issues, and community events. The goal of the education and outreach committee is to:

Promote education within the watershed on the importance of, and methods for maintaining and improving watershed health through the objective and accurate dissemination of information.

The education and outreach committee identified three key objectives and multiple action items that will help achieve the desired goal. A complete list of action items and implementation strategies are detailed in Chapter 2 (Table 1). A summary of committee objectives, accomplishments and priorities is provided below.

Objectives:

1. Develop and maintain watershed council visibility in the community and encourage active participation in council activities.
2. Facilitated education for watershed council participants
3. Facilitate technical assistance to watershed residents to maintain and improve watershed condition.

Accomplishments:

A summary of recently completed or ongoing action items for the education and outreach committee includes:

• The first Solstice Celebration (June 21, 2003) was well attended by a diverse group and was a financial success. The committee has commenced plans for next year's annual celebration.
• The committee established a protocol for selecting speakers and has been coordinating speakers for monthly council meetings for several years. These speakers are highly qualified and articulate and address a diverse set of relevant topics to the council.
• The committee has created maps to display important watershed characteristics for use in workshops, council meetings and community events.
• The committee updates the MRWC Web Site regularly with information about council activities and products.
• Media and brochure lists have been compiled for disseminating information about council activities and products.
• The committee has a list of landowner education requests.
• The committee works with the council to identify landowners doing maintenance and restoration who would welcome tours of their projects.
• A technical team has been established to foster community understanding and involvement in the Marys River Watershed.
• Some members of the MRWC have gone through the Watershed Stewardship Education Program and others are encouraged to do so.
• The committee is in the process of completing the Oral History project in collaboration with Philomath High School.
• The committee is in the process of facilitating public access to watershed GIS data & providing data access workshops.

Priority:

The top action item priority for the education and outreach committee is:

• Plan and hold the Solstice 2004 Celebration.    Back to top

II. Fish Passage

Movement of fish throughout a watershed is necessary for life history needs, including upstream spawning and migrations, downstream migrations of juveniles, and movements into off-channel rearing habitats during the winter. The 1999 Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds states that recovery of salmonid populations depends, in part, on this adult and juvenile movement and access to entire watersheds. Presently, throughout the state, many culverts, irrigation diversions, dams, and ineffective fish ladders limit fish passage. These impediments to fish passage are considered a significant factor in the recent decline of salmonids because they limit fish production in habitat that was once utilized and cause population fragmentation that decrease gene flow (Mirati 1999). The goal of the MRWC fish passage committee is to:

Promote unobstructed movement of fish throughout the Marys River Watershed to support the life history needs of fish, including upstream spawning migrations, downstream migrations of juveniles and adults, and movements into off-channel rearing habitats during the winter.

The fish passage team has identified five objectives and multiple action items designed to help the MRWC achieve the stated goal. A complete list of action items, responsible parties, timelines, resources needed, and measures of success are detailed in Chapter 3 (Table 2). The objectives are listed below, followed by a brief summary of accomplishments and priorities.

Objectives:

1. Understand the status of fish passage barriers throughout the Marys River Watershed and how they affect fish movement.
2. Prioritize culvert replacement and fish passage barrier removal projects.
3. Funding for Restoration Projects.
4. Reach out to landowners in the watershed to identify fish passage barriers, to educate them on approaches to culvert maintenance, and to identify those who want to replace stream crossings or remove barriers on their property.
5. Implement barrier removal and culvert replacement and monitor the effectiveness.

Accomplishments:
A summary of recently completed or ongoing action items for the Fish Habitat and Passage committee include:

• The committee represents a partnership with Benton County GIS and Public Works, Benton Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), City of Corvallis, Starker Forests, Landowners and the MRWC. These partnerships have and will continue to be critical to the success of this committee.
• Culvert Map: Benton SWCD with the cooperative partner Benton County GIS and Public Works completed a living document draft map-book showing all the known federal, state, county, city, and private culverts in Benton County with associated fish passage status. This effort spearheaded by the SWCD is ongoing pending new data. This map has been posted at the MRWC monthly meetings. Funding has been obtained to continue this effort until December 2004.
• The committee is collating data to quantify habitat quality above and below barriers to determine where to focus barrier removal.
• Technical Assistance Grant: In 2003 grant money was applied for and awarded to fund the design of 3 culvert replacements and 1 barrier removal. These were accomplished in 2003.
• Landowner Brochure: This brochure articulates the importance of fish passage, how to evaluate crossings, and offers assistance if so desired.

Priorities:

The top action item priorities for the Fish Habitat and Passage committee during the next two years include:

• Continue to identify barriers to fish passage on all ownership.
• Encourage landowners to correct the problems.
• Develop projects to complete based on priority or other selection process.
• Work with the cooperative partners to develop, prepare, and submit individually or jointly culvert replacement and barrier removal grants.
• Implement several projects per year.
• Formalize the prioritization process in collaboration with Benton SWCD, Benton County and ODF&W.
• Combine fish passage data with fish distribution and habitat data.
• Identify landowners who want to participate in a culvert evaluation on their property and recruit volunteers to implement these evaluations.
• Educate landowners to evaluate their own stream crossings.
• Monitor stream crossing replacements and barrier removals.   Back to top

III. Land, Air and Water Use

Land and water use, as well as pollutant release into air and water, have the potential to negatively impact the Marys River Watershed. Studies conducted in the Marys River Watershed indicate that land use practices may be having negative effects on water quality and quantity in parts of the watershed (Ecosystem Northwest 1999; Glassman 2000; and E&S Consultants 2002). The rapid rate of human settlement in the Marys River Watershed resulted in alterations or loss of aquatic and terrestrial habitat. Results of habitat loss could include loss or reduced abundance of species from the watershed. Soil erosion may be an issue in some portions of the watershed, partly as a result of poor soil management, use of the riparian area by livestock, loss of riparian forests, roads, and so forth. The goal of the Land, Air and Water Use Committee is to:

Provide timely information to watershed residents and elected officials regarding the status and pending changes in land, air and water uses so that watershed residents can make informed decisions about proposed land, air, and water use changes.

The Land, Air, and Water Use (LAWU) committee has established four objectives and multiple action items designed to meet the stated goal. A complete list of action items, responsible parties, timelines, resources needed, and measures of success are detailed in Chapter 5 (Table 4). The objectives are listed below followed by a brief description of accomplishments and priorities.

Objectives:

1. Identify current land, air, and water uses.
2. Identify proposed changes in land, air and water uses.
3. Identify spatially explicit information about current and historic environmental characteristics of the watershed that affect land and water uses.
4. Facilitate the flow of information between watershed residents and planning agencies, and help provide resource information to watershed residents.

Accomplishments:
A summary of recently completed or ongoing action items for the LA&W Use committee includes:

• The committee developed land ownership and zoning maps showing sub-basin boundaries, surface water points of diversion, roads and streams for a sample sub-basin.
• The committee monitors public notices from the Gazette Times newspaper and notifies the council of significant findings at monthly meetings.
• The committee is coordinating with the E&O committee to establish public access terminals at Philomath and Corvallis libraries with available GIS data about the Marys River Watershed.

Priorities:

The top action item priorities for LA&W Use committee during the next two years include:

• Disseminate information on proposed changes in land, air, and water uses to council members in a timely fashion.
• Complete the public access terminals making Marys River GIS data available.
• Complete sub-basin maps of land and water use with an overlay of digital aerial photographs (orthoquads).
• Organize the sub-basin maps for access by watershed residents and users.
• Complete research and documentation of land, air and water use planning processes for Corvallis, Oregon, Philomath and Benton County.   Back to top

IV. Water Quality and Quantity

The DEQ considers the Marys River to have impaired water quality in terms of flow (quantity), temperature, dissolved oxygen, and bacteria. This conclusion is based on data collected at the Highway 99 bridge, near the mouth of the Marys River just upstream from its confluence with the Willamette River and at river mile 13 on the Marys River. The goal of the Water Quality Committee is to:

Provide the residents of the Marys River Watershed with information about water quality throughout the Marys River Watershed and use this information to identify areas where water quality might be improved.

The council identified a need to investigate the water quality conditions with a more holistic approach by monitoring a host of water quality parameters throughout the watershed. To meet this need the Water Quality Committee coordinated a study with E&S consultants (2003) to evaluate the water quality of the Marys River Watershed. The study found that the overall water quality of the Marys River is fair to good and identified areas within the watershed that warrant further study or represent opportunities for restoration activities. Chapter 4 summarizes the study results. In general, three sites, Upper Muddy, Lower Muddy and Oak Creek, appear to have poor water quality as indicated by nutrient content (phosphorus and nitrogen) and bacterial contamination.

• Upper and Lower Muddy Creek: There is evidence of nutrient input from agricultural activities and possible bacterial (fecal coliform) contamination.
• Lower Muddy creek also has low dissolved oxygen content.
• Oak Creek: E. coli content is in excess of the DEQ water quality standards.
• Problems with fecal coliform were present throughout the Marys River Watershed.

The Water Quality Committee has established two objectives and associated action items designed to meet the stated goal. A complete list of action items, responsible parties, timelines, resources needed, and measures of success are detailed in Chapter 4 (Table 3). The objectives are listed below followed by a list of accomplishments and priorities.

Objective:

1. Obtain baseline data about tub-watersheds of the Marys River and incorporate into future monitoring and restoration planning.
2. Develop a framework to evaluate and disseminate information in a timely manner.

Accomplishments:
A summary of recently completed or ongoing action items for the Water Quality committee includes:

• The committee completed a QAPP that was accepted by DEQ and EPA and establishes data standards and reporting formats.
• The committee coordinated the completion of a water quality monitoring report titled which evaluated stream temperature and other water chemistry parameters (E&S Consultants, 2002), a turbidity study (Glassman 2000), and a temperature study (Pearcy et al. 1998).
• The committee is sharing information with the public. The water quality report is on the MRWC web site and these findings were presented at a MRWC monthly meeting.

Priorities:

The top action item priorities for the Water Quality committee during the next two years include:

• Complete the combination of land use/land cover data with water quality data.
• Complete the bacteria-monitoring project.
• Incorporate the use of water quality monitoring results into maintenance and restoration planning for on-the-ground projects.
• Work with the city of Philomath and other interested parties to evaluate water quantity (flow) during summer low flow conditions.
• Complete research and documentation of land, air and water use planning processes for Corvallis, Oregon, Philomath and Benton County.   Back to top

V. Restoration and Maintenance Planning

The MRWC defines restoration in the following way:

Restoration is the process of initiating changes in ecological conditions that will maintain and enhance the health of the watershed.

Typically, the places where restoration projects occur are determined by where landowners want to evaluate conditions and do a project on their land. This is practical and appropriate in that evaluations and projects can only take place when and where a landowner desires such activities. However, the MRWC recognizes the value of identifying areas where maintenance or restoration projects are likely to provide the "greatest ecological return". Therefore, MRWC partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a tool that might help direct restoration efforts to those areas. The goal of this effort was to:

Identify, prioritize, and implement activities in the Marys River Watershed that will maintain or improve watershed condition and meet stated restoration goals. This process is iterative and will be revised over time as more is learned about watershed conditions.

One step in meeting this goal was to define "greatest ecological return". The MRWC defined it in the following way:

1. A focus on streams and wetlands with high habitat potential will yield greater ecological benefits for maintenance and restoration.
2. Preventing habitat and water quality degradation is more efficient than recovering degraded streams. High quality habitat should be maintained.
3. Moderately degraded stream reaches can usually be restored more cost effectively than highly degraded streams.
4. Contiguous areas of high quality habitat provide greater ecological benefits than isolated units.
5. Improvements that take advantage of natural processes and functions are often more sustainable.

The MRWC identified three objectives and multiple action items designed to identify, prioritize, and implement maintenance and restoration activities in the Marys River Watershed. A complete list of action items, responsible parties, timelines, resources needed, and measures of success are detailed in Chapter 6 (Table 5). The objectives are listed below followed by a summary of accomplishments and priorities.

Objective:

1. Create an ecologically based maintenance and restoration opportunities screening map.
2. Validate the restoration opportunities screening map in the field.
3. Implement and monitor trends and effectiveness of maintenance and restoration projects in the field.

Accomplishments:
A summary of recently completed or ongoing action items for the restoration and maintenance planning includes:

• Restoration Opportunities Screening Map: The first iteration was completed in May of 2003 and is shown in Appendix B (Map 18) along with a description of the data and logic used to create the map.
• Field procedures: These have been peer-reviewed and tested in the field. The test of their effectiveness will be if they adequately capture observations in the field and can be used by private landowners.
• Technical Assistance Grant: Received funds and assisted landowners in developing proposals for restoration projects.
• In partnership with landowners, private consultants, Benton SWCD, and Benton County Public Works, implemented 2 riparian restoration projects, three culvert replacement projects, and a rock dam removal.
• A pilot study was implemented to field verify the Restoration Opportunities Screening Map to compare the map representation with what is on the ground. A final report is available. These findings will be incorporated into the next iteration and use of the restoration opportunities screening map.

Priorities:

The top action item priorities for Restoration and Maintenance Planning during the next two years include:

• Design maintenance and restoration projects proposals based on field evaluations of the restoration opportunities screening map.
• Implement and monitor maintenance and restoration projects in collaboration with the LAWU, Water Quality, E&O, and Fish Passage committees.   Back to top