October 3, 2001

Announcements:

There were few announcements. The water levels in the Marys River are lower than normal. They are approaching the 25th percentile. The water is cold, at least near Wren.

Committee Reports:

Steering:

• 
  The time is approaching to review the bylaws. Significant changes are not expected, however there will be some changes necessary since we are incorporating as a 501c3 organization.
• 
  It is also time to think about Council officers. In the past couple of years, we have elected officers by written ballot (2 years ago), and then by asking incumbents if they wanted to continue serving (last year). This year we will do a combination. For offices where there is a vacancy, we will need to recruit new officers, but for offices where incumbents are willing to continue serving, we will approve them. We now have the following commitments:

• 
  Chuck Lane has agreed to continue serving as chair
  Amy Schoener has agreed to continue serving as vice chair
  Hugh Snook, while not present at the meeting, had previously indicated that he would be willing to serve as scribe.
  Dave Hana and Lance Campbell have agreed to serve together as primary facilitator and alternate facilitator respectively.
  We do not have anyone who has agreed to serve as treasurer.

• 
  The Steering Committee encourages new members to come to the meetings and to consider serving on the committee.

Water Quality Monitoring:

• 
  A new map of the watershed has been created by the City. Copies are available as needed.
• 
  The committee worked with Greg Mitchell's class and did some invertebrate sampling.
• 
  Sampling will occur on a regular basis.

Land and Water Use:

• 
  The committee will need more time to complete their long-term action plan.

Culvert:

• 
  This committee meets the 4th Thursday from 3-5 pm at the Philomath branch of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.
• 
  The committee has been having trouble with low attendance and encourages all interested parties to come get involved.
• 
  There will be a tour of culverts on November 16.
  

Education and Outreach:

• 
  The meeting on September 11 was cancelled when nobody showed up.
• 
  The educational paddle trip on the Willamette was a great success. Thirty-eight people attended. The responses to the trip were almost all positive. The Council made a little money and also made contacts for potential new members. There was lots of learning by all participants, including the organizer!
• 
  Corvallis Outdoor School still needs volunteers to teach Soils and Aquatic Studies to 6th grade students. Contact Mark Taratoot for more information.
  
  

Speaker: Maria Panfil of CWESt

There has been a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) / Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joint request for proposals (RFP). The request asks for research at a watershed scale to examine the transport and fate of nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus. A group of people has been meeting to develop a proposal to use the Oak Creek Basin as a study area. The area is mostly owned by one landowner (Oregon State University) and, while small, has forest, agriculture, rural residential, and urban landscapes represented in the basin. The project team is seeking support from community members, and Maria requested that the MRWC write and submit a letter in support of the research proposal.

A concern was raised that this seems like a top-down approach where a federal agency says that "this is the research you will do," rather than a group of scientists just researching what they think is important. Another concern was raised that the research might lead to changes water quality standards that some participants might not want to see. There was further concern that there would be requirements to improve the water quality in Oak Creek if the study showed that the water quality was less than desired.

Most of the concerns were discussed, and it was agreed that a letter of interest would be drafted rather than a letter of support. Once there is more specific information in the proposal, the MRWC could decide to support it. The letter of interest would indicate that the study includes nutrient monitoring, which is something the MRWC is already doing, and that there may be a benefit to the council of having additional data. The letter will be e-mailed to members for comments. The Steering Committee will review the letter and may approve it at their next meeting. All who are interested are encouraged to participate in this and any Steering Committee meeting.