MRWC meetings notes for April 7, 2004

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

1)Outreach and Education: Planning continues for the June 19th Annual Solstice Event at Tyee Wine Cellars. Entrance fees will be $8-$25. Please contact Sandra Coveny if you would like to help plan this event at mrwc@peak.org or 541-758-7597. Please contact Jana Seeliger (mimulus@peak.org) if you have donations for the silent auction; suggested items include plants, gift certificates, hand-made items, needlework, and donations of services.
2)Water Quality: Awaiting word on their pending OWEB grant before meeting again;
3) Land, Air and Water Use: No report;
4) Steering Committee: Discussed at their March 23rd meeting were a) Sandra's report on the grant for culvert replacement b) Continuing development of the process for sorting and prioritizing WSC projects and c) Water withdrawals from the Marys River. The MRWC's proposal for partnering to study the issue with the city of Philomath received a reply in March, which was read to the MRWC. The City declined to enter into the partnership as offered, but proposed 6 further items to be included. The Steering Committee will consider how to incorporate these into the proposal and then reply. But as some of these objectives were ambiguous, it may be beneficial to meet with City staff to ensure that we fully understand each other. Council members commented and provided feedback to the Steering Committee.
5)Fish Passage: They met and worked on a grant to fun their 2005 program, to cooperate with ODOT and Corvallis Public Works.

COORDINATOR'S REPORT: Sandra has submitted the Marys River Park grant to OWEB requesting $35K for restoration work. She is also working with Josh Cerra to develop a proposal for 12 landowners cooperating in the "Cardwell Hill Complex" in the Blakesley Creek/Marys River area. Restoration work would be cooperatively with ODFW, Greenbelt Land Trust and USFWS. To help the MRWC, several OSU interns have been recruited.

This EVENING'S PROGRAM was in 2 parts.

Part 1. Philomath High School Students (Lea Mulder, Tom Mitchell and Emily Anderson) from Jeff Mitchell's Ecology class presented their findings from their wetland study on Newton Creek. Newton Creek is a series of mill ponds just north of Hwy 20 in Philomath which were used until the l970's, 2 ponds of which are perennially wet, while others are seasonal wetlands. Reports were given on the vegetation and fauna (fish, amphibians, birds, mammals, invertebrates) listing the major species (both native and exotic), with an impressive biodiversity at the site. Water quality parameters were also sampled. Students concluded it was a fine example of a very functional wetland that is right in our neighborhood. Lessons learned from the site include biodiversity, keystone species and "island" habitat fragmentation. Jeff shared his vision of highlighting the value of the site by establishing interpretive trail or signage and possibly a regional interpretation center.

Part 2. Dana Erikson, the Long Tom Watershed Council's (LTWSC) coordinator, explained that the Long Tom watershed is due south and east of the Marys, encompasses much of Eugene and all of Veneta. It is similar in land uses and hydrologic process to the Marys River, and our council and theirs are organized similarly. He provided examples and discussed LTWSC projects, project implementation strategy, as well as project identification strategy and planning. So far the LTWSC has competed a watershed assessment, collected and shared data with cooperators, and completed 40 restoration projects. They plan to continue high priority projects, work on a conservation strategy, continue WQ monitoring and fish tracking. Many opportunistic/spontaneous projects arise, and they are not afraid to pursue these.Dana felt that retaining a full-time project and monitoring coordinator has been very effective for building relationships and tracking projects and has leveraged more technical help, which is more effective than hiring outside consultants. It also helps with 25% funds matching requirements. Some of the lessons they have learned are: Carefully assess landowner capability as a partner; a team of scientists and practioners can list key projects early on;use an accomplishment model to stay focused; don't underestimate the value of a social network to build partnerships with landowners; be aware of future liability of projects.