Minutes of April 5, 2006 Watershed Council Meeting:

This was our first meeting utilizing the new council format, which focuses primarily on MRWC business and dialogue at some meetings, while one meeting per quarter is devoted to speakers' presentations.

We began this evening at 7:10 with attendees, including Sara Gelser ( Benton County's State Representative from District 16), introducing themselves. Sara gave a short introduction to the group inviting people to call her and help her understand any issues around watershed health. It’s a new topic for her, but one she is very interested in learning about and doing what she can in the legislature on Council’s behalf. She learned about the watershed council by accepting a meeting with council coordinator Sandra Coveny, In that discussion Sara learned about the work of the watershed council, and expressed to the group her support for the clearly democratic process the council uses in choosing and addressing issues. She encourages us to call her. The best number to reach her is: 503-986-1416. Several announcements followed: the 6th Annual Paddle Oregon will be a 6-day trip in August down the Willamette River; Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL's) on temperature for that river are being presently being considered by Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and comments are invited by May 18, 2006.

Outreach and Education: Our Outreach and Education program, through the Healthy Waters Initiative, encourages watershed projects in the school curriculum. Colby Davidson, a student in Jeff Mitchell's ecology class at Philomath High School, explained his senior thesis project investigating the health of Newton Creek,a nearby creek, by trapping fish Feb.17-April 3rd. He checked a submerged hoop fish-trap every 2 days and found various species in it which were identified and released ( Northern Pike minnows, red-sided shiners, cutthroat trout, bullheads (catfish), speckled dace). He concluded it is a healthy stream for fish, and the subsequent removal of a dam upstream will be beneficial.

Chris Stebbins, Benton Fish Passage Improvement Program, then followed with a presentation about a new protocol he has developed for formally combining efforts of the MRWC and Benton Fish Passage Improvement Program (BFPIP). His process will help ours and other councils streamline the development of fish passage barrier removal projects with Benton County. Like the Marys River Watershed Council, BFPIP is now also approaching fish passage restoration using a sub-watershed approach. The procedure to accomplish this was presented giving us background, and an idea of how Chris uses GIS to identify and prioritize the order of removal for blockages (mostly culverts but also a few dams).

Appreciation Awards: In appreciation of a decade of service to the MRWC, both Mark Taratoot and Amy Schoener were given beautifully carved plaques in recognition of their individual efforts and varied contributions over these years.

Coordinator Report: Sandra Coveny handed out a 2-page summary of her activities during the Feb.1-March 31st period.

Jim Fairchild volunteered to be our link to the Rock Creek watershed meetings. There is a consultant working with the City of Corvallis and in 6 months there will be hearings.

Benton County Soil and Water Conservation Commission reported that, based on the Cardwell Hills project, a butterfly grant was forwarded to Washington, DC, which wuld mean more restoration opportunities if awarded.

Water Quality/Quantity: DEQ would like to integrate our data into the state system, and we will meet with Steve Hanson of DEQ to discuss monitoring equipment and results.

Outreach and Education: This committee is scheduled to meet April 19th and will be focusing on the June 24th Tyee Fundraiser event. We decided that tee shirts and tote bags with MRWC logo on them would be for sale there, as well as silent auction items.

Land, Air and Water Use: No meeting this month, but the month before, Ken Crouse showed a local map, similar to the web-based Willamette Explorer. It will be really useful and will be available on the website in the near future. It was suggested that CD copies also be made available.

Water Use: Thom Whittier reported on water levels on the Marys River, which seem to be a bit below average presently. We were pleased to discuss this and other idems with Bill Ferber, (whose role as regional watermaster has been turned over to Mike McCord), and who now oversees all the other state watermasters. The meeting adjourned with informal discussion continuing.