Mission, Vision, History
West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District
What is a soil and water conservation district?
A soil and water conservation district is a publicly-funded organization that helps guide conservation efforts on privately held land for the benefit of wildlife, ecosystems, and the public.
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Strategic direction
Learn more about our Strategic Directions:
2021-2025 Long Range Business Plan
Our mission
Our mission is to provide resources, information, and expertise to inspire people to actively improve air and water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and soil health.
Our vision
Our vision is that all people in our district are informed and confidently engaged in the long-term caring for and giving back to the land. Everyone has the opportunity to connect or reconnect with the land, especially those who have been displaced from or deprived of land. People’s engagement and connection to the land ensures clean water, clean air, healthy soil, and diverse habitats, for thriving communities, fish and wildlife.
Guiding values
- 1 Clean water is vital to people and wildlife.
- 2 Good soil is a life-sustaining, non-replaceable resource.
- 3 Healthy ecosystems are essential to humans and native wildlife.
- 4 Humans have a responsibility to, and self-interest in, being good stewards of the natural world.
- 5 A steady supply of locally-produced food is important to the quality of life, sustainability and economy of our District.
- 6 Well-managed agricultural and forest operations can co-exist with wildlife.
- 7 Informed and engaged board, staff and landowners are key to the success of our mission.
- 8 Our community conserves natural resources most effectively when all stakeholders are engaged and welcomed.
- 9 The strength and vibrancy of our District rests on its diversity
Guiding principles
We provide assistance to the public and respond to requests in a timely and courteous way. If we cannot provide direct assistance we strive to find other resources that meet landowners’ needs.
We form strategic partnerships to maximize our work and minimize duplication with other agencies.
We focus our efforts on underserved populations and geographic areas.
To maximize our limited resources and impact, our urban focus is on leveraging landowner partnerships to spread participation through targeted watershed areas.
As an organization, we conserve natural resources (e.g. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle, Energy Conservation, etc.).
We address conservation problems methodically; we identify and analyze resource concerns before we determine solutions, as called for by sound conservation science and planning principles.
We complete project planning and assess viability according to our goals & strategies before seeking funding.
We urge voluntary commitments to conservation; we are not a regulatory body and do not enforce compliance. We maintain political neutrality and respect the privacy of all landowners.
We work as members of a flexible, respectful and responsive team.
We maintain a vibrant, culturally agile and cooperative board that helps outreach to and engage fellow landowners/partners.
We value and reward staff for hard work and innovation and provide staff/board development and training to maintain skills and science-based knowledge to better serve our constituents, maximize our credibility, and increase the success of on-the-ground conservation.
We incorporate equity and inclusion awareness and practice into our work process and programs.
We act with integrity and operate with transparency.
- We provide assistance to the public and respond to requests in a timely and courteous way. If we cannot provide direct assistance we strive to find other resources that meet landowners’ needs.
- We form strategic partnerships to maximize our work and minimize duplication with other agencies.
- We focus our efforts on underserved populations and geographic areas.
- To maximize our limited resources and impact, our urban focus is on leveraging landowner partnerships to spread participation through targeted watershed areas.
- As an organization, we conserve natural resources (e.g. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle, Energy Conservation, etc.).
- We address conservation problems methodically; we identify and analyze resource concerns before we determine solutions, as called for by sound conservation science and planning principles.
- We complete project planning and assess viability according to our Goals & Strategies before seeking funding.
- We urge voluntary commitments to conservation; we are not a regulatory body and do not enforce compliance. We maintain political neutrality and respect the privacy of all landowners.
- We work as members of a flexible, respectful and responsive team.
- We maintain a vibrant, culturally agile and cooperative board that helps outreach to and engage fellow landowners/partners.
- We value and reward staff for hard work and innovation and provide staff/board development and training to maintain skills and science-based knowledge to better serve our constituents, maximize our credibility, and increase the success of on-the-ground conservation.
- We incorporate equity and inclusion awareness and practice into our work process and programs.
- We act with integrity and operate with transparency.
Our history
1939:
Oregon passed a law enabling the creation of soil and water conservation districts.
1944:
A petition signed by 32 landowners was filed in 1943 for the creation of the Sauvie Island Conservation District. In 1944, the District was formally established by the State Soil Conservation Committee. The initial boundaries were the same as those of the Sauvie Island Drainage District, covering 13,636 acres.
1946-1961:
The district expanded four times to include all of Sauvie Island and Multnomah County west of the Willamette River. After the final expansion, the district covers 74,502 acres in total.
1974:
The first year that board directors were elected on the General Election ballot.
1975:
The name of the Sauvie Island Conservation District was changed to the West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District.
2003:
West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District hires its first conservation planner to provide conservation planning assistance to landowners.
2006:
Voters approved a permanent tax rate, allowing the District to collect property taxes for the first time.
Now…
The interests of soil and water conservation districts, and the public’s expectations for their services, has broadened to include invasive species, noxious weeds, wetlands, open spaces, urban conservation, endangered species, among other concerns. As a result, the increased responsibilities have caused district officials to assume a greater leadership role in natural resource management in their communities.