Each year we report on the status of each of the performance measures outlined in our Long Range Business Plan. This year was our third year of implementing our 2021-2025 business plan.
Click the arrow beside each success criteria to read more about performance measures, project results, and current status.
Strategic Direction 1: Embed equity and inclusion in all that we are and all that we do.
Internal staff and board diversification and capacity development
Year 3 Performance Measure: Form and convene a diverse standing advisory committee; Set board and staff diversification goals.
Project specifics and results: Demographic data analyses on 2020 Census data of the District area as well as on board/staff diversity were completed and reported on in April 2024. We did this to inform outreach efforts and how we deliver our services.
Status: In progress
Service benefits are increased for historically underserved communities
Year 3 Performance Measure: Evaluate the percentage of contracts and purchases from Diverse Suppliers registered through the State of Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity
(COBID) or self-reported equivalent qualifications with respect to number and value awarded. (SAME PM YEARS 2-5)
Project specifics and results: Contracted Services, Materials & Supplies sourced from diverse supplier are being tracked. Suppliers either hold State of Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) certifications or have self-reported with equivalent qualifications.
Status: Successful
Address any found disparities in our contracting, supplies, and/or procurements to ensure our expenditures are equitably distributed.
Year 3 Performance Measure: Annually evaluate the distribution and receipt of benefits with advisory committee
Project specifics and results: Developed a strategy to address this strategic direction, by communicating using a survey, with original members of the LRBP advisory committee, to get their feedback on what we’ve done so far.
Status: In progress
Strategic Direction 2: Ensure we are welcoming, adaptable, supportive, viable, effective, and sustainable in our practices.
Staff work-life balance
Year 3 Performance Measure: Staff surveys related to work-life balance; Create and evaluate realistic annual work plans; Ensure regular communication-feedback processes
Project specifics and results: The revision and adoption of the Employee Handbook codified continued support for staff scheduling flexibility, including a permanent hybrid office/work from home environment. All staff members created annual work plans that consider the 53 paid days of Paid Time Off per year provided to all staff under the new Employee Handbook. The District Manager identified and provided DEI training opportunities to board members and staff each the year. Each staff member is reminded monthly to take advantage of the professional development funds available annually to them. Due to high staff turnover in the past 19 months, organizational health survey was conducted in July 2024, which will be reported in FY25 Annual Report.
Status: Successful
Safety
Year 3 Performance measures: All incidents are reported in a timely manner with corrective and preventative action taken. Develop a Business Continuity Plan to guide the District’s recovery in case of disaster. Include risk analysis, disaster preparation and mitigation, guidance on what to do during a disaster, and steps and timeline for recovery efforts following a disaster event.
Project Specifics and Results: Business Continuity Plan will be finalized and presented to Board for acceptance in FY25.
Status: Successful
Efficiency and effectiveness
Year 3 Performance Measures: Maintain detailed job descriptions; Complete annual performance evaluations; Identify and modify District processes that can be made more efficient and/or effective.
Project Specifics and Results: The DM prioritized 1:1 meetings with staff throughout the year and completed annual and new hire evaluations for each staff person when appropriate. The DM worked with the BFM to evaluate process improvement areas and implement administrative process improvements to ensure accuracy and completeness of administrative processes relating to payments, contracting, payroll and grant tracking.
Status: Successful
Staff and board feel welcomed
Year 3 Performance Measures: Develop and support affinity groups that meet our needs. Website updates show a wider diversity of perspectives
Project Specifics and Results: Oregon Conservation Partnership Affinity Group meetings organized by the Tryon Creek Watershed Council Coordinator and Oswego Lake Watershed Council Executive Director. Both District Conservation Technicians have attended ORCP zoom meetings in this reporting period. Speakers have presented on benefits of co-Executive Director roles, organizational structures, and most recently on Annual Reports and Long Range Business Plans. Meetings include space for discussion and check-in.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 3: Ensure we are financially sustainable.
Remain fully compliant with all laws and regulations pertaining to public entities
Year 3 Performance Measures: Independent audit of financial statements resulting in clean audit opinion and finding that District is in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: Our annual audit gives assurances to the public and funders that we are operating in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, while also transparently and accurately reporting our financial health and use of funds.
Status: Successful
Use best practices for budgeting and forecasting, working to enhance revenues, contain costs, and allocate resources strategically.
Year 3 Performance Measures: Annually receive the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation award. (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: Our achievement of the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation award recognizes our goal-driven approach to budgeting that incorporates best practices in planning, development, adoption, and execution of our budget, ensuring public trust.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 4: Share conservation information so people have the knowledge and confidence to take action.
Understandable and culturally accessible
Year 3 Performance Measures: Website redesign completed; Translate materials according to communications plan
Project Specifics and Results: Website redesign and launch was completed in 2022-23, communications plan completed in March 2024. Led one event specifically for new community, in line with LRBP goals– Vietnamese and Chinese community in June 2024.
Status: Successful
Science-based credible information that includes other, non-dominant culture ways of knowing
Year 3 Performance Measures: 10 (urban) conservation plans completed; Technical staff participate in at least one training or opportunity that involves learning about TEK; Pursue tribal liaison for board and/or staff
Project Specifics and Results: Urban conservationist completed 9 conservation plans. Staff took part in two ITEK storytelling events within the county. A tribal member was pursued for the board but is not available at this time.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 5: Protect and improve water quality and soil health.
Cropland improved
Year 3 Performance Measures: 30 acres per year (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: Six acres cropland improved through soil health practices.
Status: Needs improvement
Stream length enhanced
Year 3 Performance Measures: Minimum 22,910 feet by Year 5 (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: Riparian areasRiparian areas The land alongside a creek, river, pond, or other body of water along streams and around ponds were maintained and enhanced, including along McCarthy Creek and the Multnomah Channel, on Sauvie Island, including Dairy Creek, the Gilbert River canal and miscellaneous canals, and in the Rock Creek and Abbey Creek watersheds. This included new plantings at 20 sites. In addition to the wide diversity of species that we typically use, white alder was planted by staff, contract crew, and landowners that received those for free from us. Enhanced stream length: 25,882 feet.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 6: Protect, enhance, and restore biodiversity, native landscapes, habitats, and ecological function.
Native habitats conserved, enhanced and/or restored
Year 3 Performance Measures: 1 acre of priority habitat enhanced or enhanced
Project Specifics and Results: 53 acres of Healthy Streams Project riparianRiparian areas The land alongside a creek, river, pond, or other body of water and Soil Health wetland and upland habitat were maintained and restored, including areas planted with white alder seedlings, in preparation for and response to climate change and the loss of Oregon ash to Emerald ash borer, as well as potential loss of Oregon oak to Mediterranean oak borer. An additional 43 acres of upland forest were restored.
Status: Successful
Preventing and/or eliminating new invasive species threats
Year 3 Performance Measures: Annually survey at least 300 properties and respond to any detected priority Early Detection, Rapid Response (EDRR) species found quickly and collaboratively. (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: The District surveyed 3,900 acres for both aquatic and terrestrial target invasive plant species at over 350 sites. Of those acres surveyed, staff treated Early Detection-Rapid Response target species on the equivalent of 7.4 acres of area. Staff also monitored eight different sites every two to three weeks from spring to fall for the invasive Emerald Ash Borer insect.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 7: Enhance the long-term health and productivity of farms, forests, woodlands, and gardens.
Working forestlands and farms covered by conservation plans
Year 3 Performance Measures: Annually complete 6 conservation plans (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: The District completed 6 Farm and Forest Plans on a total of 95 acres. 1 Farm Plan focused on soil health covered 40 acres, while 5 Forest Stewardship & Conservation Plans focused on forest health covered 55 acres.
Status: Successful
School & community gardens receiving technical or financial assistance
Year 3 Performance Measures: Annually support 6 school and/or community gardens (Same PM across all 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: Community garden grants awarded at Crossroads, Front and Curry, and Gabriel Orchard, and rolling tubs at Multnomah Safe Rest Village. Jackson Middle School restoration project footprint was expanded.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 8: Promote resilient environments and communities in the face of climate change.
Wildfire risk reduction
Year 3 Performance Measures: Deliver localized community wildfire protection plan
Project Specifics and Results: The District engaged priority landowners in Linnton across nine properties. Coordinated landowner outreach, contractor work, and shared database with Portland Fire & Rescue, Portland Parks, and Forest Park Conservancy (FPC). Worked with Blueprint Foundation’s Connecting Canopy Crews and Ash Creek Forest Management across 5 other properties in Linnton. Worked with TCWC staff and Friends of Tryon staff to plan for wildfire pilot project next year. Additionally, tabled about our services regarding wildfire risk reduction in Linnton and Multnomah Village.
Status: Successful
Reduce heat island impacts for those most vulnerable
Year 3 Performance Measures: Identify projects and actions
Project Specifics and Results: Planting done in Linnton by the District included planting 250 potted native plants and 10 lbs of seedling with native blue wildrye. The District continued to support and coordinate with Stormwater Stars, including promoting their services through a 10-year anniversary blog post. The District finalized MOU for projects with Portland Harbor Community Coalition after many months of work to identify and implement projects in the industrial and central downtown areas experiencing urban heat.
Status: Successful
Strategic Direction 9: Enhance, support, and create opportunities for all people, especially those historically and presently displaced from and deprived of land, to foster positive relationships with the land.
People have ways to connect with the land
Year 3 Performance Measures: Implement school and community garden programming (Same PM across Years 2-5)
Project Specifics and Results: The District successfully implemented priority education niche finding recommendations to fund culturally specific and BIPOC serving land-based education programs delivered through partner organizations. We continued to revamp our funding rubric, publicized on social media and email, and created a web form for applications for partner funding to realize this goal. We also held an event for Chinese and Vietnamese community members to ask us questions, learn about our services and connect with a local park in June 2024, in collaboration with Backyard Habitat Certification Program.
As far as school and community garden programming, community garden grants awarded at Crossroads, Front and Curry, and Gabriel Orchard, and rolling tubs at Multnomah Safe Rest Village. Jackson Middle School restoration project footprint was expanded.
Status: Successful
People have access to the land
Year 3 Performance Measures: Facilitate and support land access for cultural benefits (Same PM across Years 2-5)
Project Specifics and Results: Worked with Friends of Tryon Creek’s first Restoration Program Coordinator, in crafting a Cultural Restoration plan for Tryon Creek State Park. Held fall Healthy Harvest Field Trip at Shwakuk Wetlands in October and a Winter Storytelling event at Tryon Creek State Park in March with and for allies at the Indigenous Care Collective and community members to engage in discussion. Scheduled and began planning a fall event at Wapato Island Farms in September 2024.
Continued to look for space for and meet with core partners to prioritize community desires and locating the space– The District secured external funding to increase residents’ access to garden space to grow culturally specific and fresh foods through a $200,000 Peoples Garden Grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service/Farm Service Agency.
Status: Successful/on pause
Strategic Direction 10: Ensure the long-term success of our conservation actions.
Monitor restoration sites and respond to findings
Year 3 Performance Measures: Annually monitor all sites that require it to inform (adaptive) management and/or to meet reporting requirements or document success. (Same PM across 5 years)
Project Specifics and Results: Seven Healthy Streams and Special habitats site were monitored, along with nine Forestry sites and one Farm and Soils project site. Additionally, quality control was performed after vegetation crews did work on various sites. Activity included six quality control visits to Forestry sites and 18 visits to Healthy Streams Project and Soil Health sites.
Status: Successful
Maintain & secure long-term agreements
Year 3 Performance Measures: 3 total agreements held and maintained
Project Specifics and Results: We continue to maintain and enhance the 120 Wetland Reserve Easement site we co-manage with NRCS. We continue to maintain and enhance 12 acres of Dairy Creek easement, and continue to monitor planting areas and replant as necessary to maintain >1200 live native woody stems per acre. Continue to maintain area 2-3 times per year to reduce competition from non-native grasses, broadleaf and shrubs. There were no new forest conservation easements developed this year. Our partner in this effort who holds the easements is putting this effort on hold.
Status: Successful