Posts by WMSWCD Admin
Winter is time for forest health
Winter may seem like a time when there’s not a lot going on in the forest, so you may be inclined to kick back by the fireside and watch the rain fall outside. However, wintertime is actually one of the best times to take actions for improving your forest’s health. The cold wet weather reduces…
Read MoreSturgeon Lake Restoration Project – Three Year Update
With the construction of the Sauvie Island levee by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the 1940s, open water and wetland habitat on the island was reduced by 45%. The levee and the dams further upstream on the Columbia River altered hydrology and sedimentationSedimentation Fine soil particles that are washed into streams collect…
Read More5 Tips for a Healthy Stream
(Photo by Nicholas T: www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_t/11660023586) One of the most essential types of natural habitats we have is the riparianRiparian areas The land alongside a creek, river, pond, or other body of water forest, which affects the health of the adjacent stream and benefits our climate. A riparian forest is the community of trees, shrubs, and…
Read MoreIntroducing the District’s Climate Change Internship
West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District has been selected to host a Portland State University (PSU) Institute for Sustainable Solutions (ISS) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Climate Change Intern. The ISS is partnering with the LSAMP program to provide funding for climate change and climate/disaster resilience related internships for the 2021-2022 academic…
Read MoreOur 2021 Conservation Awardees
URBAN COOPERATOR AWARD: Joel Hanawalt Joel has a vision of a restored Deer Creek Watershed. He has brought his neighbors together on a project, partially supported through OWEB funding, to which Joel has contributed considerable amounts of time on monitoring, removing invasive plants, and planting native plants along Deer Creek. RURAL COOPERATOR AWARD: Jennifer Rose…
Read MoreUrban Conservation Planning and Collaboration: Highlights from 2020-2021
(Stormwater Stars planting event. Photo by Corey Shelton) Covid-19 didn’t stop residents from getting out on their properties and into local natural areas to connect with the land and lend a hand. It also didn’t stop urban partners from continued collaboration and innovation focused on better addressing challenging urban conservation issues. We developed seven new…
Read MoreWildfire Risk Reduction Program
(Photo: Mowing tall grass around the home can help reduce the risk of fire reaching the home. Photo by Oregon Department of Forestry.) Oregon historically was a fire adapted landscape and traditionally managed as such by Oregon’s Indigenous people. However, since the onset of European settlement, the landscape has been altered by urban and rural…
Read MoreOn the lookout for emerald ash borer in western Multnomah County
(Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire. Photograph by Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – Forestry, Bugwood.org; Image link) Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) (EAB) is a small, brilliant metallic green beetle about half an inch long and native to north-east Asia that was unintentionally introduced to the U.S. around 2002, likely in ash wood used in…
Read MoreWatering in an era of climate change
When thinking of Oregon, a lush, diverse, green landscape with wet winters and comfortable dry summers may come to mind. With the last heatwave, and another one fast approaching, we are beginning to see the start of a new normal. Continual heat waves are going to shift and shape Oregon’s landscape. Gardening in this new…
Read MoreFolk medicine making on Sauvie Island: a relationship with land, plants, and community
We had the pleasure and honor of talking recently with Jennifer Rose Marie Serna, a Latina folk herbalist, mother, regenerative farmer, land activist, skill educator, and owner of Wapato Island Farm, to learn more about what she and her farm family and community have been creating on the island since West Multnomah Soil & Water…
Read More2021-2025 Long Range Business Plan is complete!
We are excited to announce the completion of our 2021-2025 Long Range Business Plan which was formally adopted by our Board of Directors at the June 15, 2021 meeting. This strategic planning document guides the scope of our conservation work and the supporting financial sustainability and organizational health initiatives needed to implement this work over…
Read MoreA Day in the Life of a Field Conservation Intern
By Martina Avendano, Field Conservation Intern With the feeling of a good day completed at work, an episode of my favorite podcast on, and the comforts of air conditioning on a warm spring day in April, I was happy to start making my way home! Not long after merging onto the stop-and-go traffic of I-84,…
Read More