Winter 2012 eNewsletter
Now’s the time to start pulling weeds!
Invasive Species
Weeds Galore
Early winter is the best time to pull those stubborn invasive weeds! That’s because the soil is so saturated you can easily pull out all the roots of the weed without doing any harm to nearby native plants which are dormant this time of year. You won’t harm ground nesting birds either as long as the weed pulling is done before their nesting season (early nesters start February 1st but the majority of ground nesting birds get busy around April 15th).
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Find the Worst Weeds Early!
Early detection, rapid response (EDRR) weeds to look for this winter and spring include garlic mustard and spurge laurel. Our past years’ efforts are starting to become apparent and previously treated garlic mustard populations are in noticeable decline. These noxious weeds pose an immediate threat to our natural areas and if found, should be reported to Oregon Invasive Species Online Hotline (oregoninvasiveshotline.org).
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Landowner Feature – Diane Fields & Dick Williams
A Humbling Experience
The first impulse was a generous one on the part of Diane Fields. She decided to buy 60 acres of land off Cornelius Pass Road at the request of her son who was living next door to the property and thought it would be wonderful to raise his family next to a natural forested area. As soon as her partner Dick Williams spent time there, he enthusiastically joined the financial endeavor!
Their thought was to bring the weed infested acreage back to its natural state as a mixed-species old-growth forest. They had no idea what that would involve.
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Education & Outreach
Pollinator Stakeholder Meeting
On November 7, 2011, over 30 representatives from various regional environmental organizations and agencies gathered at our offices to discuss issues, barriers, and potential strategies for pollinator conservation. The day began with presentations from each organization about its ongoing pollinator efforts. In the afternoon, the group convened for a roundtable discussion of problems inhibiting pollinator conservation and potential solutions.
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Education Efforts
Erica Stokes has recently changed positions from Executive Assistant to Education Coordinator for WMSWCD. Please see the enclosed article (below) on our new Operations Director, Michele Levis!
The District has and will always continue to provide a wide variety of adult educational opportunities to our community. Erica looks forward to assisting with our on-going work as well as increasing our efforts with local schools.
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Forestry
Native Plant Sales
These are great places to pick up some native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers for this year’s planting project. Prices are generally good and the variety is great! This time of year, landowners wanting to order plants and may find that wholesale nurseries don’t fill small orders or they are already running out of several species. Local plant sales are another chance to find that specific plant you need. They’re a lot of fun and you can learn about plants and how to take care of them from the volunteers running the sale. The proceeds often benefit service projects, outdoor schools, and volunteer efforts in your community.
The following list includes some of the many, local native plant sales in the metro area.
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Farming
Winter composting
Winter is not the time to start slacking on your yard work, at least not when it comes to composting. It can be tricky though. If you have an active compost pile, or you are still adding to it, putting in the work now will provide you a great source of nutrient rich material for your garden, ornamentals or pastures in the spring.
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Rural Living Handbook
Copies of the Rural Living Handbook are now available! Give us a call or email and we will get one into the mail to you right away. It contains useful information about the county, particularly about living in rural settings, such as buying rural property, living in and around agricultural land, and land use classifications. The handbook, created by East and West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation Districts, is intended to be a management and conservation guide for those considering moving to or already living in rural parts of the county.
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Strategic Plan
New Strategy in the works
District board members and staff are updating the WMSWCD strategic plan as an important step in the annual work plan and fiscal year 2012-13 budget review for the next few months. Since district voters approved a modest tax base in Nov 2006 (annual revenue about $1.2 million), our budget is subject to local and state laws for public participation and safeguards like all other public agencies, school districts & municipalities.
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Please Welcome Our Newest Colleague!
Michele Levis
Michele Levis is our newly hired Operations Administrator. She is a Master Gardener and a graduate of the OSU Extension Services Organic Gardening Certificate Program. Since moving to Portland in 2009, Michele’s been an active volunteer with her son’s school, Master Gardeners, Portland Fruit Tree Project and various community gardens.
She lived several years in Germany, where she taught English as a second language and had time to indulge her passion for gardening, environmental conservation and all things outdoors. Prior to moving to Germany, Michele worked in finance/accounting in the San Francisco Bay Area.
She has a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accounting, and is a C.P.A. Her many years in the corporate sector, as well as her non-profit volunteer work as a board member/Treasurer, have prepared her well for the WMSWCD position. She is responsible for all administrative operations, including financial management, board support, and grant reporting requirements.
Outside of work, when she is not volunteering or spending time with her family, Michele enjoys running marathons, skiing, hiking, gardening, yoga, reading and baking.
Calendar of Events
February 7 – March 13, 2012
Managing Your Woodlands Course
Nightly 7:00-9:15 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 17
This forestry short-course covers a variety of topics-each night is different. Visit the OSU Extension website for details:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/clackamas/forestry
Saturday, February 25, 2012
2012 Small Farms Conference
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
The conference features workshops and speakers covering a wide range of topics from marketing your farm products, grafting, business planning and funding innovations. Guest speakers include Kristin and Mark Kimball, who run a full-diet, free-choice, year-round, draft horse powered CSA from their northern New York Essex Farm. For details and cost, visit http://calendar.oregonstate.edu/event/63038/
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Tree School Clackamas
8:00 a.m.-5:15 p.m., Clackamas Community College, Oregon City
Courses cover a wide variety of forest related topics. Visit http://extension.oregonstate.edu/clackamas/tree-school-clackamas-2012-registration-now-open.
Save the Date!
Friday, April 20, 2012
FREE Pesticide Collection Day
10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Sauvie Island Fire Station
West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District, Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Sauvie Island Fire District will partner to hold a one day FREE Agricultural and Business Pesticide Collection Day at the Sauvie Island Fire Department, 18342 NW Sauvie Island Road, Portland. Call WMSWCD for more information and registration.
As always, let us know how we may help you care for your land,
Dick Springer
WMSWCD District Manager
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