#1 Activity

Removal of Brownsville Dam. The dam is located at river mile 36 of 72 total miles and is a partial fish passage barrier to the upstream migration of salmonids. All of the anadromous salmonid spawning and rearing habitat in the basin is above the dam because of high summer water temperatures in the middle and lower Calapooia. The Council and community stakeholders hope to deconstruct the dam during the summer of 2007, and will work with OSU to commence biological and channel monitoring in partnership with OWEB and NOAA for the duration of the biennium and beyond. Monitoring will include macroinvertebrate assessments, salmonid surveys, and sediment transport studies. The Council is also working with the County Parks Department to create a park with signage so that the community may continue using the former dam site for recreation and appreciate the site’s history. The removal of Brownsville Dam directly relates to the objectives of the Oregon Plan and carries statewide relevance and magnitude because of the community support and ownership for this project and the thorough monitoring objectives that are expected to serve as a model for future dam removal projects pursued by watershed councils.

Measurable Outcomes

Increased salmonid access to spawning habitat in all upstream tributaries and the main channel; high levels of community support maintained for the project; public use of the new County park; results from monitoring activities.

Coordinator Role

Coordination and provide support to both the Project Manager and the Education and Outreach Coordinator; attend technical team meetings; prepare invoices and contracts when appropriate; support and OSU staff in their monitoring activities that are funded by Council’s OWEB/NOAA grants; coordinate meetings related to monitoring throughout the next three years in cooperation with OSU, NOAA, ODFW and OWEB.

Council Members’ Roles

Attend stakeholder meetings and site visits with the project engineer and provide input on: project scope, dam history and role in community, and proposed and preferred alternatives matrix.

Partner Roles

Brownsville Canal Company and City of Brownsville staff attend stakeholder meetings and provide input on: project scope of work, dam history and role in community and proposed alternatives;  OWEB, NOAA Fisheries, US Army Corps of Engineers, Weyerhaeuser, Linn County, DEQ and ODFW provide technical assistance, consult on permits, identify fish passage concerns, review scope of work and alternatives; OSU will provide monitoring plan designs, field work and data interpretation.

Element Category

1,2,3

Overall Council Role

Leader

Status

60% Complete

#2 Activity

Restore fish passage at Thompson’s Mill dams, namely Sodom Dam, as prioritized in the Council’s watershed assessment. OPRD, who owns the Mill and maintains the associated dams, has recently been awarded a significant OWEB restoration grant to remove the largest of the dams, Sodom Dam. The Council and Coordinator will continue to work with OPRD staff to ensure summer low flows are monitored to the maintain the 12 cfs instream water right, assist landowners in improving riparian and instream habitat conditions for Sodom Ditch and the Calapooia River, and potentially take the lead role in local outreach and education pertaining to the removal of the dam because of the members’ and staffs’ direct association with the neighboring landowners and farming community.

Measurable Outcomes

The Council Chair or Steering Committee members attend and participate in technical meetings pertaining to the removal of the dams and participate in discussions on how the Council should stay involved in the project and provide assistance to the OPRD staff.

Coordinator Role

Support for State Parks staff and the Sodom Dam Project Manager; attend Technical Team meetings; address landowner concerns when necessary.

Council Members’ Roles

The Council Chair or Steering Committee members attend and participate in technical meetings pertaining to the removal of the dams and participate in discussions on how the Council should stay involved in the project and provide assistance to the OPRD staff.

Partner Roles

ODFW and NOAA Fisheries biologists and fish passage engineers review and comment on fish passage options at the Thompson’s Mill dams; OPRD owns Thompson’s Mill and is the decision maker for choosing a preferred engineering alternative for fish passage; Oregon State Parks Trust is the OWEB grantee of the Sodom Dam Project grant and will thus provide OPRD with some level of direction and support; WRD provides data on gauged stream flows.

Element Category

1

Overall Council Role

Supporting.

Status

20%

#3 Activity

Develop and implement restoration projects that assist landowners in achieving their water quality and habitat improvement goals. The Council Coordinator and the Education and Outreach Coordinator work closely with Linn County SWCD staff and together perform site visits, help landowners prepare maps, plans and reports, and give assistance during the monitoring and maintenance phases following project completion. The Council participates with the OWEB Small Grants Mid-Willamette East Team to review grant applications on a quarterly basis. The Council also initiates conversations with NRCS to visit landowners’ properties and discuss restoration priorities. The Council will explore a large-scale riparian habitat restoration and conservation project from Brownsville Dam to Sodom Dam in the ’07-’09 biennium. These projects address key limiting factors listed in question #13 (water quality and ownership). DEQ has released TMDL’s for the Willamette Basin that specifically list the Calapooia as impaired for water temperature and bacteria. The Council will work with the municipalities in the watershed to comply with the TMDL requirements, which includes the creation of implementation plans that outline mitigation measures. Landowner outreach for restoration project will be focused on key tributaries such as Brush Creek with temperature mitigation potential, and on dynamic portions of the Calapooia mainstem that would benefit from riparian buffers. Based on Council Self-Evaluation exercise results, during the ’07-’09 biennium the Council will be creating monitoring-maintenance protocol that may be adapted to fit specific landowners’ projects.

Measurable Outcomes

At least 5 landowners participating in a restoration project at any given time; municipalities have included Council restoration in their implementation plans; two volunteer work parties executed per year; landowners involved in a diverse range of appropriate grant programs, including federal incentive programs (CREP), OWEB Small Grant or Council supported; monitoring-evaluation template used by landowners in shaping their property management plans.

Coordinator Role

Activity management and planning; attend OWEB Small Grant Review Team meetings; provide supervision and direction for the Education and Outreach Coordinator in recruiting landowners, volunteer coordination, and grant writing; provide technical assistance; map making using GIS; provide restoration results to municipalities for their water quality mitigation purposes; fiscal management.

Council Members’ Roles

Assist landowners by problem solving and project implementation advice; numerous volunteers participate in field tours, native vegetation plantings, and share insights about project methods.

Partner Roles

Linn SWCD, NRCS and ODFW provide technical assistance

Element Category

1,2,3

Overall Council Role

Lead

Status

On-going

#4 Activity

The Council and Coordinator continue to track watershed conditions such as fisheries health, water quality and flows from other available data. ODFW fish and redd counts are collected annually for the upper watershed. The DEQ 319 list and data are obtained. The Council communicates with the Water Resources Department (WRD) on flow issues as needed. The Council collects flow data and tracks conditions since the Oregon Water Trust installed a gauge in 2005 to monitor their recently purchased instream water right. The Council works with the OSU Forest Engineering Department, which is collecting temperature data at 30 locations and shares data. Lastly, the Council has been working with the City of Albany to build on information learned from Council data collected in the fall of each year. The City processes and interprets results and then presents the bacteria monitoring sampling locations, schedule, resulting data and conclusions to the Council. This biennium the Council will share monitoring results of with partners and agencies including DEQ and Linn County. If bacteria monitoring illustrates clear source areas, the Council will host educational workshops with OSU Extension to work with landowners to reduce bacteria entering stream(s).  The Council will also work with Cities within the watershed needing to address the recent TMDL’s, which includes water quality implementation plan development. GIS will also be utilized to collect, analyze and present monitoring data to stakeholders.

Measurable Outcomes

Consistent flow log during critical summer months; enhanced communication between partner agencies and organizations; organized and archived water quality data for Council reference; action plans to tackle point and non-point sources of pollution should they be determined from sampling during 2006.

Coordinator Role

Communication with city staff and Projects Committee members and various agency staff when sharing and collecting data; work closely with Designated Management Agencies (DMA’s) during the implementation plan writing phase; coordination of volunteers; activity planning; extensive GIS utilization for data analysis.

Council Members’ Roles

Provide access to river for data logger installation and track Internet-posted flows

Partner Roles

The WRD and Oregon Water Trust monitor flows in the Calapooia river during critical summer low flow periods; OSU and Agriculture Research Station have provided temperature data and monitoring equipment when requested or as needed; Weyerhaeuser staff to gather fish population and distribution data and details pertaining to restoration activities; staff with the City of Albany’s Water Quality Department will perform bacterial sampling during late fall months; DEQ posts water quality data on their website; Linn County GIS shares all relevant data.

Element Category

2

Overall Council Role

Lead

Status

On-going

#5 Activity

The Calapooia Watershed Council, in partnership with the North and South Santiam Watershed Councils, provides watershed education programs to watershed residents and property owners, and actively performs community outreach in both urban and rural areas of the region. Our Council has teamed with these two Councils to hire a Education and Outreach (E/O) Coordinator to work towards building shared resources in a region with shared demographics. The E/O Coordinator performs the following duties: 1) identify and partner with existing community education providers, build a comprehensive education and outreach program based on existing programs (e.g. SOLV, OSU Extension, etc.) to coordinate student projects, provide landowner workshops and schedule presentations for council meetings, 2) recruit new members for Councils, 3) provide educational opportunities to assist landowners with environmental or stream restoration plans and projects on their property and organize restoration demonstration tours on landowners’ properties and organize volunteer work events, 4) create mailings to send to watershed residents and businesses and develop media contacts to pursue publications in local newspapers, 5) document all education activities and workshops for future replication, track of media and landowner contacts and projects, 6) work directly with Council Coordinators and Council Members to determine goals and a long-term plan, 7) fundraise and write grants to ensure the longevity of the contracted position.

Measurable Outcomes

Increased number of Council members and volunteers; increased number of residents with upland and stream restoration projects; successful retention of current volunteers and members; perceived increase in the public awareness of the Council and activities; event and program evaluations demonstrate community satisfaction and individual benefits from participation; student stewardship projects have been implemented; the three Councils continue to partner in other region-wide projects.

Coordinator Role

Coordination and management of activities in partnership with the both Santiam Councils, supervision and direction provided for the E/O Coordinator; fiscal management; frequent communication with partnering councils.

Council Members’ Roles

Members assist the E/O Coordinator and Council Coordinator during education and outreach events by greeting new comers, assisting with outreach mailings and phone calls, and contacting friends and colleagues for recruitment; many members are already involved in riparian and upland restoration projects and therefore have high levels of Council participation; volunteers participate in planting days at landowners’ sites; during Council meetings the members brainstorm appropriate outreach methods.

Partner Roles

The Santiam Watershed Councils partner in developing education and outreach goals, provide support, supervision and leadership for the E/O Coordinator, attend meetings with the E/O Coordinator to track activities, budgets, goals and direction, and attend community events and workshops. OSU Extension and SOLV help the Councils to organize workshops, events and school outreach.

Element Category

2,3,4,5

Overall Council Role

Partner

Status

On-going

#6 Activity

Restore fish passage at non-passable culverts in partnership with Linn County Roads Department and BLM. Culvert projects address fish migration barriers, a limiting factor identified in question #13. Tributary streams in the middle Calapooia Watershed were assessed in spring 2003 with over 80 culverts and 30 bridges inventoried on county, federal, and private lands.  Criteria were developed to identify high priority opportunities for replacement.  The culvert assessment and prioritization was incorporated into the Council’s watershed assessment and is now utilized by Linn County Roads Department to apply for grants. The County has been awarded an OWEB restoration grant to replace three culverts on the Calapooia’s most significant tributary Brush Creek (see project location on attached map).  The Council will continue their advisory role with the County and assist in preparing additional grant proposals, assist contractors to develop future culvert designs, and monitor culverts post construction to assess fish passage. Currently the Council is working with the BLM remove high priority culverts on federally maintained roads.

Measurable Outcomes

Multiple culverts replaced; improved fish passage on key tributaries with salmonid habitat; less flooding on landowners’ property and private roads from insufficient culvert capacities.

Coordinator Role

Communication with Chuck Knoll, County Roads Department, Chuck Vostal with BLM, and Bob Danehy, Weyerhaeuser, to monitor fish passage improvements in the watershed; assist with grant writing to remove future culverts in partnership with Linn County, Weyerhaeuser or federal agencies.

Council Members’ Roles

Members with technical backgrounds review and provide input on culvert replacement priorities and will participate in field trips to visit culverts pre and post construction.

Partner Roles

Multiple culverts replaced; improved fish passage on key tributaries with salmonid habitat; less flooding on landowners’ property and private roads from insufficient culvert capacities; Weyerhaeuser staff to provide information to the Council about culvert replacement and fish passage improvements.

Element Category

1,5

Overall Council Role

Advisory

Status

15%

#7 Activity

Invasive weed control projects continue to be implemented by the Council throughout the watershed. The Council has developed various outreach programs to educate landowners on invasive plants and eradication methods, notably Himalayan blackberry and Japanese knotweed control. The Council will continue to establish the knotweed control program and plans to tackle false brome and English ivy in the coming biennium and will be applying for additional grant money. Monitoring and maintenance are key in controlling invasive weeds. Each program participant is required to have maintenance plans to evaluate project success through photo points and written and oral reports.

Measurable Outcomes

Successful eradication of knotweed in the headwaters by Summer 2007; during the Summer of 2008 Japanese knotweed eradicated from the headwaters down to Brownsville; English ivy control program implemented; blackberry removed on landowners’ property through volunteer efforts and OWEB Small Grant projects; net increase in upland and riparian area vegetation documented by participating landowners through photo points and oral histories.

Coordinator Role

Council and volunteer coordination; activity planning and management; fiscal management; grant writing; coordination with landowners for property access; supervision of contractors.

Council Members’ Roles

Participate in Japanese knotweed control program; educate neighbors on weeds on their property; perform invasive weed inventories in upland and riparian areas.

Partner Roles

Upper Willamette Weed Management Group provides funding for knotweed control and shares information on lessons learned from other knotweed control projects; South Santiam Watershed Council provides information on landowner outreach techniques and share lessons learned; Linn County Roads Department assists with identifying weed patches and treatment; Weyerhaeuser and Timber Services staff to communicate to Council noxious weed inventory and treatment success annually.

Element Category

1,2,3,4

Overall Council Role

Lead

Status

On-going

#8 Activity

The Council continues work with landowners to identify existing and potential pond turtle habitat for protection and restoration. This will be accomplished by: 1) determine potential pond turtle nesting sites from watershed aerial photos and talking with landowners, 2) field surveys of potential turtle nesting sites, 3) present findings at council meeting, 4) encourage landowners with potential turtle nesting sites to implement projects, 5) protect existing pond turtle nesting sites both from predators and encroaching vegetation, 6) utilize a database to track turtle population information, 7) provide database to public stakeholders.

Measurable Outcomes

GIS maps indicating potential and existing pond turtle sites in the watershed; 3 or more landowners identified to create, restore or protect pond turtle habitat; updated database

Coordinator Role

Communication with turtle experts; site visits; grant writing for restoration projects; coordination with landowners and volunteers; analysis of habitat data and relevant GIS mapping layers.

Council Members’ Roles

Participate in fieldwork; participate in projects to enhance turtle habitat; evaluate their own properties for potential and existing turtle habitat.

Partner Roles

USACE Wildlife Biologists with pond turtle expertise participate in field surveys to train the Coordinator and volunteers to look for in identify turtle habitat and nesting sites.

Element Category

1,2

Overall Council Role

Lead

Status

10%

#9 Activity

The Coordinator, with support from Council members, sustains effective Council operations. This is achieved by the following: preparation for Council meetings – mailings, agendas, minutes, reminder emails, and meeting facilitation; preparation and planning of Management and Projects Committees’ meetings and activities; building and maintaining partnerships and community support for council support, projects, in-kind contributions; fundraising and developing cash match requests to support Council operations through contributions; regular communication with the Steering Committee and Council Chair; reporting to Council on watershed conditions, project status, budget updates, grant proposal status, and regulations that affect Council members; in-kind support tracking; reporting to funders, submitting payments/invoices on time and weekly communication with the fiscal agent, Cascade Pacific RC&D; managing computer and office files and maintaining equipment; providing orientation to new Council members and elected Steering Committee members; tracking of public participation in Council meetings, community events such as restoration tours and field trips; maintenance of the volunteer database. The Coordinator and Steering Committee members also participate in the Oregon Watershed Council Network and attend watershed related trainings such as the OWEB Conference, Coordinator’s Conference, OSU Extension Coordinator-Board Member trainings and other relevant trainings. Conferences and trainings support and educate the Coordinator and members, boost Council morale, and allow for valuable networking.

Measurable Outcomes

Increased attendance at Council meetings and field trips; workshop, meeting and Council evaluations demonstrate that the Council is running efficiently and in a positive direction; the Council continues to receive additional cash match contributions for operations.

Coordinator Role

Steering Committee/Management Committee/Projects Committee/Council/volunteer coordination; meeting facilitation; activity planning and management; grant writing; fiscal management and budget maintenance; communication with fiscal agent; attend workshops for Council capacity building; photo documentation of council activities and events; record in-kind volunteer time.

Council Members’ Roles

Review of Council invoices, grant progress reports and budgets; Coordinator support and direction; complete evaluations for events and meetings; report in-kind hours to the Coordinator; attend Council meetings and respective committee meetings.

Partner Roles

Outside agencies/groups do not provide direct assistance with the activities listed above

Element Category

5

Overall Council Role

Lead

Status

On-going

#10 Activity

The Council Self-Evaluation and annual Work Plan Prioritization exercises are performed to help the Coordinator and Council revise and update the Council’s Action Plan. The Coordinator facilitates both exercises. OWEB’s Self-Evaluation forms are utilized to identify areas the Council can grow and the appropriate actions. Results from these activities are incorporated into the current work plan.

Measurable Outcomes

The work plan is revised and updated; Council goals and objectives are analyzed and updated and presented to members; Council members express benefits from performing exercises

Coordinator Role

Steering Committee/Council coordination; activity planning and management; facilitation; reporting

Council Members’ Roles

Active participation in the group exercises (self-evaluation/work plan prioritization).

Partner Roles

The Council does not partner with other agencies or groups to conduct evaluations.

Element Category

3,5

Overall Council Role

X

Status

On-going