CSP_general_meeting_20120214_notes_20120217_njp.doc Page 1 of 4
Clackamas Stewardship Partners General Meeting
Tuesday ----- February 14, 2012 ----- 2:00pm - 4:30pm
Mt. Scott Fire Station, 9339 S.E. Causey Avenue, Clackamas, OR 97086
Notes
Facilitator: Nathan Poage
Notes: Tonya Moore
Snacks: Nathan Poage
Attendees:
Tonia Burns (Clackamas County)
Mike Chaveas (United States Forest Service, USFS)
Erik Fernandez (Oregon Wild)
Bob Gill (USFS)
Cathy Hamell (Oregon Hunters Association, OHA)
Michael Hamell (OHA)
Rick Larson (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, RMEF)
Tonya Moore (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, ODFW)
Steve Novy (Interfor Pacific)
John Persell (Pacific Rivers Council, PRC)
Nathan Poage (Clackamas Stewardship Partners, CSP)
Jenne Reische (Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District, CCSWCD)
Ivars Steinblums (private citizen)
Ian Turner (USFS)
Jack Williamson (USFS)
1) Welcome, Introductions, and Administrative Tasks (NPoage) 2:00 - 2:20
a) Introductions
b) Agenda
c) Approve Minutes from January 10, 2012 CSP General Meeting
No amendments. Motion made and seconded to accept minutes. No opposition. Minutes accepted.
d) Announcements
Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition annual meeting, March 6-8, 2012, Vancouver, WA.
2) CSP Projects Committee 2:20 - 2:50
a) The “Rice Report”
i) ITurner distributed and reviewed the following handouts: 1) contract updates and status, 2) stewardship dollars, and 3) use of retained receipts. TBurns recommended Rice Report updates on a bi-annual basis (best time of year - Feb and Sept?). Mount Hood National Forest (MHNF) is attempting to assign dollars for projects funded with retained receipts to specific stewardship contracts. This is not required at the federal level, but was requested by CSP. Shortfall for Winslow Creel Culvert replacement project needs to get obligated this year (i.e., an expenditure needs to be made), but not required begin project during this year’s water work period. Goat Mountain OHV damage repair funds may be available for use. Oregon Watershed Enhancement (OWEB) funding is competitive and must wait and see if OWEB will fund Lower Clear Creek project. If the project does not get funding, the funds will go back into the pot, which could fund Winslow Creek.
ii) TBurns provided an update on the Fisher’s Bend project, noting that the County has taken a step back and is reassessing project, reviewing history, proposals, and questions by landowners who (may) have pulled out of project. County is having a meeting to rebuild project and hopes to move forward. The County and the Bakers are the only landowners. Should be able to report in a month or so whether project moves forward. NPoage asked what happens to the Fisher’s Bend funds recommended in 2010 for funding with retained receipts if project fails? Answer from USFS: money sits in pot; USFS must spend 80% of funding allocation before additional funding can be released.
b) Jazz and Grove Restoration Thinnings -- updates from USFS
i) Jazz -- USFS reported that Jazz is getting close on decision. Chris Worth (MHNF Supervisor) has asked for a final meeting. JWilliamson noted that the Biological Assessment (BA) still has not received a letter of concurrence from NOAA Fisheries. Delays. Lawsuit with BARK, for example. Recently, NOAA rejected letter because they wanted more information on specific impacts from each unit. Historically, USFS reviews impact on watershed scale. Agencies use different scales when reviewing impacts (NOAA = species in streams; USFS = watershed). USFS is now looking and modeling unit scale impacts. This will be submitted to NOAA as a supplement to original letter. NPoage asked if any glaring issues have been identified and taken off the table after Jack’s review? Buffer widths are important. NOAA wants additional assurance that buffers are adequate and USFS provided that. USFS is suggesting in supplemental letter that buffers will be increased for projects within 1,000 feet of a stream with listed fish. Large wood inventories are needed for some streams as they are not available for all of them (potential monitoring project or snags on the ground?).
ii) Grove -- USFS reported that the IDT team was asked by CWorth to take another and more holistic view of project in terms of restoration and report back to CWorth. Getting close to scoping phase. National directive is for landscape-scale restoration; i.e., how to look at projects on a watershed basis in a more holistic, way and not, for example, as just timber sales driving a project. USFS is getting a Level 1 Team in the field early in this project to enhance collaboration. Note that no one from NMFS has ever been to a CSP meeting. NPoage asked if it would be useful for CSP to go out with Level 1 Team? USFS replied that it may be more useful for some members of the Level 1 Team to visit CSP rather than CSP joining their meetings. USFS is looking at collaboration with many agencies.
iii) Additional Projects
CE will be conducted soon to look at plantations with commercial species (3,000 and above) that would be part of bough sale project. This will occur in spring.
Commercial firewood sale -- 200 acres. Scoping out in near future.
BGill noted that Cedar and North Fork data collection to begin. Stands are apparently 80-100 years old. Not traditional plantations as they were apparently aerially seeded in early 1900s. (NOTE: seeding by helicopters was mentioned, although it would appear unlikely that this occurred in the early 1900s; perhaps these stands naturally regenerated 80-100 years ago and were re-seeded by helicopter much more recently?) BGill noted that helicopter seeding has unique effects in terms that some areas seed well and other do not, similar effects to fire reseeding, naturally. BGill does not know origin of seed. Because the origin of the seed is not known (genetics), BGill noted that their resilience to potentially adverse environmental events (e.g., heavy snow loads) in our area is unknown. Is the existing stand structure a problem as they currently are? Stand structure is unknown at this time. The stands are dense, but stand structure data have not yet been collected. EFernandez suggested these would be good candidates for a field trip (or part of a field trip) this summer and asked if, after 100 years, any sign that the trees are not doing well? BGill will bring in map at a future CSP meeting. Trees look different than other area. Stands look older. Taking landscape view. Alan Dyke (USFS) seeking wildlife effects request.
3) CSP Budget and Human Resources Committee 2:50 - 3:15
NPoage reported that Cheryl McGinnis, Tom Salzer, and he met on February 8, 2012).
a) Outreach with Willamette National Forest (WNF) (July 10th and August 14th fieldtrips). NPoage reported on invited presentation he made on CSP to WNF staff on February 3, 2012 in Springfield, OR. WNF is having a hard time getting collaborative work going on in their Forest. NPoage focused part of his talk on V Thin for its simplicity, and K9 which showed that CSP had a thumbprint on the process. EFernandez asked what is the main hurdle for WNF not able to get collaboration? As with any organization, part of hurdle to collaboration may be internal. Have invited WNF folks to July 10th and August 14th CSP fieldtrips, likely to Grove, North Fork, Cedar, and/or V Thin.
b) Stewardship Contracting Authority re-authorization -- update
NPoage reported that he recently received an e-mail update on re-authorization of Stewardship Contracting Authority (SCA) from Cass Moseley (Ecosystem Workforce Center, University of Oregon). CMoseley noted that the re-authorization is, at present, going
“ nowhere. There were a couple of reasonable attempts to include [it] in the Interior / FS approp[riations] bill, but they never made it out of committee. Maia Enzer [(Sustainable Northwest)], some other folks and I [(CMoseley)] will be in DC in a few weeks and hope to get an update on this [year’s] potential action.” [quote added by NPoage]
c) Grants and funding opportunities
i) How to develop a funding program? About 5 or 6 funding opportunities have been identified. Short-term objective is to acquire 3 months of funds for NPoage’s position, which will push 2012 Title II funds out further in order to provide matching funds for National Forest Foundation (NFF) grant(s).
ii) Funding for monitoring -- target REI as experiment to bring in unaffiliated entities into this monitoring projects. TBurns noted that she knows of several other entities to try also.
4) Break 3:15 - 3:30
5) CSP Monitoring Committee 3:30 - 4:20
a) Socio-economic monitoring (NathanP)
i) Has been discussed a lot at county level, etc. Want to look at individual projects and determine how that impacts a community. NPoage met with Jean Daniels (PNW Research Station) on February 14, 2012 to discuss pilot socio-economic monitoring of completed projects. One case study could be V Thin because it is done and was relatively simple. Another case study could be of the already completed ~$200K Dutch Creek Culvert replacement (Hot Springs Fork of Collawash). Learning how to conduct socio-economic monitoring would be an important part of these pilot socio-economic monitoring projects.
b) Side-channel projects (JWilliamson)
i) JWilliamson described fieldtrip he and NPoage took on January 30, 2012 to look at and discuss monitoring of side channel projects at Milepost 35, Milepost 41, and Tar Creek. Monitoring Scotch broom infestations was one idea discussed. Idea is to develop a proposal on how to monitor and eradicate weeds at these sites. Intend to craft a proposal and submit it to NFF in July 2012.
c) Stand-level monitoring and modeling in 2012 field season (NPoage)
i) Grove Restoration Thinning -- USFS requested CSP assistance in looking at dead wood via stand-level data collection. CSP may be able to improve discussions of different silvicultural options by using stand-level data collected by the group and/or Timber Lake Job Corps (TLJC) students to model stand-level treatments (including doing nothing) using the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). Woody debris sampling protocol needs to be identified.
ii) Variable Density Thinning Management Experiment (VDT-ME) -- NPoage reported that he will be working with TLJC students and available CSP affiliates to finish collecting stand-structure data on the four VDT-ME units (part of the Wolf Stewardship Contract) in Spring and Summer 2012.
6) Other Business 4:20 - 4:30
a) Jeff Gerwing will take notes at the March 13, 2012 CSP General Meeting.