Biennial Watershed Group Self Assessment

/in /by

The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) is a state agency that provides grants to help Oregonians take care of local streams, rivers, wetlands and natural areas. The Hood River Watershed Group receives significant funding from OWEB for organizational capacity and project-based work. Council Capacity grants help support the operating capacity of effective watershed councils like ours. As part of these Council Capacity grants, OWEB has a merit review process that encourages continuous improvement of watershed councils’ organizational management, operating structure, and the planning and implementation of on-the-ground watershed, restoration, and community engagement activities. The merit review process also ensures watershed councils are working toward strengthening their role in watersheds through activities focusing on organizational resilience, leadership, collaboration, and that the watershed council represents a balance of interested and affected persons within the watershed. All watershed councils that receive a Council Capacity grant are required to complete a biennial self-assessment in order to assess the organization and identify areas for improvement. This self-assessment was developed to help watershed councils identify strengths and challenges of their organizations, and establish capacity building goals.

We hope you’ll participate in this important evaluation process! The first step is to participate in an online survey. All Watershed Group staff, board members, and general members and stakeholders are encouraged to participate.

In the survey, you will be rating the Watershed Group on a variety of capacity elements:
1. Leadership: the capacity of organizational leaders to inspire, prioritize, make decisions, provide direction, and innovate.
2. Adaptive: the capacity of the Watershed Group to monitor, assess, and respond to internal and external changes.
3. Management: the capacity of the Watershed Group to ensure the effective and efficient use of organizational resources.
4. Operational: the capacity of the Watershed Group to implement key organizational and programmatic functions.

For each question in the survey, identify the description that best describes the Watershed Group’s status or level of performance. You are likely to discover that, for some questions, the Watershed Group’s capacity will not fully match any of the descriptions. In these instances, simply identify the description that is most suitable. It is better to underestimate rather than overestimate in a particular area.

At the Watershed Group meeting on February 28th, we will discuss the results, reach consensus on one set of ratings that best represents our organization, and prioritize areas of improvement for the next two years. Please take the survey by the end of the day on Friday, February 24th. The survey will take between 20-30 minutes to complete.

2022 Annual Report

/in /by

2022 was a productive and transitional year for the Watershed Group. We kicked off work on Watershed 2040 – our 20-year strategic action plan, designed and implemented instream habitat restoration projects, hosted volunteer work parties, and became a non-profit organization. Read all about our progress in 2022 in our Annual Report.

Thank you to our watershed community and all of our partners for making this work possible, including the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District, East Fork Irrigation District, Middle Fork Irrigation District, Farmers Irrigation District, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Jubitz Family Foundation, pFriem Family Brewers, and many others!

Join us for our Annual Celebration at pFriem Family Brewers!

/in /by

We have a lot to celebrate from 2022, including restoration projects completed, new funding sources secured, and becoming a nonprofit organization! Join us for a celebration of all this plus the Watershed Group’s 25th Anniversary with guest speaker Meta Loftsgaarden, Forest Supervisor of the Mt. Hood National Forest.

Tickets are $25 and include appetizers, dinner, and one drink.

Purchase your ticket at this link. Space is limited, so purchase your tickets ASAP!

Thank you to pFriem Family Brewers for hosting us!

Presentation: Using eDNA to understand fish distribution in the Hood River Watershed and across the Western U.S.

/in /by

Dan Mason from the USDA National Genomics Center presented on Using eDNA to understand fish distribution in the Hood River Watershed and across the Western U.S.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling for fish in streams is the collection of DNA released by a target species into the water. Scientists at the U.S. Forest Service’s National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation have pioneered developments in this field. Dan Mason, with the National Genomics Center, describes how and why eDNA for fish is collected, along with results from bull trout and Pacific lamprey data in the Hood River Watershed and beyond.

Watch the recording here.

Presentation: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area: Draft Climate Change Action Plan

/in /by

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area: Draft Climate Change Action Plan
The Columbia River Gorge Commission is preparing to release its first Draft Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), a guide to climate change adaptation and mitigation action in the National Scenic Area. Developed with input from a variety of agencies, organizations, tribes, and the public, the Draft CCAP lays out actions and outcomes for building resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the Commission’s land use role. Actions center around eight priorities: cold water refuge streams, wetlands, Tribal Treaty rights, Oregon white oak woodlands and winter range, regional transportation, electric-vehicle infrastructure, carbon storage in habitats and working lands, and fire risk.

Watch this presentation by Lisa Naas Cook and Jessica Olson, planners with the Columbia River Gorge Commission, to learn about the Draft CCAP and discuss shared priorities for climate action in the Hood River Watershed.

Presentation: Forest Collaboratives – Building Partnerships between the Community & Forest Service

/in /by

Watch a recording of our January presentation on Forest Collaboratives: Building Partnerships between the Community & Forest Service.

Forest collaboratives work to build partnerships and increase trust between the Forest Service and diverse stakeholder groups. Across the Pacific Northwest, forest collaboratives have developed agreements around shared goals and increased the pace, scale, and quality of watershed and forest restoration across public and private lands. This has been accomplished through engaging a diverse set of stakeholders in planning, evaluating, and monitoring projects using a science-based and holistic approach. Watch this presentation by Andrew Spaeth, facilitator for the Hood River Forest Collaborative and Wasco County Forest Collaborative, to learn more about forest collaboratives and the accomplishments of our local groups.

Presentation: Fish Habitat Restoration on the West Fork Hood River

/in /by

Watch a recording of the “Fish Habitat Restoration on the West Fork Hood River” here.

This past summer’s fish habitat project on the West Fork Hood River near Red Hill Creek improved a quarter-mile of the river and reconnected roughly one thousand feet of historic side channels to improve spawning and rearing habitat for threatened spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead. Brian Bair, with the USFS Enterprise Program, and Cindy Thieman, HRWG Coordinator, give a virtual tour of the project. Brian also shares lessons learned from large wood placement projects over the past thirty years, which influenced the design and construction of this project. Funding for this project was provided by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and the U.S. Forest Service.

2021 Annual Report – 25 Years of Watershed Restoration!

/in /by
For 25 years, the Hood River Watershed Group has been sustaining and improving the Hood River Watershed through education, cooperation, and stewardship. 2021 marked 25 years of restoration, conservation, and outreach for the Watershed Group, and with the completion of the Hood River Basin Partnership Strategic Action Plan (Watershed 2040) this year, we have a new 20-year scope of work that aims to restore aquatic habitat for the watershed’s anadromous and resident fish species. Restoration of fish habitat, stream flow, and water quality is the foundation of the plan, though much of this work will also strengthen the resiliency of our community and economy as climate change continues to impact stream flow, water temperature, and aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Watershed 2040 was developed by the Hood River Basin Partnership, which consists of nine core members, including the Hood River Watershed Group, the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, East Fork Irrigation District, Middle Fork Irrigation District, Farmers Irrigation District, the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. This partnership will be working together over the next 20 years to achieve the ambitious goals laid out in the plan.

We’re excited to begin work on Watershed 2040, and know that we need to engage the diverse and unique watershed community to be successful in this plan. We’ll be reaching out to you in the coming year to explore ways we can work together to be stewards of this incredible watershed.

Watch the Neal Creek Phase 1 Habitat Restoration Presentation

/in /by

Watch a recording of the Neal Creek Phase 1 Habitat Restoration Project presentation.

Neal Creek is an important clearwater (non-glacial) tributary to the lower Hood River, which provides habitat for threatened winter steelhead, threatened coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and resident rainbow trout. Over the past 100 years, numerous human activities have altered the Neal Creek Watershed through logging practices, relocating stream channels, and placing roads and buildings in its floodplain. This has resulted in stream channels with fewer pools, less spawning gravel and instream wood, and reduced side channel habitat. Fortunately, there are opportunities to restore sections of Neal Creek to provide better fish habitat and aid in the recovery of steelhead and coho.

The Hood River Watershed Group, in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and private landowners, has been developing a series of restoration projects along Neal Creek that aim to restore the ecological processes of the Neal Creek Watershed and ensure the health and viability of ESA-listed salmonid populations with the improvement of spawning, rearing, and overwintering habitat. The first phase of this work was completed in August of 2021 and restored approximately 1/2 mile and two acres of habitat by constructing six log jams, creating 14 pools, and adding over 100 logs back into Neal Creek.

The project was funded by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and Pacific Power Blue Sky Habitat Funds/The Freshwater Trust, and was designed by Parr Excellence. Alix Danielsen, the Hood River Watershed Group Restoration Project Manager, and Bill Norris, the project engineer with Parr Excellence, will provide an overview of the project and discuss future work planned along Neal Creek.

Recording available for “Irrigation Pipeline Projects in the Hood River Watershed” presentation

/in /by

Watch a recording of the “Irrigation Pipeline Projects in the Hood River Watershed” presentation from September 28th.

Niklas Christensen, an engineer with Watershed Professionals Network, gives updates on current and recently completed projects by local irrigation districts. These projects include Dee Irrigation District’s replacement of their open, non-pressurized system to a completely piped/pressurized system in 2020, Farmers Irrigation District’s Kingsley Reservoir Expansion to be completed this fall, East Fork Irrigation District’s Eastside Lateral piping project, and Middle Fork Irrigation District’s recently completed Coe Creek pipeline.