East Cascades Oak Partnership presentation recording available

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View a recording of Lindsay Cornelius’ “The Oregon White Oak: A Survivor and a Savior” presentation from June 22nd.

Oregon white oak are abundant in our region, perceived by many to be prolific, unattractive, weedy, and indestructible. In fact, Oregon white oak habitat across its entire extent has diminished by nearly 97% since European settlement – and we are the stewards of what remains. Oak systems are one of the most biodiverse, climate resilient habitats in our region. They are fire resistant and provide important benefits to the people who live here.

More than 200 individuals from agencies, nations, businesses, organizations, and the general public volunteered thousands of hours over the last three years interviewing stakeholders, learning from presenters, mapping and modeling oak systems, and testing logic models to create a strategic action plan for oak conservation that the East Cascades Oak Partnership (ECOP) will work to implement over the next decade. Lindsay Cornelius, Columbia Land Trust Natural Area Manager and the Manager of the East Cascades Oak Partnership, shares the story of Oregon white oak in the East Cascades, including important insights on the value of oak systems and how the East Cascades Oak Partnership can help each of us advance oak conservation in a meaningful way.

Watershed 2040 – the 20-Year Hood River Basin Partnership Strategic Action Plan – is complete!

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After a two year collaborative process with partners in the watershed, our strategic action planning process is complete! Read the plan here. Efforts to restore aquatic habitat and recover the watershed’s threatened fish species are the foundation of WATERSHED 2040, the Hood River Basin Partnership Strategic Action Plan. The plan encompasses an ambitious scope of work for restoring fish habitat, streamflow, and water quality over the next 20 years. Much of this work will also strengthen the resiliency of our community and economy, as climate change continues to impact streamflow, water temperature, and aquatic and terrestrial habitats. The Action Plan was developed over a two year process 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. We’re excited to begin work on this plan, and hope to engage the community in the process. Stay tuned for ways to get involved.

Watch a recording of “The Role of Alpine Glacial Melt in Mountain Block Recharge”, by Jordyn Miller

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High alpine environments provide the hydrologic and biologic foundation for ecosystems and communities downstream. It’s known that the vast majority of mountain glaciers across the globe are in retreat due to climate change. What this means for the future of these fragile alpine ecosystems is still largely unknown. We do know that glacial melt supports streams, and studies have shown that meltwater recharges the shallow alluvial aquifer of glacial catchments, however we don’t know how much mountain recharge comes from glacial meltwater. Jordyn Miller, a PhD Candidate at Purdue University, talks about this recharge process, and plans for future work in this field.

Watch the presentation here.

Watch the recording of “Watershed 2040 – The Hood River Basin Partnership 20-Year Strategic Action Plan”

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Healthy aquatic ecosystems provide fish habitat, irrigation water, and clean drinking water, as well as supporting recreation and other industries. Because native fish populations are central to the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems, they serve as ideal indicators of the overall health of aquatic habitat.

Efforts to restore aquatic habitat and recover the watershed’s threatened fish species are the foundation of WATERSHED 2040, the Hood River Basin Partnership’s Strategic Action Plan, which encompasses an ambitious scope of work for restoring fish habitat, streamflow, and water quality over the next 20 years. Much of this work will also strengthen the resiliency of our community and economy, as climate change continues to impact streamflow, water temperature, and aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Watershed Group Coordinator Cindy Thieman presents a summary of the plan, including goals and objectives, recent studies that have informed our understanding of the watershed’s limiting factors to salmon and steelhead, and restoration opportunities and actions.

Watch the recording here.

Watch the recording of the East Fork Hood River Habitat Enhancement Project presentation

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Watch a recording of the East Fork Hood River Habitat Enhancement Project presentation by Bill Norris on March 23rd, 2021.

In 2019 the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs sponsored a habitat restoration project on the lower East Fork Hood River along private property in Parkdale, OR. This project promotes floodplain and off-channel habitat connectivity by splitting flows through side channels to create more diverse habitat conditions. The project included 11 large wood structures that improve juvenile rearing and adult holding and spawning habitat for winter steelhead, coho salmon, and spring Chinook salmon. The project was funded through BPA and designed by Inter-Fluve and Parr Excellence. Bill Norris, the project engineer with Parr Excellence, provides an overview of the project and discusses how the project is faring after a winter of high flows.

Recording available for “Salmon and Steelhead Resiliency to Disturbance and Implications for Watershed Restoration”

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Fire and other types of natural disturbance are often assumed to have negative effects on fish and aquatic ecosystems. However, in recent years a more dynamic perspective on aquatic ecosystems has emerged and studies have found that native salmonids are well adapted to disturbance. Gordon Reeves, Emeritus Scientist with the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station, shares results from studies that he and his colleagues have conducted on the response of salmonids to fire and glacial events, which may have implications for how we approach restoration in the Hood River Watershed.

Find a recording of the presentation here.

A Free-Flowing Mainstem Hood River: The Hood River Watershed 10 Years After Powerdale Dam Removed

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In 2015, Kate Conley from Columbia Land Trust wrote an article for The Osprey about the 2010 Powerdale Dam Removal and the impact on the Hood River and its native fish. The Osprey asked the Watershed Group to write a follow up article on the project – now ten years post-removal – with a focus on fish recovery and restoration efforts.

The article appears in the current/winter 2021 issue of The Osprey. Read the article here. A color version is here.

Thank you to those who provided information for the article, including Phil Simpson from ODFW, Ryan Gerstenberger from the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, and Kate Conley from Columbia Land Trust.

Recording available for “Irrigation Modernization in Hood River and Beyond”

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Margi Hoffman, Director of Strategic Operations, and Raija Bushnell, Program Specialist with Farmer’s Conservation Alliance present on Irrigation Modernization in Hood River and Beyond. Aging agricultural infrastructure, an expanding population, persistent droughts, and declining fish populations are stressing scarce water resources. Farmers in the western United States rely on irrigation to grow food, but many of the diversions and canals that capture and convey this water from rivers to farms are inefficient. Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA), a local non-profit based in Hood River, is working with irrigation districts locally and throughout the West to enable and accelerate the modernization of irrigation infrastructure in order to benefit fish, farms, and rural communities. Raija and Margi present on the history of FCA and recent program successes, and delve deeper into several local projects including the East Fork Irrigation District Irrigation Modernization Project.

Watch the recording here.

Date recorded – 1-23-21

Watch “Climate Change and Forest Ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest” Presentation by David Peterson & Jessica Halofsky

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Watch a recording of the Watershed Group presentation from November 24th, 2020:

David L. Peterson (Emeritus Senior Scientist, U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station and Professor, University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences) & Jessica Halofksy (Director of Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center and National Wildfire Coordinating Group, U.S. Forest Service) present on:

Climate Change and Forest Ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest

A warmer climate has major implications for forest ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. In this presentation, David and Jessica discuss the effects of climate change on (1) tree growth and productivity, (2) species distribution and abundance, and (3) disturbances such as wildfire and insect outbreaks. They also summarize highlights of a new assessment of the effects of climate change in Mt. Hood National Forest, and options for improving the resilience of ecosystems to climatic variability and change (read more about this effort here). Also, check out the fascinating story map based on David and Jessica’s recent paper: Changing Wildfire, Changing Forests: A Synthesis on the Effects of Climate Change on Fire Regimes and Vegetation in the Pacific Northwest.

Recording available for “Steelhead Production Monitoring Update for the Hood River Watershed”

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On October 27th, Phil Simpson with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife presented a Steelhead Production Monitoring Update for the Hood River Watershed.

A recording of Phil’s presentation can be found here.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Hood River Research Program monitors and evaluates actions taken by fisheries co-managers from ODFW and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to improve wild production of summer and winter steelhead in the Hood River subbasin. The Hood River is one of only five Oregon watersheds to have indigenous populations of both summer and winter steelhead. This presentation includes a brief background of Hood River steelhead life history as well as a summary of recovery metrics as they pertain to the National Marine Fisheries Service biological viability criteria.