South Santiam Watershed Council

After a summer break the South Santiam Watershed Council will resume meetings in September. The September meeting will be held at the Lebanon Public Library (55 Academy St.) from 6-8 pm.

Click here to view the draft meeting agenda.

The South Santiam Watershed Council will be meeting next Wednesday, May 19th from 6:00-8:00 pm. We will be meeting at the Lebanon Public Library at 55 Academy St. next to the Senior Center. The meeting room is located directly to the left as you enter the building.

This month, the SSWC has a lot of important business to attend to: Updating the biennial workplan and budgets, as well as discuss some new personnel who will be joining the Council.

Click here to view the draft agenda.

The South Santiam Watershed Council will be meeting on Wednesday, April 21st at 6:00 pm at the Lebanon Public Library. The library is located at 55 Academy St. in Lebanon.

This month we are pleased to welcome Dr. Raylene Gordin. Dr. Gordin will be presenting “Western Bluebirds in the Mid-Willamette Valley: The decline and recovery of a sensitive species.” The talk will cover the biology and behavior of the Western Bluebird and how it is affected by land management practices, including a synopsis of the Audubon Society of Corvallis Bluebird Trail.

On March 11th, the South Watershed Council will be meeting with our regional watershed partners (North Santiam and Calapooia Watershed Councils) at the Stayton Community Center in Stayton, Oregon at 400 Virginia Ave. A potluck dinner will begin at 6:30 PM and will be followed by a discussion on upcoming projects and stream survey results, including information about the McDowell Creek and Hamilton Creek sub-basins.

The meeting will be a great opportunity for South Santiam Watershed Council members to meet our partners in restoration and learn more about the regional work that has immediate benefits in the South Santiam watershed.

For more information on the partnership, visit the new regional web page at http://www.calapooiasantiamcollaboration.org.

The South Santiam Watershed Council will be meeting on Wednesday, February 17th at 6:00 pm at the Lebanon Library. The library is located at 55 Academy St. in Lebanon.

This month we are pleased to welcome Greg Taylor, supervisory fisheries biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Taylor will be presenting an update on the 2008 biological opinions on the impact of the 13 federal dams located in the Willamette Basin.

Come prepared to learn about how the “Bio-Op” will shape operations at Foster and Green Peter Dams over the coming years, and what that might mean for fisheries in the South Santiam watershed.

Clich here to see the latest SSWC newsletter

The South Santiam Watershed Council will be holding it’s January meeting on Wednesday, January 20th at the Lebanon Library from 6:00-8:00 pm.  This month, we are pleased to welcome Joe Holmberg, retired OSU faculty, who will be delivering the following presentation:

Woody Biomass: The Triple Win – Takes a close look at opportunities for the conversion of woody biomass from Oregon’s forests into “green” energy, biofuels and other bioproducts.

The new Lebanon Library is located at 55 Academy St.

The mouth of Ames Creek in Sweet Home, Oregon presents a passage barrier to migrating fish in the South Santiam River. These fish include Upper Willamette Spring Chinook Salmon, winter steelhead, and resident trout.

Historically, fish had access to Ames Creek during the winter months when the South Santiam River would backflood into the creek. The South Santiam River is now regulated by Foster Dam upstream of the Ames Creek confluence and backflooding into the creek occurs rarely, if ever. Restoring consistent fish passage into Ames Creek is a goal of the South Santiam Watershed Council.

For more information, click here to visit our Ames Creek page.

The South Santiam Watershed Council will be meeting next Wednesday, November 18th from 6:00-8:00 pm.  We will be meeting at the new Lebanon Library at 55 Academy St. next to the Senior Center. The meeting room is located directly to the left as you enter the building.

The SSWC is pleased this month to welcome Professor David E. Hibbs, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University.  Professor Hibbs will be presenting on “Patterns of Riparian Forest Vegetation”.

This presentation will touch on the results of three riparian studies.  The first is an overview of the variation in riparian forest composition from the scale of Western Oregon to the scale of stream reaches.  The second study looks at trees in riparian forest undisturbed by humans for the last 150+ years, asking questions about future potential large wood input into streams. The third study compares food chains in alder-dominated and conifer-dominated riparian forest. Most riparian management decisions are based on shade and large wood considerations; this presentation will look at nutrition as a third factor in these decisions.

The presentation will run from 6:00-7:00 pm, the Board of Directors meeting will follow, which is also open to the public.

Board Meeting Agenda

7:05-7:10 October Meeting Minutes Review and Approval

7:10-7:25 Discussion on Upper Willamette Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Plan:  South Santiam Actions

7:25-7:35 Fiscal Discussion:  Investment Strategy

7:35-7:40 Willamette Model Watershed Timeline

7:40-7:45 Discussion:  Storage space…

7:45-7:50 Spring Events Announcements and Discussion

7:50-8:00 Open for public comment and discussion