Coos Watershed Association
P.O. Box 388, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420
T: (541) 888-5922, E: [email protected]
Coos Watershed Association - Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Crew House at Oregon Department of Forestry, Coos Bay
Board of Directors Members Present:
Don Yost, President
Member at Large
Jason Richardson, Vice President
Weyerhaeuser Company
Marty Giles, Past President
Recreation and Tourism
Reese Bender
South Coast Anglers STEP Association
Gary Cooper
South Slough National Estuary R Reserve
Joan Mahaffy
Agriculture
Paul Merz
Fisheries & Aquaculture
Dave Messerle
Messerle & Sons
Ashley Russell
Confederated
Allen M. Solomon
Member at Large
Greg Stone
Small Woodland Owners
Other Individuals Present:
Alexa Carleton
Dan Draper
Jen Feola
Liz Galli-Noble
Clea Harrelson
Ed Hughes
Freelin Reasor
Allison Tarbox
Gary Vonderohe
Coos WA staff
Coos WA staff
Bureau of Land Management
Coos WA staff
Coos WA staff
Coos WA staff
Coos WA staff
Coos WA staff
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
1. Approval of November 8, 2016 meeting minutes
Marty Giles asked that the minutes be corrected to show the correct spelling of “Stulls Falls.” She then made
the motion: to approve the November 8, 2016 as corrected. Reese Bender seconded the motion. The motion
was unanimously approved by a vote of the Board members.
2. Committee Reports:
a. Don Yost gave a brief report for the Executive Committee. He reported that the committee met on
December 6, which was the new executive director’s second meeting with them. The Executive
Committee discussed: financials (including the development of a simple organizational budget); the
annual campaign; staff updates (including an update on the office manager hiring process); and the
planning of upcoming Board meetings. The Executive Committee also met on Friday, December 9
to discuss the executive director’s six-month performance evaluation, which will be conducted on
May 2, 2017.
b. The Strategic Planning Committee is being reactivated and the strategic planning process will
resume as we begin to work closely with Kathi Jaworski again. She will be attending the January 10,
2017 board meeting and the February 10, 2017 board/staff retreat, both of which will focus on
strategic planning. Liz Galli-Noble asked meeting attendees to review the packet of strategic
materials (developed by Kathi Jaworski) in preparation for those upcoming meetings. There was
also a request for additional board members to join the Strategic Planning Committee. Joan Mahaffy
asked to be removed from the list, and Dave Messerle and Joe Metzler were added to the list.
Strategic Planning Committee members are: Marty Giles, Elise Hamner, Dave Messerle, Joe Metzler,
Greg Stone, and Don Yost.
c. Alexa Carleton reported for the Education Committee. Two important items that they are currently
working on are: (1) Alexa Carleton and Clea Harrelson’s Mayfly Festival to be held on May 13, 2017;
and (2) the first ever Teddy Villars Scholarship for local high school students, due on March 1, 2017.
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d. The Projects Committee did not meet and had nothing to report.
3. Staff Presentation: Ed Hughes, Coho Life Cycle Monitoring Project Coordinator, gave a presentation on his
academic and professional background, current projects, ongoing and continuing work, and emergent
opportunities.
4. Staff Reports
a. Liz Galli-Noble gave a brief recap of her executive director’s report to the Executive Committee
i. Update: meeting with Kathi Jaworski and Alexis Brickner on Thursday, Dec 1, 2016
ii. Update: Office Manager hiring process going well
iii. Broadcast this morning!! Oregon Public Broadcasting Nov 10 tour and story focused on
Stulls Falls and WF Millicoma logjams projects by reporter Jesse Burns
iv. Update: OT Rule Change
v. 2017 AFS annual meeting: Ed Hughes, Allison Tarbox and Clea Harrelson presenting;
Bend, OR; Feb 28-March 3, 2017
vi. Grant Extensions:
1. Ross Slough
2. Restoration Project Development TA
3. Wasson Creek Restoration Design
4. Oxbow: for billing purposes
5. E Fork Sediment Reduction Phase II: still need to do all of the work
6. Lower Millicoma Aquatic Inventory
7. Tioga Creek Restoration
b. Alexis Brickner gave an update on staff projects and activities
i. Alexis Brickner –
1. Attended Oregon Dept of Agriculture’s Interagency Noxious Weed Symposium in
Corvallis, Dec 6-8; presented on accomplishments of Gorse Action Group; she is
still working on the scholarship application and a grant to Oregon State Weed
Board
ii. Dave Nelson –
1. Working on a planting project on Wren Smith Creek, funded by BLM RAC
2. Planting at Ross Slough on Lee Webster’s property completed
3. Still waiting on CREP contract to get started on Sorensen’s side
4. Will start working on habitat restoration for endangered western lily; USFWS
contract
5. He has 3 seasonal crew members: Heidi & Zack (OYCC alumni) and Lexi (who
volunteered with USFWS & ODFW this summer)
iii. Alexa Carleton
Great youth projects lately:
1. Harding group (OYCC funded) did clean-up work at the native dune garden at
Coos History Museum
2. Installed a wetland garden around a spring at Mingus Park
3. Heidi and Zack also a change to help with this project and they really enjoyed
working with the next group of OYCC Harding students as mentors.
4. Alexa’s Master Stewards are working with Blossom Gulch Elementary School
students in a mentorship program to talk about salmon life cycles.
iv. Freelin Reasor – continuing his stream gauging work, looking at water flow and turbidity
v. Dan Draper, Ed Hughes, Clea Harrelson – are in full salmon survey mode.
1. Dan working on East Fork
2. Ed & Clea surveying on Palouse and Larson
c. At the request of a board member, Liz Galli-Noble developed and distributed a summary of her oneon-one meetings with 14 board members.
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5. Announcements and Important Dates:
a. Joe Metzler gave the presentation: Devils Staircase Wilderness: A Wasson Creek Journey on Sunday,
December 11 at 7:00 pm to the Audubon local chapter. He would love to give this presentation at a
future board meeting.
b. Upcoming scheduled Coos WA meeting announcements:
i. Next BOD Meeting – Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 7:00 am at the ODF Crew House
1. Kathi Jaworski will present as a preparation for the strategic planning process at the
Retreat
ii. Board Retreat – February 10, 2017 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
1. Location – TBA (in town Coos Bay)
2. Focus of Retreat: Strategic Planning, facilitated by Kathi Jaworski
3. Will take the place of February 2017 Board Monthly Meeting
iii. The board voted to have their 2017 Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in the
evening. Location to be announced shortly.
iv. Alexa Carleton announced that The World did a wonderful article about her watershed
education program’s Oregon Cost Community Action building educational signs project
which takes guests on a walking tour of the center’s rain garden. The article and photos
appeared in the Dec 12 paper.
v. Paul Merz announced that there is a STEP meeting tonight at the Noble Creek Hatchery.
6. Other Business
No other business was discussed.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 am.
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