Hello Everyone and Happy New (Slough) Year!
I want to start by saying a HUGE heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported CSWC in our year-end fundraising appeal. Whether you donated through Give!Guide, online or mailed in a check, your support helped us reach not one but TWO matches AND contributed to one of our most successful fundraising drives ever! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
CSWC has a lot planned for 2023 and that plan starts now! Check out our events page for everything we have on the roster. From Stewardship Saturdays to monthly trash clean-ups, Owl Prowls, our new monthly Slough Science Program, and winter boating events, we are stacking our calendar with amazing outings (all of which are free) and we very much hope that you can find the time to join us at one (or two)! We also plan to step up advocacy efforts for your watershed and later this month you can join a public zoom meeting with the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), to learn about E-Zones in the Watershed.
Interested in volunteering for CSWC? Check out our new volunteer page on the website and learn about all the opportunities there are to get more involved with The Council.
All of us here at CSWC are ready for the most amazing year yet!
Wishing you all the best in 2023!
Heather
Heather King
Executive Director
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CSWC is now fully staffed! |
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Our Slough Crew is now 10 amazing people strong, ready and energized to provide programming throughout 2023!
A larger team means we have increased capacity to host events, provide more education programs & volunteer training opportunities, and better support our partner organizations. We are so excited to increase our impact on the Watershed and our incredible community in 2023!
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The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is kicking off a project that will remap environmental overlay zones (ezones) in the Columbia Corridor and other industrial areas around Portland. This meeting is intended to provide information about the project to property owners and members of the public.
Ezones are a part of Portland’s zoning code that is applied to protect important natural resources, like streams, sloughs, wetlands, and forest vegetation. Most of the area impacted by the project is industrial or commercial, but many residential properties could be affected, as well. The project team will be working in collaboration with a citywide Economic Opportunity Analysis to balance the need to protect natural resources with the need to preserve industrial land for future job growth.
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DEQ is requesting public comments on a decision to beneficially re-use fine sand material, collected in Columbia Steel’s air pollution control system when breaking molds made of sand, as fill for the Prologis Broadmoor construction project at the former Broadmoor golf course.
DEQ has determined Prologis can use this material safely in specific areas of the Broadmoor property. DEQ made this determination through its solid waste program as a beneficial use determination under Oregon Administrative Rules 340-093, rules 260 through 280. DEQ staff will discuss the project and proposed requirements for handling and placement of the material, and will be happy to answer any questions.
Get more information about the determination, attending the public hearing on Jan. 31 and how to submit comments by reading the public notice at ordeq.org/publicnotices.
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Fish Consumption Advisory for Columbia Slough
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For nearly all resident fish, Oregon Health Authority recommends eating only one fillet meal each month for all fish caught in the slough. This is due to the contaminants the fish may contain such as PCBs, PFAS, and pesticides.
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Groundwater has a continuing importance as a water supply source. By extension, it is important for us to protect our aquifers as a source of drinking water. 2022 was a notable year for Portland in that we relied on the Columbia South Shore Well Field to sustain our water supply through an unusually warm and dry October, and when a November storm hit and washed sediment into the Bull Run reservoirs, we turned right back to the well field as our sole source of water supply for more than two weeks!
Keep an eye out for upcoming aquifer-related events like Cycle the Well Fields on our Events Page!
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Sponsor Highlight:
We would like to welcome our newest CSWC sponsor Level Beer to the Council! Not only did they make a financial donation, they were a Give!Guide Sponsor, they are a partner in our Healthy Industrial Lands Initiative, and they donated event space for our Volunteer Appreciation event in December! If you haven't checked out one of their pubs, we highly recommend taking the time to do so and if you do make sure you say thank you for supporting your watershed!
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Slough Science is here for the New Year! |
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Thursday, Jan. 26th
5:30-7:30pm at Level Beer
Starting in January, CSWC will be hosting monthly educational Slough Science Talks at Level Beer on 148th Ave!
For our first Slough Science talk, join C. Zee Searles Mazzacano, Ph.D. a local Entomologist & invertebrate ecologist who will be talking all about dragonfly's.
This presentation will be in English and Spanish.
Slough Science is free and open to whoever is curious, so come nerd out with us!
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Join CSWC for a slough of events to learn about and improve the watershed's natural resources. Register or find out more information about CSWC events on our website.
Tuesday, January 10th, 9AM-11AM
Kick off 2023 with Columbia Slough Watershed Council and Portland Parks & Recreation at a cleanup event at the Kelley Point Park canoe and kayak launch!
Saturday, January 14th, 9AM-11AM
Ever find yourself wondering about the birds in your backyard or your local park? Join bird walk leaders Thomas Meinzen and Ryan Gilpin for a free bird walk at Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, one of the country's largest urban wetlands!
Thursday January 26th, 5:30-7:30PM
Join speaker C. Zee Searles Mazzacano discussing dragonflies! The presentation will be in Spanish and English. Registration is free and open to all. Please support our amazing host and sponsor, Level Beer!
Saturday January 28, 2023, 9AM-2PM
Come join the Columbia Slough Watershed Council and Portland Parks & Recreation as we plant native White Oak and Madrone trees. This event is a collaboration between several community groups to enhance habitat at one of our favorite urban natural areas!
Tuesday, February 7, 6PM-7PM
Join Columbia Slough Watershed Council and resident owl expert Elaine Murphy for a night walk at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park. This family-friendly event is open to all people, and all ages!
Thursday, February 9, 6PM-7PM
Join Columbia Slough Watershed Council, local organization BirdHers and resident owl expert Elaine Murphy for a free outdoor night walk at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park. This event is for womxn, queer, non-binary and trans people of all ages.
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