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2021 Webinars
"The Importance of meaningful partnerships with tribal nations when establishing local, regional and global conservation programs." with Wendy F. K’ah Skaahluwaa Smythe, Ph.D., Alaskan Native of the Xáadas Nation of the Sdast’as clan, located in Hydaburg, Alaska.
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Description:
Dr. Smythe has worked with the Haida tribe in Southeast Alaska for the last 13 years on conservation issues that directly impact environmental and human health. She has collaborated with the school district to conduct research on issues around logging and impacts in fishery resources, and input of pollutants in local coastal ecosystems. The program has provided data from research projects by high school students to the tribal environmental planner and has resulted in local remediation projects, workforce development with students working for the tribe post-graduation, and emplacement of policies to ensure sustained conservation efforts. Dr. Smythe will invite a discussion about ways in which watershed councils, conservation districts and land trusts might connect and engage with tribes on collaborative planning and projects.
July 15th, 2021 - "Stitching together pollinator habitat initiatives across Oregon."
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This webinar features Andony Melathopoulos, Assistant Professor of Pollinator Health Extension in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University.
Andony Melathopoulos outlines some of the challenges associated with building and tracking pollinator habitat in Oregon. He discusses how goals and objectives for specifically bee habitat are factoring into the new Oregon Bee Project statewide strategic plan. The talk highlights key resources for agencies across the state to make better recommendations for maintaining and creating pollinator habitat.
March 25th - "Building a Fundraising Program from Scratch!"
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This webinar features David Allen, Director of Development for Conservation.
Development for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift systems. David Allen brings 30 years’ experience to the practice, including thirteen with TNC in Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin.
How do we get started raising money? We have a critical environmental mission, and we live and work in what Joel Garreau called Ecotopia. Shouldn’t raising money be easier? Is there a recipe? How do we get from where we are to sustainability? Well, it won’t be plug-and-play, exactly, but there are a set of basic tenets for raising money from individuals that we can studiously employ that will help. Join fundraising expert David Allen as we explore the basics of getting started raising money. We propose and discuss ways to think about fundraising, ideas for building and maintaining loyal support, where to start looking for first-time donors, fundraising metrics, and much, much, more.
February 18th, 2021 -- Project Bidding and Contracting for Watershed Councils and Land Trusts
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This webinar features Garry Sanders, MS, Project Manager and Fisheries Biologist for the Crooked River Watershed Council. Garry has a background in fish and aquatic ecology, stream geomorphology, and hydrology. He has extensive project management experience, including project bidding and contracting processes.
Session Description: Contracting is an integral part of operations for Watershed Councils and Land Trusts, and mistakes can cause project delays, cost overruns, and potential litigation. Even so, Watershed Councils and Land Trusts rarely have the time, funding, or staff capacity to devote staff fully to contract development, negotiation, and oversight. Let’s chat about some of the basics and help you learn best practices surrounding contracting, bidding, and contract implementation. We will cover bid package development and best management practices to successfully create, advertise, and solicit bid packages from both professional services (engineering, ecological assessment, etc.) and construction contractors. In addition, we will give an overview of the state’s general contracting law for Watershed Councils and Land Trusts as well as tips for procurement policies for your organization.
January 21st, 2021 - Working with the National Flood Insurance Plan (NFIP) when pursuing Habitat Restoration
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Erin Cooper_FEMA NFIP slide deck
This webinar features Celinda Adair, NFIP Coordinator with the Oregon DLCD and Erin Cooper, Senior NFIP and ESA Specialist, FEMA Region 10 Mitigation Division.
Session Description: The recent rescindment of FEMA’s 1999 policy on Fish Enhancement Structures has led to some confusion around how to properly proceed with habitat restoration and fish habitat enhancement structures that impact regulatory floodways. In this webinar, experts from Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and FEMA Region 10 will provide an overview of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as well as helpful background on the regional policy that was rescinded in August 2020. The presentation will offer some paths forward as well as encourage discussion among attendees to address questions that likely exist within the Oregon conservation and watershed stewardship community.
2020 Webinars
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Julie Harvey_DEQ_OrCP_slide deck
Michelle Smith_COLT_OrCP_slide deck
Jon Souder_OSU_OrCP_slide deck
Jared Weybright_McKenzie WC_OrCP_slide deck
"Drinking Water Providers Partnership" features Julie Harvey, Drinking Water Protection Coordinator with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It also features a panel discussion with Dr. Jon Souder, Assitant Professor with Oregon State University Extension Service; Michelle Smith, Water Project Manager for the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, and Jared Weybright, the Executive Director of the McKenzie Watershed Council.
This session provides an overview of grant opportunities for projects that have a federal nexus and address environmental conservation and restoration projects in community/municipal drinking water source areas. This is a great opportunity for councils, districts, and land trusts to work with our federal partners and public water systems on projects that are mutually beneficial. We also feature a panel of current member organizations who currently partner on DEQ projects.
November 18, 2020 - Organizational Collaboration in many forms, a panel discussion
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Collaboration among organizations can come in many forms and offer a diversity of individual and collective benefits. However, collaboration also takes a lot of work and deciding on a collaborative approach that is the right fit for you and your partners can be overwhelming. By attending this webinar you will hear from four different organizations on how they approach collaboration, what structure works for them and the opportunities and challenges that come with a collaborative approach to conservation work.
Panel Members:
Courtney Shaff is OWEB’s Interim Business Operation Manager and has been with OWEB for almost 15 years. Courtney manages multiple grant programs at OWEB that support both individual as well as partnership capacity.
Brian Barr, has been the Executive Director of the Rogue River Watershed Council since it emerged from the merger of four separate watershed councils in the Rogue Basin. Brian has spent almost half of his life working on Rogue River issues and is passionate about fish conservation.
Jessica McDonald is Greenbelt Land Trust’s new Executive Director, but has been working with the land trust since 2009 as the Associate Director and Development Director. Jessica has been one of the key leaders on the Confluence Project, a vison of collaboration and community among diverse environmental organizations in Corvallis.
Sydney Nilan is the coordinator of the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network. Sydney’s position brings together a set of organizations with a strong history of loose coordination toward more purposeful collaboration. This collaborative effort is helping them to leverage each organization’s unique strengths to create new opportunities and landscape scale impact throughout the Upper Willamette basin.
Abbie Forrest is the coordinator of the Wasco Area Watershed Councils, a unique collection of five watershed councils that work collectively through a coordinating board and are directly supported through the Wasco SWCD.
October 29th, 2020: Fish and Fire: Time for a New Perspective?
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Fish Adaptation to Wildfire scifi198-1
Gordon Reeves is an Emeritus Fish Ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service
Fire has been assumed to have negative effects on fish and their aquatic ecosystems. One primary reason for this is the perspective that aquatic ecosystems are stable through time, returning to an equilibrium condition shortly after disturbance. However, a dynamic perspective of aquatic ecosystems has emerged in recent years, which view disturbances, such as fire, as an integral component of aquatic habitats. Also, several recent studies on the effect of fire on fish and aquatic ecosystems have found that native fish are well adapted to changes resulting from fire, and not necessarily affected negatively. These findings present the opportunity to consider adjustments to existing institutional management policies and practices to the extent feasible. It will also require convincing the public and interested parties about the validity of the new perspective and provide them an understanding of the implications to policy and practices. This presentation examines the new perspective and the challenges of incorporating it, or some part of it, into policies, practices, and public perceptions and the consequences of not being able to make these changes.
August 20th, 2020 - Planning Successful Programs and Events in a Pandemic
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This webinar features:
- Grace Graham, Program Associate, Columbia Slough Watershed Council
- Jane Keppinger, District Manager, Marion Soil & Water Conservation District
- Lynette Villagomez, Outreach Coordinator, North Coast Land Conservancy
This session explores tips and best practices in adapting fundraising initiatives, education/outreach programs and other events to meet social distancing guidelines.
June 18th, 2020 - After the Quarantine: Practical Tips for Reopening
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After the Quarantine_OrCP_slide deck
Employer Resources_OrCP_webinar
Session Presenters:
- Laura Salerno Owens, President, Markowitz Herbold PC,
- Kyle Busse, J.D.; Leading Employment Attorney, Markowitz Herbold PC
As employees return to work, employers are facing uncharted waters and need to be prepared to handle the “new normal.” The leaders of the employment team at Markowitz Herbold – Laura Salerno Owens and Kyle Busse – will answer frequently asked questions on workplace re-openings, and provide practical tips and policies to help minimize your workplace liabilities.
May 29th, 2020: A Primer for Financial Strategy in Times of Crisis
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Financial Strategy in Times of Crisis_OrCP_slide deck
PIMG-Strategic Financial Management Resources 2020c
Session Presenter: Scott Schaffer, Principal: Lead Consultant, Public Interest Management Group
Session Description: The current public health crisis has disrupted many nonprofits’ operations and funding sources, with longer-term impacts that remain unknown. Nonprofits, including land trusts and watershed councils, face immediate budget impacts and potential threats to sustainability. In this session we will summarize steps that organizational leaders can take to visualize a financial strategy to proactively address the impacts of the crisis.
April 16th, 2020: Clean Rivers Coalition statewide outreach campaign strategy
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CRC Webinar Slides for OCP.4.16.20 (2)
- Roy Iwai is a water resources specialist with Multnomah County's Water Quality Program.
- Keri Handaly, Senior Environmental Analyst, City of Gresham
- Alix Danielsen, Watershed Restoration and Outreach project manager for Hood River Watershed Group
The Clean Rivers Coalition (CRC), Oregon's new clean water outreach coalition, is a voluntary collaborative that brings together local government, state and federal agencies, watershed councils, SWCD's, and water-related non-profits. The CRC is developing a statewide outreach platform and a new outreach campaign that combines science and social marketing. The new value-based outreach campaign was informed by stakeholder feedback, a public survey, and the development of an open source pollutant risk database that the CRC used to help prioritize water pollutants in a limited resource environment. CRC shares their new outreach campaign strategic plan in this session.
March 19th, 2020 - OWRIO: The Clone Wars - Win When Reporting Restoration Projects
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This webinar features Bobbi Riggers, OWEB's Data Coordinator.
Learn how to streamline reporting in the Oregon Watershed Restoration Inventory’s online tool using the “Clone” feature and be equipped with helpful hints and a template for tracking necessary details prior to reporting. The Oregon Watershed Restoration Inventory (OWRI) originated with the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds and is the largest restoration information database in the Western U.S. The Inventory is used for tracking, reporting, and supporting restoration efforts, and to inform watershed assessments and future restoration project planning and prioritization.
February 20th - Publicize your work with free PR from the partnership
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This webinar features Natalie Bennon, account executive from Gard Communications. Since January 2017, the Oregon Conservation Partnership has secured funding for Natalie to help members publicize their work.
In this webinar, Natalie discusses how you can work with her to bring more attention to your work. She has worked with dozens of conservation districts, watershed councils, and land trusts throughout Oregon to get the word out in the news about everything from newly funded OWEB projects to efforts to the threads on public funding for conservation projects.
January 16th, 2020 - Recent Changes in Oregon Law that Affect your Nonprofit Organization
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Session Presenter: David E. Atkin is the Director and Attorney of the Center for Nonprofit Law. He has provided legal counsel to Watershed Councils in the past and has participated in the CONNECT conference.
Session Description:
The Oregon legislature passed a bill in 2019 to amend the Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Act that just took effect this month, on January 1, 2020. There are numerous changes in the law that affect your nonprofit organizations. This presentation explains these changes in Oregon law and answer questions about how they apply to your specific organizations.
Note that this webinar is about nonprofits, specifically, and there is no discussion of laws affecting SWCDs.
2019 Webinars
December 19th, 2019: Escaping the Too Lean Budget Trap: Using a Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate
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On December 19th at 10:00 a.m., Rob Hoshaw (Long Tom Watershed Council) and Tara Choate (OWEB) will present "Escaping the Too Lean Budget Trap: Using Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rates to get what you actually need!"
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Session Description: Many nonprofits are all too familiar with operating on lean budgets and the struggle to fund capacity and operational costs. “Administration” or “indirect costs” are words often attached to a negative connotation, and yet these activities provide the essential infrastructure for an organization to succeed in its mission. An indirect cost rate agreement can be one tool to help provide funding for admin and operations. Nonprofits who consistently receive funds from a federal funder may want to consider applying for a federally-negotiated indirect cost rate (FNICR). It may sound scary and mystifying, but it doesn’t have to be! For the last nine years, the Long Tom Watershed Council has applied for an FNICR, and Rob Hoshaw of LTWC shares their experiences on how the process has worked, as well as some tips and suggestions to demystify the FNICR application process. Tara Choate from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board talks about the differences between direct and indirect costs and explain the FNICR process from a funder perspective.
"Oregon's 100-Year Water Vision." with OWEB Executive Director, Meta Loftsgaarden. Learn more about the 100-Year Water Vision in this webinar and on the Vision website: www.oregonwatervision.org
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Documents:
Description:
The Governor's Natural Resources Office and state agencies are working to learn more about Oregon's water infrastructure needs. Meta Loftsgaarden has been touring the state for Community Conversations in which community leaders and decision-makers have discussed the draft 100-Year Water Vision. This webinar is a great opportunity for those of you who missed the Conversations to get an update on the Vision! Meta briefly presented the draft plan, answered excellent questions from the audience, and described how stakeholders like the watershed councils, land trusts, and SWCDs on the call could have a voice in the Vision.
September 19th, 2019 - "Using Drones and Low Elevation Remote Sensing Technology to Measure Changes in the Environment"
Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly
being used to record images before and after restoration actions are
implemented across our watersheds. This technology offers the potential to
monitor impacts associated with restoration actions that are more
efficient when compared to ground based methods. Yet, the learning curve
is steep to apply this technology and create a useful product in a timely
manner. Three speakers will provide a short presentation that describes
their approach to using this technology to answer their monitoring
questions and describe challenges, lessons learned and recommendations. A
question and answer session will follow the three presentations.
Panelists:
- Ken Fetcho, OWEB Effectiveness Monitoring Coordinator
- Herb Winters, Gilliam SWCD District Manager Herb Winters' Prezi
- Lauren Burns, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Fishery Biologist Lauren Burns' PDF
- Matt Barker, OSU Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management Graduate Student Matt Barker's PPTX
Due to an error in GoToWebinar, this webinar was not recorded in full. We apologize for any inconvenience!
August 15th, 2019 - "401 Water Quality Certifications for Restoration"
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401 Water Quality Certification is one part of the permitting process for projects that require in-water work. Restoration work often requires this kind of certification prior to construction. In-water work includes dam removals, stream relocations, and placing materials in streams and/or wetlands. This webinar discusses when a 401 WQC is required, and why certification is important in Oregon. We will discuss steps to certification, including fees and land use requirements.
Presented by Sara Christensen, the statewide 401 water quality certification coordinator for the Oregon DEQ.
July 18th, 2019 - Your OWEB Grant from Start to Finish
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- Powerpoint: OWEB Grant from Start to Finish
- Oregon rules and statutes governing OWEB, including rules on grant eligibility
- OWEB Grant Eligibility Criteria (zipped folder)
This webinar provides participants with the know-how to take an idea all the way from project development, to successfully obtaining an OWEB grant, and managing the project through completion and monitoring. Content is geared toward project managers working within the Open Solicitation grant program, but the information is useful for anyone working with OWEB funding who wants to confidently and efficiently navigate the process. The webinar is broken into three components:
- To Boldly Go – taking a project from an idea to a reality
- I Need More Power! – a project becomes a grant
- Live Long & Prosper – wrapping up and monitoring a project
The webinar will be presented by OWEB staff Katie Duzik, Regional Program Representative for the North Coast, and Sue Greer, Regional Program Representative for the Mid-Columbia region. It is modeled after the three-session workshop recently presented at the CONNECT 2019 conference in Sunriver.
June 20th, 2019 - Beaver Dam Analogs and Post-Assisted Log Structures: Cost-Effective, Scalable Methods for Region-Wide Stream Restoration
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Session Presenter: Dr. Chris Jordan, Research Fisheries Biologist with NOAA/NMFS’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Program Manager for the Mathematical Biology and Systems Monitoring Program. chris.jordan@noaa.gov
Session Description: The systematic and widespread removal of large woody debris (LWD) and beaver has resulted in simplified and degraded riverscapes. Historically, large woody debris and beaver dams were ubiquitous throughout North American riverscapes. Beaver dams and large woody debris have been shown to influence hydrologic and geomorphic processes in similar ways, creating fish habitat and spawning areas and promoting sediment and nutrient retention. The introduction of habitat structures has been practiced for at least a century, with restoration focused on the creation of discrete habitat features, often pools for fish, rather than emphasizing how structures could enable and promote processes. To address the scope of degraded streams region-wide, however, cost-effective and scalable restoration methods are critical. In this webinar, we learn about two types of low-tech restoration structures designed to achieve specific stream restoration objectives. Dr. Jordan’s recent work has focused on the design and implementation of large-scale monitoring programs to assess anadromous salmonid freshwater habitat and population status as well as the watershed-scale effect of management actions on salmonid habitat and population processes.
- BDAs and PALs Powerpoint
- If you have questions about the webinar, including where to find some of the sources mentioned in the presentation, feel free to email Dr. Chris Jordan at chris.jordan@noaa.gov
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May 16th, 2019- Government Relations for Conservation Organizations: Furthering conservation through partners, allies, advocacy
- Handout: Government Relations Toolkit
- Handout: Tips from OACD Executive Director and former Oregon State Representative Jan Lee\
Session Description: The conservation work our members implement and promote is strongly influenced by policy decisions made by agencies and elected officials, and our missions can be better achieved if decision-makers are well-informed about the work we do.
March 21st, 2019- Riparian Restoration Monitoring for Salmonids in a Multiple Use Context
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February 21st, 2019- Aquatic Weeds and Water Quality Ecosystem Game Changers
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January 17th, 2019- Low-Impact Development: The Role of SWCDs, Watershed Councils, and Land Trusts in Urban Development
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- Handout: Resources on Low-Impact Development
2018 Webinars
December 20th, 2018: Seeing Our Conservation Work Through the Lens of Climate Change: the Role of Natural and Working Lands
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Session Presenter: Dr. Rose Graves, Portland State University and The Nature Conservancy
December 6th, 2018: ODF Streamside Protections Reviews: Western Oregon and Siskiyou
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Sessions Presenters:
- Adam Coble, ODF Monitoring Specialist
- Ariel Cowan, ODF Monitoring Specialist
- Terry Frueh, ODF Monitoring Coordinator
- Marganne Allen, ODF Manager, Forest Health and Monitoring
November 15th, 2018: 2018 Tidegate Updates and Discussion
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Session Presenter: Melaney Dunne, Coquille Watershed Association/NOWC rep for the Tidegate Partnership.
November 9th, 2018: Insights from Willamette Watershed Council capacity study
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Session Presenter: Bala Cadambi, BEF
November 1st, 2018: Lending to Landowners Using the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
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Session Presenter: Roxann Nayar, Integrated Water Resource Specialist, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Using Open-Source Technology to Simplify Watershed Council Transparency and Collaboration in the Clackamas River Basin
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Session Presenters:
- Daniel Newberry, Executive Director, Johnson Creek Watershed Council
- Matt Deniston, Founder and Managing Partner, Sitka Technology Group
August 23rd, 2018: OWEB On-line Monitoring Application Tutorial
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Session Presenter: Ken Fetcho, Effectiveness Monitoring Coordinator, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
July 19th, 2018: Developing your Core Message -- by Oregon Lottery
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Session Presenter: Matt Shelby, Public Information Manager, Oregon Lottery
June 21st, 2018: Thinking like an OWEB review team
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Session Presenters: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Regional Program Representative Team
May 17th, 2018: 2017 Nationwide 401 Water Quality Certifications
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Session Presenter: Roxann Nayar, 401 Water Quality Specialist, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
March 15th, 2018: Using the News Media for Conservation Outreach: 'Hows and Whys' of telling your story to journalists
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Session Presenter: Natalie Bennon, Gard Communications
February 15th, 2018: Exploring deep collaboration and space-sharing among districts, watershed councils and land trusts
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Session Presenters:
- Jessica McDonald, Associate Director, Greenbelt Land Trust
- Holly Crossen, Executive Director, Benton SWCD
January 18th, 2018: Americorps as a Resource for Oregon Watershed Councils, Land Trusts and Conservation Districts
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Session Presenters:
- Lara Jones, Confluence
- Megan Smith, RARE
- Titus Tomlinson, RARE
2016 - 2017 Webinars
November 16th, 2017: Cultural Resources Protection Compliance: a training webinar for technical staff
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Session Presenter: John Pouley, Assistant State Archaeologist, Oregon SHPO
October 12th, 2017: Best Databases for River and Watershed Groups: An overview for Oregon Watershed Groups
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Session Presenter: Baird Straughan of LeadGreen (also developer of WaterGrass)
August 24th, 2017: Exploring Partnerships with the Human Health Sector to Accomplish Outdoor Education
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Session Presenters:
- Bobby Cochran, Willamette Partnership
- Emily Henke, Oregon Public Health Institute
- Cameron Brown, Willamette Partnership
August 10th, 2017: Accomplishing Watershed Education in Oregon in 2017 and Beyond
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Session Presenter: Shawn Morford, Executive Director, The Network of Oregon Watershed Councils
June 29th, 2017: The Outdoor Education Momentum in Oregon
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Session Presenter: Susan Sahnow, Director of the Oregon Outdoor School, Oregon State University
June 22nd, 2017: Watershed Restoration Prioritization Using Finescale Modeling and Field Verification
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Session Presenter: Ryan Gordon, Executive Director of the Network of Oregon Watershed Councils
March 16th, 2017: Quick Intro to "R" Statistical Software
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Session Presenter: Adam Griggs, Science Manager, River Network
January 25th, 2017: Funding land conservation in Oregon with RCPP
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Session Presenters:
- Brendan Weiner, Program Director, Gallatin Valley Land Trust
- Derek Johnson, Director of Protection and Stewardship, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon
- Julia Lakes, Conservation Director, Wallowa Land Trust
- Loren Unruh, Assistant State Conservationist, NRCS Oregon
November 17th, 2017: Risk management and insurance in voluntary conservation work
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Session Presenter: Lynn Omey, CIC, Account Executive, WSC Insurance
September 28th, 2016: Logic Models: A great planning tool for showing conservation impacts
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Session Presenter: Shawn Morford, Executive Director, Network of Oregon Watershed Councils