On episode 33 of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s (ODFW) Beaver State Podcast, you can listen to ODFW Invasive Species Coordinator & OISC member, Rick Boatner, talk about the invasive species he is currently fighting, the invasive species he is currently worried about, and more!
Listen now here: https://myodfw.com/articles/beaver-state-podcast-episode-33-invasive-species
The Oregon Invasive Species Council has greatly expanded to better represent the diversity of geographic regions and industries and natural resources key to Oregon. The Council broadened, increasing its ability to successfully thwart invasive species, following passage of Senate Bill 445 (sponsored by Senator Roblan), in the 2019 Oregon Legislative Session. The bill diversifies member representation to enhance communication among local, state, and federal efforts and to advance invasive species coordination efforts throughout the state. Consistent with this new expanded structure, eight new voting Council members were selected in December 2019 from a pool of diverse and qualified nominations for an upcoming two-year term (2020-2021), following an annual request for nominations to fill available seats. Additionally, this year new ex-officio (not term-limited) member organizations and their representatives were added from various levels of government to fill out the OISC’s new structure per revised statute. These include:
Oregon State Parks (represented by Noel Bacheller, Botanist/Natural Resource Coordinator)
State Legislature:
House of Representatives (represented by Representative David Brock Smith,
District 1)
Senate (represented by Senator Arnie Roblan, District 5)
Oregon Governor’s Office (represented by Amira Streeter, Natural Resources Policy Advisor)
U.S. Federal Agencies from Department of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Bureau of Land Management (represented by Erin McConnell, Oregon & Washington Invasive Species Program Coordinator)
Bureau of Reclamation (represented by Heidi McMaster, Regional Hazmat & IPM Coordinator)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (represented by Brendan White, Conservation Partnerships Division Manager)
U.S. Customs & Border Protection - Agricultural Inspection (represented by Nicole Brooks, Agricultural Specialist)
Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (represented by Meg Raabe, Pest Survey Specialist)
U.S. Forest Service (represented by Karen Ripley, Forest Entomologist/Forest Health Monitoring Coordinator)
Natural Resources Conservation Service (represented by Kathy Pendergrass, Oregon Plant Material Specialist)
In addition to these ex-officio appointments, the OISC welcomes the following new appointed members:
Troy Abercrombie, Coordinator of Western Invasives Network (1st term on the Council)
Troy currently serves as the Coordinator for the Western Invasives Network (WIN), a network of 11 Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMAs) that encompass 21 counties in western Oregon and southwest Washington. In this role, Troy facilitates and assists with the coordination of the CWMAs and their associated activities while serving as a resource to their membership, providing support for project development, partner recruitment, and community engagement. Troy represents an entity with a headquarters or principal operations in Clatsop, Columbia, Lincoln or Tillamook Counties and with a purpose of responding to invasive species concerns.
Jas. Adams, Public Member (2nd term on the Council)
Jas. developed a particular interest in invasive species issues while advising the OISC in the role of Attorney-in-Charge of the Natural Resources Section at Oregon DOJ (2007-14). His work on invasive species has included conceiving and crafting 2011 legislation making it mandatory for all boats being transported on roads to stop at check stations and be inspected for aquatic invasive species or be subject to civil penalties. This is his second term on the Council. During his first term on the Council (2015-2016), Jas. helped develop the 2017 Oregon Statewide Strategic Plan for Invasive Species by serving as committee chair and chief editor. Jas. is serving on the Council as a member of the public.
Peter Kenagy, Farmer at Kenagy Family Farms & Regional Representative of the Oregon Farm Bureau (1st term on the Council)
As a lifelong resident, farmer, and manager of 450 acres along the Willamette River in Benton County, Peter has seen firsthand the shifts in vegetation and pressures of invasive weeds both on agricultural lands and natural areas over the last 45 years. He is the Region 10 (Linn, Benton, and Lincoln County) regional representative on the state Farm Bureau Board and has been part of the Benton County CWMA since its inception. Peter has a unique and broad perspective on the issues and challenges that invasives present for both our natural areas and working lands. Peter represents an organization or association that advocates on behalf of private industry in this state.
Tim Newton, Chair of Malheur Soil and Water Conservation District (1st term on the Council)
Tim is the current Chairman of the Malheur County SWCD and has 50 years of experience working in agriculture with progressive irrigation and water conservation techniques. In his role, he works with producers and landowners in Malheur County to address invasive species issues. Currently, they have 6 on-the-ground projects that deal with invasive species. Tim represents an entity with a headquarters or principal operations in Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Klamath, Lake or Malheur Counties and with a purpose of responding to invasive species concerns.
Dave Pranger, Weed Coordinator/Inspector in Morrow County (2nd term on the Council)
For nearly 30 years, Dave has been the Morrow County Weed Coordinator. He is also a board member and past President of Oregon Vegetation Management Association. This is Dave’s second term on the Council. During his first term on the Council, Dave was an active participant in Council meetings and serves as the Chair of the OISC’s Eastern Oregon Working Group, which he helped form. Dave represents an entity with a headquarters or principal operations in Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco or Wheeler Counties and with a purpose of responding to invasive species concerns.
Cheryl Shippentower, Plant Ecologist at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (1st term on the Council)
Cheryl is a Plant Ecologist for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Department of Natural Resources. In this role, her primary responsibility is the protection, enhancement, and ecological restoration of First Foods that are critical to Tribal culture. Because invasive species impact ecosystems that support First Foods, invasive species management is a major component of her work. Cheryl represents a Native American or Indian tribe or association of tribes within this state.
Rep. Sherrie Sprenger, Oregon State Representative, District 17 (1st term on the Council)
Sherrie has served in the Oregon House of Representatives since 2008. During that time she has been a member and Vice Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, which frequently deals with invasive species issues. During her service in the Legislature and on the natural resources committee, she has become familiar with a host of issues relevant to the Council, ranging from wildlife management and conservation, to K-12 education, to parks and recreation. Representative Sprenger represents an entity with a headquarters or principal operations in Benton, Lane, Linn, Marion or Polk Counties and with a purpose of responding to invasive species concerns.
Alex Staunch, Operations Manager/Project Manager at Mosaic Ecology (1st term on the Council)
Alex is an Operations Manager/Project Manager at Mosaic Ecology, a private habitat restoration contracting and consulting firm based in Portland, OR. In this role, Alex manages a diverse portfolio of monitoring, surveying, and mapping projects and he uses his background in taxonomy and plant systematics to identify rare natives and new non-natives on the ground. He also manages on-going wetland restoration projects in the Willamette Valley and leads terrestrial restoration efforts in the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area. Alex represents an entity with a headquarters or principal operations in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington or Yamhill Counties and with a purpose of responding to invasive species concerns.
The Council now includes 28 members altogether. Dr. Catherine de Rivera will serve as the Oregon Invasive Species Council Chair for 2020. Catherine is a Professor of Environmental Science & Management at Portland State University, and represents the Portland State University Center for Lakes & Reservoirs on the Council. Wyatt Williams, an Invasive Species Specialist from the Oregon Department of Forestry, will serve as Vice-Chair.
The full press release can be found on the OISC Press and Media page (link here).
A full list of all OISC members can be found on the Council page (link here).
For our fourth and final installment of 2019 New Council Member Fridays, meet Erin McConnell! Erin is the Invasive Species Program Coordinator for Oregon and Washington at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In her role at BLM, she provides support to field programs, including reviewing pesticide use and distributing funds. Invasive species management is a huge part of Erin’s work, especially noxious weeds. One particular invasive species that she is concerned with is Ventanta dubia, an annual grass that was overlooked for a while, but is now everywhere!
With over 20 years of experience working as a Weed Manager for Oregon BLM, 19 of which were spent working in rural eastern Oregon, she has and will continue to share valuable insight that she has learned from her experience managing BLM District Weed programs and weed control activities, including chemical, biological, manual, and mechanical methods. Since becoming a Council member, Erin has joined the Education & Outreach Committee, the Communications Committee, and the Eastern Oregon Working Group. We are thrilled to have her on the Council and look forward to continuing a coordinated effort to tackle invasive species!
For our third installment of New Council Member Fridays, we’re happy to introduce Christine Moffitt!
Christine spent the summer of 1969 in Coos Bay at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, which fueled her love for the Oregon coast. Christine says her favorite place in Oregon is the Shore Acres state park due to the natural beauty, amazing beaches, and dramatic waves one can encounter there.
In her role as a fisheries biologist, Christine’s work was directly affected by invasive species introductions. She focused her research on understanding aquatic systems, which includes the present-day consequences of invasive species introductions made more than 150 years ago, when fisheries and biologists didn’t know how drastic those consequences would be. She has mostly spent time working on the removal of invasive fish, including eradicating carp. Christine got involved with other, smaller organisms while studying whirling disease, mollusks, and shellfish. Her biggest concern is the altering of ecosystems: small organisms are so easily transported, hard to see and understand, and there is still so much about them that is unknown. Globalization poses a large threat due to transportation and speed at which organisms are being relocated.
As a newly appointed Oregon Invasive Species Council member, Christine is most looking forward to using her knowledge to make a difference and support education and awareness about invasive species. In addition to her accolades as a biologist and role as Emerita professor at the University of Idaho, she also loves music and is the president of the Oregon Coast Music Association.
Meet Norie Dimeo-Ediger, joining the OISC in 2019 as an at-large Council member. Norie holds a master’s degrees in both K-12 science education and adult education, and she currently acts as the Director of K-12 Education Programs at the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Throughout her career, she has acted as an educator in many settings, from classroom to field programs to community colleges to her current setting at the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. She has both formal and non-formal environmental and outdoor education experience.
Having worked for over 30 years in and outside the classroom, educating students of all ages, it is an exciting opportunity to have Norie on the Council. She is well-known and respected throughout the state for working collaboratively to develop and support relevant and useful programming and resources. Norie also brings an expertise in building diverse and collaborative partnerships and an ability to engage audiences in understanding important ecological concepts.
When it comes to invasive species work, Norie comes at this topic with a lens of forest management. Invasive species are of paramount importance for the health of forest species and forest practices. A top concern of Norie’s is the invasive species that are introduced via firewood. She understands the importance of storytelling when it comes to educating about the threats of invasive species, which is part of why she’s excited to be a newly appointed OISC Council member! Norie told us in an interview, “I’m most looking forward to leveraging resources, not reinventing wheels. I look for different talents and ways to approach solutions in a group setting.”
