October & December 2020 OISC Meetings Recap

In case you missed them, here is a quick recap of the most recent Oregon Invasive Species Council meetings held October 21 and December 9, 2020. We had 31 attendees at the October meeting and 28 attendees at the December meeting that participated remotely, representing 34 organizations in total. Representation included 6 Federal Agencies, 6 State Agencies, 2 Educational Institutions, and others including tribes, NGOs, advocacy groups, and individuals.

Highlights from the October meeting include:

• DR Michel (Upper Columbia United Tribes, UCUT), Blaine Parker (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission), and Rick Boatner (Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife) gave updates on and informed a discussion around regional collaborative efforts to limit the spread of Northern pike including a regional working group, outreach, and awareness building. The Council will provide a letter of support regarding the efforts of UCUT and others to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and will work on Northern pike outreach and education collaboratively with partners.

• Troy Abercrombie (Western Invasives Network) kicked off a discussion on leveraging partnerships & activities to advance statewide objectives involving post-fire recovery & invasive species management. The Council will compile invasive species focused post-fire recovery resources online and reach out to lead agencies to encourage integration of messaging where possible.

• Jalene Littlejohn (OISC Coordinator, Samara Group) and Rian vanden Hooff (Oregon Department of Environmental Quality) gave an update on the current status of the Statewide Strategic Action Plan reporting & legislative report. Council members’ input and information regarding their activities in the region will be used to develop a report.

• Nikki Brooks (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) gave an update on behalf of the Worst Invaders Working Group. The working group has been working on producing a new format for you all to see soon that includes 3 products: Worst Invaders list (overview of available information), web/factsheet resources, and risk assessments.

• Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair, Portland State University) provided Chair updates to the Council, including announcing that Christine Moffitt is coming back for a second term and Eugene Wier with The Freshwater Trust will be serving a first term in the environmental stewardship member seat.

Highlights from the December meeting include:

• Rian vanden Hooff (Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ) announced that, with the change in his role at Oregon DEQ, he will be transitioning out of the OISC Ex-Officio Voting Member role. Effective January 2021, Josh Emerson will be representing Oregon DEQ.

• Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair, Portland State University) shared samples of this year’s Portland State University Bioinvasions student projects. These projects will be shared on the OISC News Channel soon!

• Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair, Portland State University) and Jalene Littlejohn (OISC Coordinator, Samara Group) gave an overview on the OISC vision and next steps strategy considerations, which was distilled through individual conversations, existing statutes, and the review that Institute for Natural Resources did of the OISC in 2015. The main takeaways included the need for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), possible Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) review, establishing ways to foster more continuity across years, elevating invasive species issues as critical issues for funding, and creatively and collaboratively identifying and pursuing new opportunities for funding. As a result, the suggested steps for consideration are to form an Executive Committee, consider options for and develop a plan for the OISC Coordinator position, determine timing of Oregon DOJ review collaboratively with ODA, develop an MOU working group, encourage the Budget & Funding Committee to meet monthly, and develop and prioritize a set of actions for Network outreach, including outreach to policymakers. The group agreed with these priorities for 2021.

• Jas. Adams (OISC Public Member) gave an update on the Statewide Strategic Action Plan reporting effort. The action report form will be simplified and re-sent out to the Council to complete.

• Nikki Brooks (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) gave an update on behalf of the Worst Invaders Working Group. The group has started putting species information into the fields that were created for the list. This effort is being used as a trial run with high interest species to see where the gaps are and it’s going really well. 

• After all 2021 Officer votes came in and were tallied, Rick Boatner (Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife) was voted in as 2021 Chair and Troy Abercrombie (Western Invasives Network) was voted in as 2021 Vice Chair.

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for these meetings! Information about the next OISC meeting will be posted on the OISC Meetings Page as details are confirmed. A huge thank you to Catherine de Rivera for serving as the 2020 OISC Chair and to Wyatt Williams for serving as 2020 Vice Chair!

2020 Integrated Weed Maintenance Calendar

4-County Cooperative Weed Management Area’s Integrated Weed Maintenance Calendar has been updated! View/Download the 2020 Integrated Weed Maintenance Calendar here.

Thanks to Mitch Bixby (Botanic Specialist with the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and Vice-Chair of the 4-County Technical Committee) for providing us with background information about the weed management calendar, how it’s intended to be used, and where it will go from here.

One goal of Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMAs) is to create a space for organizations and agencies to partner together. This Weed Maintenance Calendar is one product of collaboration within the ‘Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah, Washington (4-County) CWMA,’ supporting the Portland metro area.   

Following a bond measure in 2013, Metro, Portland’s regional government and longstanding 4-County CWMA member, contracted with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), also a 4-County member, to assemble a management calendar. The calendar would describe the current consensus about managing the weed species Metro staff expected to work on. Starting with King County’s weed management calendar, BES made adjustments based on interviews with local partners, and added some new summaries of the calendar.  In 2014, the Weed Maintenance Calendar arrived and the tool was, and still is, intended to reflect the prevailing opinion for managing the most common situations. The calendar was designed to be a starting point, requiring land managers to make case-by-case management decisions, which might very well diverge from the calendar. 

In 2019, the 4-County CWMA asked Metro to allow revisions for distribution to other land managers and Metro agreed. After a period of discussion (and also of pandemic), the Weed Maintenance Calendar has re-emerged! The revisions aren’t done, and won’t ever be -- we see this as a living document, with the capacity to adjust. As noted above, it’s fully expected that local conditions will require ‘a little more of this’ and ‘a little less of that’. 

While the Calendar might be useful to the general public, professional land managers have a range of opinions about many of these topics. Given the range of organizational priorities, goals, and missions, that is to be expected. 4-County CWMA urges folks who use this calendar to be aware of that range, and to build working relationships with local land managers: they are better able to advise you in your particular circumstances.

The 4-County Technical Committee will be asked to review this document each winter, and make changes as necessary. Please feel free to join the conversation, and watch for future updates. If you have any suggestions for the calendar, please contact Mitch Bixby (Mitch.Bixby@portlandoregon.gov).

Invitation for Public Comment on Washington 2020 Statewide Invasive Species Strategy

The Washington Invasive Species Council (WISC) was created by the Washington State Legislature in 2006 and tasked with providing policy level direction, planning, and coordination for combating harmful invasive species throughout the state and preventing the introduction of others that may be harmful. 

A cornerstone product of the council is  a strategic plan designed to build upon local, state, and regional efforts, while serving as a forum for invasive species education and communication.  The Washington Invasive Species Council Strategic Plan provides priorities, and direction and formalizes the council’s commitment to invasive species control and prevention.   

The WISC is seeking input from partners and the public on  a strategy for 2020-2025, which builds upon the  2008 strategy  and  2015 strategy  and clarifies  council recommendations and proposed actions.   All are invited to review the  draft 2020 strategy, and comment  by  e-mailing  InvasiveSpecies@rco.wa.gov  before December 10, 2020. The Washington Invasive Species Council will review and approve the updated strategy at the December 10 meeting  so implementation of the important and time-critical work may begin. 

Contact: Justin Bush, Washington Recreation and Conservation Office
Cell: 360-704-0973 
Email: justin.bush@rco.wa.gov

The information provided above was originally shared via the Nov 25th, 2020 WISC News Release

Public Hearing Scheduled for OISC Voting Process, Responsibilities & Duties for Chair and Vice-Chair

A virtual public hearing regarding the OISC voting process, responsibilities, and duties for Chair and Vice-Chair is scheduled for December 17, 2020 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM.  The proposed rule would define the voting process and the responsibilities and duties of the Invasive Species Council Chair and Vice-Chair as required in SB 445 from the 80th Oregon Legislative Assembly, 2019. You can find detailed information about the public hearing in the link provided below.

View/Download Official Notice

ODFW Talks Invasive Species with Council Member

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