On a beautiful spring day in late May, nearly 150 of our friends, supporters and partners gathered together on Reed College campus for the Council’s 4th Annual Meeting luncheon to reflect on the Council’s successes of 2008, listen to a powerful keynote speech, and honor retiring board members and Riffle Award winners.

Executive Director Matt Clark presented the 2008 Annual Report, citing community investment as the core of the Council’s mission. Matt noted the tremendous investment the community has made in the watershed, through volunteering their time at restoration events, working with the Council to manage their land to benefit the watershed, and investing in the future through education programs. Recognizing the community’s readiness to invest in the watershed, Matt stated the Council’s highest priority for 2009 is to develop more ways for people to become involved in restoring and enhancing the watershed, particularly by creating year-round volunteer restoration opportunities modeled on the Watershed Wide Event.

Keynote speaker, Charles Hudson delivered a thought provoking speech about three species in Johnson Creek- Salmon, Pacific Lamprey and humans. Hudson spoke of the cultural importance of salmon and lamprey to the Native American tribes of this area, and of the importance of Johnson Creek in their recovery. He spoke of the importance of water across cultures, and suggested that at dinner tables throughout this watershed, people are conversing in different languages about the creek and the health of the watershed. Hudson urged the Council to bring together people of all cultures to work towards restoration efforts.

Board Chair Teresa Huntsinger honored three retiring board members, Walt Mintkeski, Gary Rydout and Jeff Uebel. Matt Clark and staff member Noah Jenkins performed a special song they wrote just for the occasion, which drew bouts of laughter from the audience.

The Council was very pleased to have two student groups present during the Poster Session - Terri Gibson’s students from New Urban High School presented “New Urban High School (Loves) Johnson Creek” and Michael Lancaster's students from Alpha High School presented their Johnson Creek water quality research with a posterboard entitled, "How Does Turbidity Affect Macroinvertebrates?"

2009 Riffle Awards Honor Volunteers

With its annual Riffle Awards, the Johnson Creek Watershed Council honors groups and individuals whose actions in the Johnson Creek watershed in the past year best supports or exemplifies the Council’s mission: To inspire and facilitate community investment in the Johnson Creek Watershed for the protection and enhancement of its natural resources. The Council’s Board Treasurer, Tim Cooper, and staff member Noah Jenkins presented the 2009 Riffle Awards to the following groups and individuals:

Business

REI has stepped forward as a strong corporate partner, fielding an employee team at the 2008 Watershed Wide Event and awarding a grant to the Council to support the event. REI continues to be involved with the Council and we are currently planning a work party this fall with their employees. We appreciate REI’s support and commitment to local environmental issues and look forward to continuing our work with them in the future.

Community

Cub Scout Pack 740 has volunteered at the Watershed Wide Event for the last four years, providing valued service at the Butler Creek and Gresham Woods natural areas. This group of boys has returned, rain or shine, year after year, to clean up trash, plant shrubs and trees, and pull blackberry and other weeds. They are wonderful examples of neighborhood stewards.

Youth/School

Sam Barlow High School has been an active participant in the Watershed Wide Event, stewarding the Hogan Cedars and Ambleside sites. For the past three years, they have contributed an average of forty volunteers to the event.

Public Entities

The City of Damascus is taking an innovative ecosystem approach to development and associated code. The City is in the process of developing a comprehensive plan with a conservation overlay that will protect high value conservation areas in Damascus and will safeguard public and private investment in watershed health in areas downstream in the watershed.

Individual: Ernie Francisco Award

Bruce MacGregor has donated his skills as a photographer (and student of the professional photography program at Mount Hood Community College) to the JCWC and partners for over a year. His vision is to tell the story of the watershed and the work to restore and renew it through his photos. He has made himself available to us whenever we needed images. As a result, his work has graced our website, annual report, and outreach brochure, among other things, and has helped us to update and ‘sophisticate’ the Council’s image.

Photo Gallery