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Natural Resources Program 2015/16 Progress Report

Sean Loughran Maureen Minister October 19, 2016

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• Program Background • Government Island Grassland Mitigation Progress Report • 2015 & 2016 Slough Enhancement & Tree Canopy Projects Status • 2017 Slough Enhancement Recommendation • 2017 – 2019 Tree Canopy Recommendation • CAC Voting: Do you support the Project Recommendations?

Overview

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Airport Futures Natural Resources IGA

• Phased grassland mitigation of 300 acres on Government Island • Enhancements to the Columbia Slough watershed • Enhancements to the urban tree canopy in Columbia Slough

watershed • Enhancements to PIC Wetland

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The Columbia Slough Watershed

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Port Mitigation for Upland Grassland and Habitat

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Government Island Grassland Mitigation Phases

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• Draft Planning Document Complete – September 2011 • Site Specific Mitigation Plan (first 50 acres) – June 2012 • On-site work – began Spring 2012 • 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Site Prep, Monitoring and Annual Reports • 2015 Fall Seeding • 2016 Monitoring, Maintenance and Adaptive Management

Government Island – Progress To Date

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September 2015

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March 2016

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April 2016

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May 2016

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June 2016

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September 2016

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2016 Activity

• Monthly Site Visits • Vegetation, Bird and Pollinator Monitoring • Herbicide Treatments • Proposed for this fall/winter

– Additional herbicide treatments – Mowing patches – Reseeding weedy/bare areas – Data analysis and reporting

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$30,000 per year for Slough Enhancements (25 years) • 2012 – Cully Park North Slope Restoration (Verde) - $30,000 • 2013 – Elrod Slough Restoration (MCDD) - $30,900 • 2014 & 2015 –Turtle Habitat Enhancement Projects

– Whitaker Ponds (CSWC) - $7,000 – Buffalo Slough (Port of Portland) - $45,000

• 2016 – Better Beaver Behavior and Main Channel Benches (CSWC) - $46,363

• Total Commitment to date: $159,263

Enhancements to Columbia Slough Watershed

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Turtle Habitat Enhancement Project Locations • Whitaker Ponds turtle enhancement project is complete.

− Native plants installed in winter 2014/15

• Buffalo Slough turtle enhancement project is complete − Basking structures installed, yellow flag iris removed, and

nesting substrate placed in summer of 2016

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Buffalo Slough Turtle Habitat Enhancement Project

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Better Beaver Behavior Project Goals: Protect key riparian trees from beaver predation,

contributes to habitat and water quality improvement Airport Futures Funding: $19,618

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Better Beaver Behavior Updates

• Installed 50+ beaver cages at Whitaker Ponds with over 30 CSWC volunteers and students

• Worked with 3 PCC GIS students to survey and map over 400 previously installed beaver cages at three sites including Whitaker Ponds, Cornfoot Rd and 47th, and Alderwood Trail

– Products include maps of beaver cages at each site organized by status and data on status of cages to assess need for repair/reinstallation

• Have scheduled time with MYC to begin installing beaver cages in October

• Stewardship Intern developed datasheet for collection in the field and researched methods on beaver damage prevention and best practices

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Better Beaver Behavior Updates

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Project Goals: Wildlife habitat, water quality, reduced bank erosion and increased storm water retention and filtration

Airport Futures Funding: $26,745

Main Channel Benches

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Main Channel Benches Update

• Stewardship Intern and Stewardship Director completed reconnaissance of middle slough to find and prioritize sites for planting

– Products include maps of prioritized sites, photos, and paddling routes for planting days

• Worked with colleagues from various agencies including Multnomah Drainage District, Port of Portland and BES to plan timing of planting and best suited plants

• Scheduled two weeks with the Northwest Youth Corps in late April to complete planting by boat

• Currently completing planting plan and ordering plants

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Main Channel Benches Update

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• $20,000 per year, for tree planting in the Columbia Slough Watershed (25 years)

• 2012 – Parkrose/Sumner planting (Friend of Trees) - $20,000 • 2013 – Elrod Slough Tree planting (Friend of Trees) - $20,600 • 2014/2015/2016 – Multi-year project with multiple project

locations (Friends of Trees) - $65,583 – Neighborhood tree plantings and natural area plantings – Emphasize Impacted Neighborhoods – Emphasize Social Equity as new criteria

• Total Commitment to date: $106,183

Enhancements to Urban Tree Canopy

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• Columbia Children’s Arboretum Revitalization Project

– Planting Event - January 30, 2016

• 49 volunteers (196 hours)

• 300 native trees and shrubs

– Tree Care Event - May 21, 2016

• 61 volunteers (183 hours)

• I-205 Corridor – Planting Event -

December 12, 2015 • 47 volunteers • 45 large trees

Urban Tree Canopy 2016 Projects

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• Neighborhood Tree Planting Projects

– January 30, 2016 – Piedmont and Woodlawn

Neighborhoods – 124 volunteers – 153 street and yard trees

• Non-Owner Occupied Housing Plantings

– April 2016 – Piedmont and Woodlawn

Neighborhoods – Planted by Verde – 81 trees

Urban Tree Canopy 2016 Projects

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Tree Canopy and Slough Enhancement Projects

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• City of Portland - BES • Multnomah County Drainage District • PDX CAC

– Corrina Chase, Columbia Slough Watershed Council

– Tony DeFalco, Environmental Justice

– Micah Meskel, Environmental/Wildlife/Natural Resources

2017 Slough Enhancement and Tree Canopy Recommendation Outreach & Collaboration

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• Contribution to water quality and hydrologic improvement or habitat

enhancement • Community impact • Social Equity (i.e. underserved youth, Minority, Women and

Emerging Small Business Participation) • Consistency with other plans and regulatory requirements • Accomplishes multiple objectives (multiple partners) • Match/leverage other resources • Long-term commitment to maintenance and monitoring • Airport compatibility (wildlife/Part 77)

PDX CAC Selection Criteria

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2017 Tree Canopy Proposal • Provide funding to Friends of Tree for the next three years (2017 –

2019) to implement the following: – Multi-Year Natural Area Plantings

• Columbia Children’s Arboretum • Columbia Slough Natural Area • May’s Lake

– Multi-Year Neighborhood Tree Plantings • Non-owner occupied residential properties • Focus on neighborhoods impacted by airport operations

(Argay, Concordia, Cully, Parkrose, Parkrose Heights, Piedmont, Russell, Sumner, Vernon, Wilkes, and Woodlawn)

– Total Funding Commitment $71,644

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2017 Slough Enhancement Project

• Columbia Slough Watershed Council (CSWC) Columbia Slough Vegetation Maintenance Project

– Work will occur over three years – Year 1:

• Survey old project sites • Inventory projects/work needs at sites

– Partner with CSWC Tech Team to prioritize projects based on selection criteria

– Years 2 & 3: • Perform vegetation maintenance on at least two of

those sites. – Total Funding Commitment $34,780

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CSWC Columbia Slough Vegetation Maintenance Project

• Project Benefits include: – Removal of invasive species that compete with important

native species and limit wildlife habitat – Planting native species that provide critical wildlife habitat

and water quality improvements – Reduced erosion and bank stabilization through the

installation native plants – Ensuring that previous restoration efforts are maintained – Leverage additional funding and support through project

definition and prioritization

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CSWC Columbia Slough Vegetation Maintenance Project

• Additional benefits to Airport Futures – The project list created by this project will have significant

benefit for the selection of future Airport Futures Slough Enhancement projects as it will identify the need for projects, determine their feasibility, and prioritize them based on selection criteria.

– To date it has been challenging to find projects that are ready to implement for Airport Futures funding, this list will help to resolve that by identifying high impact projects that are ready for funding and will result in the greatest benefit to the Slough.

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Discussion Question: Do you support the Natural Resource Program recommendation of the ad hoc committee?

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CAC Voting: Do you support the Natural Resource Program recommendations of the ad hoc committee? • “1” Indicates full support for the proposal as stated. • “2” Indicates agreement with the proposal as stated, but would

prefer some modification to give it full support. Nevertheless, the member supports the consensus even if the modification is not supported by the group.

• “3” Indicates refusal to support the proposal as stated.

PDX CAC Action