OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Lead by Creative Solutions, LCC, the Institute for Natural Resources, OSU Extension, and Oregon Sea Grant collaborated to facilitate the Mid-Coast Water Planning Partnership in developing their Water Action Plan.
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There are 337 public water providers, servicing almost 3.5 million Oregonians, who rely on surface waters for some or all of their supply. These providers may own their source water watersheds, but many do not. As a result, they have little control on activities occurring in their source watersheds, many of which are forested and managed by a diversity of owners. The purpose of this project was to 1) update that report by synthesizing current science about the impacts of forest management on community drinking water supplies, and 2) describe and analyze the management of forested municipal watershed systems.
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The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) of the Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) asked INR to run a request for proposal process. Researchers affiliated with any Oregon institution of higher education listed in ORS 352.002 were invited to submit proposals to conduct the legislatively-mandated assessment of Oregon’s marine reserve system. The main deliverable was a scholarly review of the marine reserves process and outcomes from 2008-2020, which was detailed in a December 2021 Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Synthesis Report.
In coordination with the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, INR convened a workshop in November 2020 to bring together practitioners, researchers, regulators and other stakeholders to discuss current topics and data gaps related to implementing and monitoring restoration projects intended to achieve a Stage 0 condition.
The workshop was open to discussion of all types of restoration actions focused on restoring Stage 0 conditions, but was primarily focused on outcomes and monitoring of larger-scale projects that utilized heavy equipment to move large amounts of sediment into incised channels from adjacent terraces to reset the valley floor and increase floodplain connection.
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Stage 0 Workshop: Day 1 Sessions I & II - Stage 0 Background/Overview, and Challenges & Uncertainties
Stage 0 Workshop: Day 2 Current Monitoring and Evolving Knowledge & Communication Network/Process
The Institute for Natural Resources and the Institute for Water and Watershed worked with OSU Extension Service staff and faculty associated with water to assess priority water issues that need to be addressed over the next 5-10 years to help guide Extension water activities toward the goal of creating a community of practice.
The project was commissioned by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) to foster better understanding of the effectiveness of their past investments in estuary habitat restoration involving tide gates, and to aid in targeting future investments.
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In 2015, the Oregon legislature found in Senate Bill 202 that policy and program decisions made by natural resources agencies, boards and commissions can benefit from independent scientific review that: (a) reflects a balance of representation from various research sectors, academic and nonacademic, public and private; (b) is performed by distinguished scientists from a range of disciplines; and (c) is clearly communicated to the public and state and local officials.
Senate Bill 202 established the Task Force on Independent Scientific Review for Natural Resources to “evaluate and assess the need for independent scientific reviews in Oregon and make appropriate recommendations” to the Governor and appropriate Legislative committees no later than September 15, 2016.
The Institute for Natural Resources (INR) worked with the California Ocean Science Trust (CalOST) to convene an expert panel that will advance decision-makers’ understanding of the drivers and impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia. The panel synthesized and interpreted knowledge from this scientifically diverse and rapidly evolving field of research, and identified research and monitoring priorities critical to the West Coast's future. CalOST and INR guided and supported the panel using their expertise in understanding manager needs and facilitating cross-disciplinary groups. Together CalOST and INR served as the link between the panel and state, regional and federal decision-makers by providing the management and policy context for ocean acidification and hypoxia.
The work of the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel took place in 2015.