Tryon Creek Watershed Council

A day of restoration work parties April 27th 2013

On Saturday April 27th, volunteers will work together to restore Tryon Creek, pulling invasives and planting trees at many different sites.  Gather at the Riverdale Highschool Parkinglot at 9727 SW Terwilliger Blvd from 8:30-9AM for a free breakfast.  At 9:00 we will carpool or walk to our sites where we will work until 12:30.

This year we will again be partnering with Comcast Cares Day, sponsored by Hands on Greater Portland.  If you would like a free Tshirt, please register with Hands on Greater Portland by clicking the links.  If you have difficulty with the registration, please email us at tcwc@tryonfriends.org.

In partnership with Hands on Greater Portland’s Martin Luther King Day of Service, we are hosting two important work parties and your help is needed!  Click on the title to sign up at the HOGP website.  Call or email Corrina 541-921-7394 / tcwc@tryonfriends.org with questions.
10-1PM Meadowview Restoration: Directions: Site is near 11968 Southwest 12th Place.  From Portland, take 1-5 south to Terwilliger exit.  Take a hard right back over I-5 to take terwilliger south towards Lewis and Clark.  Take a soft right onto Boones Ferry Road.  After a tight corner on Boones Ferry, take a right onto Stephenson Road.  Take your first left onto SW 12th Place, which ends in a cul de sac.  There is a path here that goes into the green space by the creek.  It is hard to see but there should be people and signs.

Paget Creek, a tributary to Tryon Creek, flows through the Meadowview HOA common area and has been overgrown with invasive Himalayan blackberries. The creek and local wildlife miss having native trees and shrubs for shelter, habitat, and erosion prevention. Come help recover the creek by planting trees and shrubs to heal its banks.  Gloves, tools and lunch will be provided. Please bring drinking water and wear weather and task-appropriate clothes. Sturdy shoes are required as we will be working on a steep and muddy bank. Boots might be appropriate.  Funded by OWEB.
12-3PM Tryon Life Community Farm: We will be meeting at the Riverdale School and a shuttle will take you to the Farm, which is a short distance.  Parking is very limited at the farm.  The TLC Farm is a very special community project at the convergence of forest, rural, and urban lands. The boundary of this organic community farm has been overwhelmed by invasive blackberries. These have been cut down and a combination of goat grazing and hand work to remove to remaining root crowns will prepare the area for a native medicinal plant garden.  Volunteers will help plant native plants in areas that are already prepared and pull blackberry crowns and ivy elsewhere.  Funded by WMSWCD.

Interested in attending in depth trainings on conservation planning and implementing a restoration plan with your new knowledge?  Become an Urban Watershed Mentor!

After going through a series of trainings, mentors will be able to implement restoration projects either on their own properties or on publicly owned land.  Following the implementation of a restoration project the trained mentors will become part of a network of community volunteer leaders that can mentor new interested volunteers to facilitate the implementation of more restoration projects!  As the network grows more and more conservation work will be possible through this program.

The trainings will be held once-a-month for six consecutive Saturdays from January through June, 2013, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.  The exact schedule is as follows:

January 12, 2013, SW Community Center, 6820 SW 45^th Avenue, Portland

February 9, 2013, SW Community Center, 6820 SW 45^th Avenue, Portland

March 9, 2013, SW Community Center, 6820 SW 45^th Avenue, Portland

April 13, 2013, Tryon Creek Nature Center, 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd. Portland

May 11, 2013, Tryon Creek Nature Center, 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd. Portland

June 8, 2013, Tryon Creek Nature Center, 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd. Portland

The cost of the training program is $30 at the door (of the first session) or $25 in advance. To register for the trainings, go to http://www.wmswcd.org/content.cfm/Events/Urban-Watershed-Mentors-Training.  For information on the program and to sign up on the Mentors email list serve please contact Mary Logalbo at mary@wmswcd.org.

West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District mission: “Conserve and protect soil and water resources for people, wildlife and the environment.”

The Pacific lamprey, a relatively little-known inhabitant of the Northwest’s rivers and streams, will be the subject of a free public talk co-sponsored by the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition and the Tryon Creek Watershed Council.

The event will take place Nov. 8 in the Kraft Room of the Tryon Creek State Park Nature Center (11321 S.W. Terwilliger Blvd.), beginning at 6 p.m.

Jeffrey Jolley, supervisory fish biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will speak on “Pacific Lamprey Folklore and Fact: Conserving a Poorly-Understood Northwest Fish.” Jolley will review the fascinating natural history of this ancient fish and describe efforts to revive it; lamprey populations are in decline through much of their range.  Lamprey (often miscalled eels) once flourished in large numbers wherever salmon and steelhead were found, including Oregon’s coastal rivers as well as the Columbia Basin. Like salmon, they are anadromous, and also like salmon, they were very important to Pacific Northwest tribes.

Oregon Shores’ annual membership meeting will follow Jolley’s presentation. Only members can vote, but audience members attending the lamprey lecture are welcome to remain and learn more about the organization.

For more information, contact Corrina Chase, (541) 921-7394, aquilegia@gmail.com.

How it works:

1. Fill out the below form with your wish list of native plants by October 1, with a minimum order of 10.
2. We will invoice you for the plants that are available at $2/plant.
3. Once we receive your payment, due October 14th, we will order them whole-sale
4. Pick up your plants in the first week of January for planting.
They will be bare-root so will need to be planted within a week.

Discounts available if you live within Tryon Creek adjacent to a stream or for large (>100) orders.

Need help choosing a plant?  Try these resources:
Native Plant Finder
Portland Plant List

Thanks to all that attended our third annual Tryon Creek Watershed Wide Event on April 29.  We planted over 500 trees and shrubs and cleared several truckloads of invasive species.  Six sites included Deer Creek, Arnold Creek, The Tryon Creek Community Life Farm, and public land near Englewood Drive.  This was sponsored by the Southwest Neighborhoods Inc, OWEB, Ash Creek Nursery (donated plants), Friends of Tryon Creek, West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, and of course, the Tryon Creek Watershed Council.

Thanks to our volunteers and partners for helping us make such a big impact on our watershed!