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Tualatin River Watershed Council Projects |
Lower Gales Creek Project
Project
Staff |
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Project
Role & Focus |
Gales
Creek Habitat Survey: LWD Survey |
Lead worker |
Michele
Koehler of ABR Inc.
PO Box 249
Forest Grove, OR
Office: 503-359-7525
Cell: 503-860-3357
Fax: 503-359-8875
mkoehler@abrinc.com
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Main tasks |
Tasks will
include conduct site specific
instream surveys of large woody debris
(LWD) in the sites associated with instream
restoration projects in Lower Gales Creek. The
LWD surveys will be conducted
using methodology developed for habitat
restoration by the California Fish and
Game. A
map figure showing locations
of debris jams and the habitat units
in which they occur will be provided
in the report. Land
use adjacent to and upstream
from project sites will be noted in order
to correlate land use activities with
LWD input. The
need for additional large wood
for energy dispersion, grade control
and channel complexity will be evaluated
for each site after current levels of
wood have been assessed. Future
conservation and other land use activities
that may change levels of LWD input in
the streambed will also be reviewed. ABR,
Inc.’s
project manager will also correspond
with the TRWC and attend meetings
as part of this project.
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Organization Background/Bio |
ABR, Inc.
is a small privately owned environmental
research and services firm with offices
in Forest Grove, Oregon and Alaska. ABR
has been operating for 29 years and offers
expertise in a variety of environmental
disciplines, including fish and wildlife
research, environmental impact assessment,
vegetation and habitat analyses, and
ecological restoration. ABR’s
15 Senior Scientists have over 275 years
of field experience in Wildlife and Fisheries
Management, Marine Biology, Ecology,
Wetlands Science, Soils Science, and
Terrain Analysis. A well-qualified
technical staff provides research coordination,
contract and budget management, editorial,
graphics, statistical, and GIS support
to our scientists. ABR’s
services have benefited a diverse group
of clients, including resource management
agencies, watershed councils, engineering
firms, local municipalities, timber,
utility and mining companies, and the
and oil and gas industry.
Michele earned an MS in Fisheries
and Aquatic Sciences from the University
of Washington, Seattle and a BA in
Biology and Environmental Studies
from St. Olaf College, Northfield,
MN. She started her career with
ABR, Inc. in 2004.
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Weblinks |
www.abrinc.co |
Project
Role & Focus |
Gales
Creek Habitat Survey: Project management
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Lead
worker |
Ric
Balfour of Ric
Balfour & Associates
2406 15th Avenue
Forest Grove
Oregon 97116-2805
ph 503-357-7558
cell 503-349-8055
ric.balfour@verizon.net |
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Main tasks |
Tasks as
project manager include coordinating
access with landowners and project consultants;
assisting project consultants with any
problems; serving as the contact person
for landowners; working with the Council
coordinator in sharing information concerning
stream conditions and potential remedies
with local community and streamside owners;
working with the Council coordinator
in identifying partners, including local
community, streamside owners and residents
and other sub-basin groups, to develop
and implement projects. In addition,
it also includes management of three
workshops including - arranging meeting
location; preparing for meeting and facilitating
meeting; providing meeting materials. |
Organization Background/Bio |
In 2003,
Ric Balfour established himself as a
consultant based in Forest Grove, Oregon
specializing in planning and design in
natural resource recreation, education
and interpretation.
Prior to becoming a consultant,
Ric was Director of Forestry Education
for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.
During that time he coordinated statewide
environmental education programs,
teacher training and natural resource
training programs for landowners and
professionals. A highlight was the
design and development of the 10 acre
forestry interpretation project called
the Rediscovery Forest at the Oregon
Garden.
From 1991 to 1998 Ric established
a new program of recreation, education
and interpretation for the Oregon
Department of Forestry. The centerpiece
of this program is the Tillamook State
Forest Interpretive Network which
includes at least a dozen nodes now
in place and a 6000 sq foot Interpretive
Center now under construction. During
fire season he was a Lead Information
Officer for one of three State Incident
Management Teams.
Ric earned a graduate degree in
Forest Recreation Resource Management
from Oregon State University, and
New Zealand undergraduate degrees
in Forestry as well as Parks, Recreation
and Tourism. Ric is an adjunct instructor
at both Pacific University and at
Oregon State University.
He is a native New Zealander and
started his career as a Ranger with
the NZ Forest Service. He has lived
in Forest Grove since 1991 with his
wife Holly and now has two daughters – Fiona
age 4 and Lillian age 18 months. |
Weblinks |
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Project Role & Focus |
Gales
Creek Habitat Survey: Geomorphic Assessment |
Lead worker |
John
Dvorsky of Swanson
Hydrology + Geomorphology
1346 SW Bertha Blvd
Portland
Oregon 97219
ph 503-230-9204
fax
503-230-9219
dvorsky@swansonh2o.com
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Main tasks |
In March
of 2003 the Tualatin River Watershed
Council completed a study called the
Lower Gales Creek Habitat Enhancement
Plan. The Enhancement Plan recommended
actions for 13 stream reaches and suggested
nine restoration projects, dependent
upon land owner interest, designed to
improve habitat conditions for steelhead
and other salmonids. The nine projects
included diverse habitat enhancement
measures such as riparian planting projects,
widening riparian buffers, increasing
channel complexity through engineering
log jams, and enhancing floodplain and
channel interactions. To obtain the information
necessary for the project design, permitting,
and implementation phase, the Council
has hired Swanson to conduct a geomorphic
analysis on the study reach to answer
some key questions. Namely, how
is the channel functioning geomorphically
as compared to historic conditions, what
is the expected long term stability of
the channel, are the recommended projects
appropriate within the existing morphology
and sediment transport regime, what effects
would the proposed projects have on planform
and profile stability and sediment transport
conditions, and are there external factors,
such as land-use change or changes in
downstream base level that would effect
the future success of the proposed enhancement
activities? Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology
will answer these questions through a
combination of historic data analysis,
review of aerial photos, and focused
field work. |
Organization Background/Bio |
John Dvorsky’s
eight years of experience in geomorphology,
hydrology, and fisheries biology has
made him an integral part of the SH+G
team. John specializes in watershed
and stream restoration planning and site-specific
project plan implementation. For
SH+G he has managed watershed assessments,
salmonid enhancement planning projects,
multidisciplinary monitoring programs,
sediment source analyses, and reach-scale
hydrologic and geomorphic assessments. His
educational background, training, and “big-picture” understanding
of both the biological and physical components
of a project, allows him to synthesis
the available information and make quality
resource management decisions. John
works closely with SH+G engineers to
make sure current geomorphic, hydrologic,
and ecological principles are being integrated
into restoration projects. John
is currently the lead scientist for SH+G’s
satellite office in Portland, Oregon.
M.S. University of California at
Santa Barbara; June 2000. Geography
Department – Geomorphology/Hydrology/Fisheries
Ecology/GIS. Thesis and studies with
emphasis in interdisciplinary study
relating sediment movement, storage
and grain size distribution to the
density of salmonids.
B.S. University of California at
Santa Barbara; June 1993. Aquatic
Ecology and Environmental Science. Study
emphasis on freshwater ecology and
management. |
Weblinks |
www.swansonh2o.com |
Project
Role & Focus |
Gales
Creek Habitat Survey: Project Coordinator |
Lead worker |
Jackie
Dingfelder
Environmental Planning and
Policy Consulting
2124 NE 54th Ave
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 810-3972
jdingfelder@comcast.net
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Main
tasks |
Three
Rivers Land Conservancy’s project
coordinator will oversee field staff
to quantify and locate the invasive plant
species Japanese and Giant knotweed and
English Ivy in the four-mile project
reach of Lower Gales Creek watershed
(river miles 10-14). This will
be accomplished using handheld GPS and
locating data points along Lower Gales
Creek for entry into a database developed
by The Nature Conservancy. The
data collected during field surveys will
then be used to create maps and reports
describing the location and extent of
knotweed and ivy along Lower Gales Creek.
The information will be shared with
the Gales Creek community and stream
side owners. The Watershed Council
and its other partners, such as Three
Rivers Land Conservancy, will be working
with streamside owners on strategies
to prevent and eradicate invasive
plant species. |
Organization
Background/Bio |
Three
Rivers Land Conservancy has hired Jackie
Dingfelder as the Gales Creek Habitat
Survey project coordinator. Jackie
has been working as an independent Environmental
Policy and Planning Consultant since
2003.
Prior to that, Jackie worked as
the Watershed Program Manager at For
the Sake of the Salmon. She
provided technical assistance and
support to community-based watershed
groups in Washington, Oregon and California.
She also served as the first Coordinator
for the Tualatin River Watershed Council
where she managed all aspects of the
Watershed Council operations including
fundraising and grant management;
designing and implementing public
outreach, conducting watershed assessments
and restoration projects. Supervised
staff and volunteers. Facilitated
meetings and served as council spokesperson. Developed
Tualatin River Watershed Assessment
and Action Plan.
Jackie also worked for several years
in the private sector as an Environmental
Planner for several large engineering
firms including CH2M Hill here in
Oregon.
Jackie earned her graduate degree
in Regional Planning and Water Resources
Management from University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill and undergraduate
degree in Geography with an emphasis
on geomorphology.
Jackie has resided in Portland since
1993 with her husband and enjoys hiking,
bicycling, kayaking, gardening and
reading. |
Weblinks |
http://www.trlc.org/ |
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