October & December 2020 OISC Meetings Recap

In case you missed them, here is a quick recap of the most recent Oregon Invasive Species Council meetings held October 21 and December 9, 2020. We had 31 attendees at the October meeting and 28 attendees at the December meeting that participated remotely, representing 34 organizations in total. Representation included 6 Federal Agencies, 6 State Agencies, 2 Educational Institutions, and others including tribes, NGOs, advocacy groups, and individuals.

Highlights from the October meeting include:

• DR Michel (Upper Columbia United Tribes, UCUT), Blaine Parker (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission), and Rick Boatner (Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife) gave updates on and informed a discussion around regional collaborative efforts to limit the spread of Northern pike including a regional working group, outreach, and awareness building. The Council will provide a letter of support regarding the efforts of UCUT and others to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and will work on Northern pike outreach and education collaboratively with partners.

• Troy Abercrombie (Western Invasives Network) kicked off a discussion on leveraging partnerships & activities to advance statewide objectives involving post-fire recovery & invasive species management. The Council will compile invasive species focused post-fire recovery resources online and reach out to lead agencies to encourage integration of messaging where possible.

• Jalene Littlejohn (OISC Coordinator, Samara Group) and Rian vanden Hooff (Oregon Department of Environmental Quality) gave an update on the current status of the Statewide Strategic Action Plan reporting & legislative report. Council members’ input and information regarding their activities in the region will be used to develop a report.

• Nikki Brooks (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) gave an update on behalf of the Worst Invaders Working Group. The working group has been working on producing a new format for you all to see soon that includes 3 products: Worst Invaders list (overview of available information), web/factsheet resources, and risk assessments.

• Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair, Portland State University) provided Chair updates to the Council, including announcing that Christine Moffitt is coming back for a second term and Eugene Wier with The Freshwater Trust will be serving a first term in the environmental stewardship member seat.

Highlights from the December meeting include:

• Rian vanden Hooff (Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ) announced that, with the change in his role at Oregon DEQ, he will be transitioning out of the OISC Ex-Officio Voting Member role. Effective January 2021, Josh Emerson will be representing Oregon DEQ.

• Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair, Portland State University) shared samples of this year’s Portland State University Bioinvasions student projects. These projects will be shared on the OISC News Channel soon!

• Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair, Portland State University) and Jalene Littlejohn (OISC Coordinator, Samara Group) gave an overview on the OISC vision and next steps strategy considerations, which was distilled through individual conversations, existing statutes, and the review that Institute for Natural Resources did of the OISC in 2015. The main takeaways included the need for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), possible Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) review, establishing ways to foster more continuity across years, elevating invasive species issues as critical issues for funding, and creatively and collaboratively identifying and pursuing new opportunities for funding. As a result, the suggested steps for consideration are to form an Executive Committee, consider options for and develop a plan for the OISC Coordinator position, determine timing of Oregon DOJ review collaboratively with ODA, develop an MOU working group, encourage the Budget & Funding Committee to meet monthly, and develop and prioritize a set of actions for Network outreach, including outreach to policymakers. The group agreed with these priorities for 2021.

• Jas. Adams (OISC Public Member) gave an update on the Statewide Strategic Action Plan reporting effort. The action report form will be simplified and re-sent out to the Council to complete.

• Nikki Brooks (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) gave an update on behalf of the Worst Invaders Working Group. The group has started putting species information into the fields that were created for the list. This effort is being used as a trial run with high interest species to see where the gaps are and it’s going really well. 

• After all 2021 Officer votes came in and were tallied, Rick Boatner (Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife) was voted in as 2021 Chair and Troy Abercrombie (Western Invasives Network) was voted in as 2021 Vice Chair.

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for these meetings! Information about the next OISC meeting will be posted on the OISC Meetings Page as details are confirmed. A huge thank you to Catherine de Rivera for serving as the 2020 OISC Chair and to Wyatt Williams for serving as 2020 Vice Chair!

Upcoming 2020 OISC Meetings & Milestones

Below is a list of upcoming OISC meetings and milestones. You can find these and other important dates on the OISC Events page. Detailed information on OISC Business Meetings is posted on the OISC Meetings page as it becomes available.

• September 9 (1-4 pm): OISC Virtual Business Meeting - draft agenda available here.

• September 14: Deadline for 2021 OISC member nominations! https://www.oregoninvasivespeciescouncil.org/nominations

• OISC Strategic Plan Working Group Session focused on key topics. The intent of these working sessions is to review strategies & document actions that have occurred 2017-2020. Proposed dates are below:

  • Sept 16 (10a-12p): Forests & Watersheds

  • Sept 18 (10a-12p): Aquatics & Animals

  • October 14 (10a -12p): Agriculture 

• Week of September 21 (scheduling in progress): Ex-Officio voting members review nominations and appoint 2021 members

• September 23 (1-3pm): OISC Communications & Education Committees Joint Meeting 

• September 23-25: Oregon Legislative Days

• Week of September 28: Expected announcement of 2021 membership & 2021 officer (Chair & Vice-Chair) nomination period begins

• December 9 (1-4 pm): OISC Virtual Business Meeting - agenda and conference details coming soon. 

If you would like to participate in any of the Committee or Working Group meetings mentioned above, please email the Coordinator (coordinator@oregoninvasivespeciescouncil.org).

June 2020 OISC Meeting Recap

In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of the most recent Oregon Invasive Species Council meeting held June 2, 2020. We had 35 attendees that participated remotely, representing 24 organizations. Representation included 7 Federal Agencies, 6 State Agencies, 2 Educational Institutions, and others including NGOs, advocacy groups, and individuals.

Some meeting highlights include:

• Council members discussed the pending OISC budget cut, its implications, and next steps.

• Council member Jas. Adams (member of the public) gave an update on behalf of the Strategic Plan Update Working Group. They have been working on clarifying concepts and terminology within the plan and creating a new reporting tool to collect invasive species activities that have been carried out. This compilation of information will allow for adaptive management and support a feedback loop to improve the plan over time.

• Council member Amira Streeter (Office of Governor Kate Brown) gave a status update on Oregon’s 100-Year Water Vision. Council members were asked to reflect on how their work impacts the 100-year water vision and how their organization can help to see the vision implemented. This conversation will be continued at future OISC meetings. 

• OISC Committee member Lindsey Wise (Institute for Natural Resources) gave an update on Oregon's Invasive Species Hotline & iMapinvasives and expressed the need for additional funding to support administrative time to recruit managers to respond to reports, manage the species list, migrate information between platforms, and more.

• Council member Karen Ripley (USDA Forest Service) gave an update on behalf of the Communication Committee on the status of several OISC outreach materials that are in the process of being updated. The Communication Committee and Education & Outreach Committee will be working together to finalize a new and improved OISC brochure.

• Council member Nikki Brooks (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) gave an update on behalf of the Worst Invaders Working Group. They have been working on refining the current list and enhancing coordination with other states. The Working Group would like to maintain a running comprehensive list that is not restricted to a certain number of species and is also recommending that the list be searchable by region and categorized into sections for prevention, eradication, and control.

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for the meeting! Information about the next OISC meeting will be posted on the OISC Meetings Page as details are confirmed.

June 2020 Meeting Update: COVID-19

Due to the risks of coronavirus spread, the Oregon Invasive Species Council (OISC) will be postponing the regional stakeholder meeting in Central Oregon to a later date and we will instead hold a virtual business meeting on June 2, 2020 from 12:30-4:30 pm. A meeting agenda and remote participation details will be posted to the OISC Meetings page as it becomes available. 

Other upcoming events are on the OISC Events page. If you would like to share details about an upcoming invasive species event, or any other relevant information, please feel free to share that with the OISC coordinator at coordinator@oregoninvasivespeciescouncil.org.

The OISC is considering other virtual options to engage with invasive species managers and members of the public during this time. If you have any suggestions for how we can support virtual engagement or promote one of your events, please let us know.

January 2020 OISC Meeting Recap

In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of the most recent Oregon Invasive Species Council meeting held January 28, 2020 in Salem. We had 40 attendees representing 29 organizations. Representation included 6 State Agencies, 5 Federal Agencies, 2 Educational Institutions, 2 Tribes, and others including NGOs, advocacy groups, and individuals.

The meeting included introductions from new and existing Council members, a presentation from Council member Rian Hooff on the OISC’s past and present, updates from Catherine de Rivera (2020 OISC Chair), discussion on finalizing an election timeline & process, Chair & Vice Chair responsibilities, and updates to OISC’s Administrative Rules. Council member Sam Chan and Program Assistant at Oregon Sea Grant, Noelle Moen, gave an update on an opportunity to collaborate with the organizers of the 2021 World Athletics Championship in an effort to prevent the spread of invasive species. The international event will be attended by people from an estimated 190 countries.

Council members and attendees working together during one of the two breakout sessions during the January 2020 OISC meeting.

Two multi-group breakout sessions were also held during the meeting: A Committee breakout session (Communications, Legislative, Education & Outreach, and Governance Committees) and a Working Group breakout session (Strategic Plan Update, Oregon’s Worst List, and Field Days). During these sessions, participants prioritized discussion topics, identified key action items, and mapped out a timeline for achieving these action items in 2020. Highlights of OISC action items for 2020 include: 

• Reorganize OISC website to make it easier to find resources

• Review education grant applications & announce awards

• Implement updates to Strategic Action Plan

• Schedule Awards for Fall 2020

• Assess & update Oregon’s Worst List

• And more!

We hope to see you at our next meeting in Central Oregon (June 2-3, 2020)!