Thanks to the support of people like you, we have many accomplishments to list in 2011!
It comes through best in the words of our staff.
It was a notable year for understory restoration on Green Island, with over 155 acres planted with native grass to rebuild the habitat for the birds, bugs, and all the wildlife that use this area. Also, we conducted a 45-acre controlled burn to prepare the land to be restored to upland prairie — a first for both Green Island and the land trust!
-Chris Vogel, Green Island Project Manager
In 2011 we made great strides on four of our owned and protected properties: the Waite Ranch tidal estuary, the McKenzie Oxbow floodplain, the Coburg Aggregate Reclamation Area gravel ponds, and the Berggren Watershed Conservation Area floodplain forest and demonstration farm. We completed the initial assessments and planning, acquired grant funding and solidified the diverse partnerships necessary to implement successful restoration projects on these properties for many years to come. The Berggren Demonstration Farm partnership also hired a Farm Coordinator, and the vision is progressing for an educational site with numerous opportunities for students, farmers, and the public to engage in watershed stewardship and river-friendly farming.
-Jodi Lemmer, Land Steward
This year, the McKenzie River Trust acquired its first conservation easement in Ferguson Creek, a significant tributary of the Long Tom River. We also acquired important backwater channel next to our Coburg Aggregate Reclamation Project on Green Island.
-Ryan Ruggiero, Land Protection Manager
This has been an exceptional year of growth for the McKenzie River Trust. We are meeting more and more landowners throughout our service area in western Oregon, with a special focus on the Willamette River downstream of Eugene/Springfield. We have had numerous conversations and visits with this community and look forward to more protected land in the Upper Willamette Basin in the months and years ahead.
-Nicole Nielsen-Pincus, Willamette Field Representative
It was wonderful to connect with so many of you out on our properties for tours of Green Island and the Berggren Watershed Conservation Area this year. Seeing your passion, enthusiasm, and interest in learning about the special places you’ve helped us protect inspired us to expand our tour offerings in 2012.
-Liz Lawrence, Operations Manager
The donations you’ve given in the last year have leveraged over a million dollars in grants, helping to restore floodplains, protect streams, meadows and forests, and preserve habitat for sensitive species of birds, fish, frogs and turtles. Thank you so much for your support to protect and care for these special places!
-Stephanie Detwiler, Controller
More than 700 of you attended our Living River annual event, which this year featured the spine-tingling rhythms and harmonies of the band Misty River. Thank you for being there for us, and for purchasing the Oakshire and Ninkasi beers created this year to celebrate EWEB’s 100th anniversary. Sales of these beers have raised more than $10,000 for our land conservation efforts in western Oregon. As the year comes to a close, we raise a glass to you – our donors, corporate supporters, and public and private grant partners – for your commitment to protect and care for the cherished landscapes that surround us!
-Brandi Ferguson, Development Manager
Thank you for a great year of land protection and stewardship!
In 2012, we will continue to build on these successes. Like seeds that take cultivation and care to sprout and grow, conservation projects often require our resources for many years before they bear fruit. We have some exciting projects in the works. I look forward to sharing their great stories with you in the months ahead.
But you can help these efforts right now. Your gift today will make a real difference for what we can accomplish in 2012.
Please invest in land conservation in western Oregon by making a tax-deductible year-end gift to the McKenzie River Trust today.