The Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (IMST) was directed to evaluate the extent of predatory impacts of marine mammals and seabirds on salmonids and to recommend actions to mitigate impacts. IMST focused on the Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Action Plans because they provide the programmatic direction for the State...
This is the first report on the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team’s (IMST) review of the hatchery-related measures in the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds (Oregon Plan). This report focuses on the consistency of the Oregon Plan with issues common to the findings of three independent scientific panels regarding hatchery...
The Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (IMST) convened 19 regional leaders in salmon management and research in a workshop on Goals for Recovery of Oregon Coastal Native (OCN) Stocks on August 4-5, 1999. The main purposes of the workshop were to 1) define the concept of recovery and 2) to identify...
[v. 1. Text] -- [v. 2]. Summary of state agency measures -- [v. 3]. Land use designation and regulation -- [v. 4]. Watershed councils -- [v. 5]. Watershed projects -- [v. 6]. Science team information and products -- [v. 7]. Information related to habitat restoration projects -- [v. 8]. Responses...
The forests of Oregon are an important part of the landscape used by wild salmonids. How these forests are managed is important in attaining the goals of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds (Oregon Plan) and Oregon Executive Order 99-01. Agricultural, urban, and other environments are addressed in other...
The greater sage-grouse, an iconic ground-dwelling bird of the West, has experienced significant population declines during the past 50 years from habitat loss. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) designated sage grouse in 2010 as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In September 2015, the...
This document is a summary of the analysis of the management situation (AMS) and the subbasin review (SBR) for the Lakeview Resource Management Plan. The AMS/SBR compiles in one place important information about existing resource conditions, uses, and demands, as well as existing management activities and opportunities to resolve issues...
"Oregon's waters are an integral part of sustainable communities, a viable state economy and a healthy environment - and they are fundamental to our quality of life. Oregonians recognize the need to manage our waters in a way that protects the unique natural resources of the state in balance with...
Restoration to achieve Stage 0 is a valley-scale, process-based (hydrologic, geologic and biological) approach that aims to reestablish stream depositional environments to maximize longitudinal, lateral, and vertical connectivity at base flows and facilitate development of dynamic, self-formed and self-sustaining wetland-stream complexes. The term Stage 0 originally described complex multi-channel conditions...
This report examines the Bridge Program efforts undertaken, methods used, obstacles encountered, accomplishments, and lessons learned. It is not a performance evaluation; it is a case study focusing on the social, organizational and institutional dynamics of transforming a vision for environmental streamlining into a working program. The Bridge Program is...
The Integrated Landscape Assessment Project (ILAP) was a multi-year effort to produce information, maps, and models to help land managers, policy-makers, and others conduct mid- to broad-scale (e.g., watersheds to states and larger areas) prioritization of land management actions, perform landscape assessments, and estimate cumulative effects of management actions for...
The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Oregon State University (OSU) are collaborating to develop an orthoimagery portal application to allow for the distribution of digital aerial imagery for the State of Oregon. The near-term objective of this project is to develop an Imagery Portal that serves the
2005 half-meter...
In 2008, the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) asked the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) to assess whether the Oregon Land Use Program, as designed, is helping the state meet its land use goals. More specifically, this intensive but highly time-limited research effort set out to answer the...
The purpose of this document is to provide the SAH Workgroup with a summary of SAH strategy development and identify issues that have arisen so that all work group members have a common understanding of the context for their work. The second section discusses the background of state forests. Salmonid...
We monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) along the central and south coast of Oregon from 5 April – 14 September 2017. The project area surveyed and monitored for plover activity from north to south included Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River...
Oregon contains approximately 6 million acres of mostly private lands that have no one individual, organization, or agency responsible for fire prevention and suppression actions. Wildland fires in these areas have burned adjacent landowner resources, structures, and improvements; threaten public safety; and have other impacts on residents and the general...
The purpose of this briefing document is twofold: (1) to provide a general overview of key environmental issues at the global, regional, and local levels; and (2) to provide examples of long-term environmental goals that have been adopted by businesses, governments, and other organizations. This document is not meant to...
This chapter is divided into three main sections. The first section discusses land cover map development. It begins by providing background information on the regional division of labor and the regional land cover legend. It then focuses on our land cover mapping methods, including a description of data sources, the...
The purpose of this study is to summarize the technical information on aggregate mining in Oregon including updates of supply and demand since the last comprehensive forecasting of aggregate demand completed by Whelan (1995). Aggregate is a term that numerous definitions, but as used herein, aggregate is sand, gravel, and...
The Biodiversity Monitoring Workgroup (Appendix 1)—which consists of federal, state, university, NGO’s, and private landowner stakeholders who are involved in aspects of monitoring biodiversity in the states of Oregon and Washington—conceived of the idea of exploring the possibilities of creating a Regional Biodiversity Monitoring Partnership. The Workgroup’s idea of hosting...
The OSU Government Relations Office provides periodic updates that describe events in Washington, DC and Salem. These updates include insights on how budget and policy decisions at the state and federal level will affect OSU and are issued once or twice a month, depending on the level of activities in...
The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST), an independent nonprofit organization, is a catalyst for research and university-industry collaboration in green building and renewable energy to create business opportunities and jobs in Oregon. Oregon partnered with the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) to conduct a series of...
This annotated bibliography was prepared for the Salmon Anchor Habitat Work Group. This group was formed by the Oregon Department of Forestry to review and evaluate the Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy as directed by the 2003 Oregon Legislature. The Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy is a component of management plans developed...
Oregon’s Protection from Fire Program is the largest program within the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). The program provides wildfire protection on about 15.8 million acres of mostly privately-owned Oregon forestland. Private and state interests in protecting Oregon forests from fire have been intertwined since the early 1900s when ODF...
Oregon’s Protection from Fire Program is among the premier wildfire protection programs in the western U.S. and the largest program within the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). The program provides wildfire protection on about 15.8 million acres of mostly privately-owned Oregon forestland. Private and state interests in protecting Oregon forests...
This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at the Regional Gravel Initiative Workshop. The Workshop was designed and conducted by the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) and Oregon Sea Grant (Sea Grant) on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) and...
Using the existing ODF program as a guide, this report will stress the importance of cooperation and collaboration between agencies, landowners, industry, and citizens to create more successful public awareness and education programs. In this report we discuss improved Department emphasis on prevention, better training for those who need to...
The project focuses on nonequilibrium ecosystem dynamics, a body of scientific research that characterizes and interprets ecosystem change. INR summarizes knowledge from this field, describes ways in which the current management framework may be inconsistent with scientific findings, and helps identify options for future management. This paper is designed to...
This document describes strategies and specific actions that will be undertaken to implement recommendations that emerged from a comprehensive review of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Protection from Fire Program. The fire funding/budgeting review was conducted by ODF in 2004 as directed by the 2003 Oregon Legislature. State Forester...
The Vital Signs Indicators Project incorporates multiple goals, most particularly:
1. Provide a tool upon which to base statutory assessment of the effectiveness of the Management Plan in implementing the Scenic Area Act;
2. Increase performance accountability and tie Commission actions to the purposes of the Act;
3. Foster dialogue...
This document compiles written responses by experts in their respective fields to questions from the Salmon Anchor Habitat Work Group about the Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy component of Oregon Department of Forestry Northwestern Oregon State Forest Management Plan.
Ecosystem services markets represent potential revenue streams for small- and medium-scale rural agricultural and forest producers, many of whom have faced significant economic downturns over the past several decades. Demand for ecosystem services (ES) in the form of investments by public agencies, mitigation funds from regulated entities, and voluntary payments...
Through several two-day meetings the workgroup and invited subject matter experts discussed each objective in detail. Specific workforce capacity issues facing the ODF Protection from Fire Program were identified. Recommendations were developed to ensure adequate numbers of qualified and experienced personnel to supervise and perform essential tasks in the ODF...
Racial, ethnic and gender diversity have been long term topics of discussion in natural resources. Yet to date, there has not been a comprehensive review of the existing literature within the discourse of demographic diversity. Therefore, I conducted a systematic review of demographic diversity in the disciplines of forestry, fisheries,...
Many Oregon communities face serious and growing risks from wildfires. These fires are increasingly large and severe after many decades of fire suppression and land use changes, flammable fuel buildups and interactions with climate. The wildland-urban interface (WUI) continues to expand as people relocate to rural areas where they often...
This report discusses forests and treats the topic in four parts. The first part describes the life of an individual tree, and the second describes individual trees as parts of a forest. The third and fourth parts discuss forests as communities of trees and methods for preventing destruction of forests.
In 2011, the Institute for Natural Resources – Portland (INR) entered into an agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit to assist in evaluation of a targeted watershed restoration area in central Oregon. The primary objective of the agreement was to use remote sensing...
Section I contains an introduction to the subject of Scientific Evidence Review. Section II reviews Oregon state mandates to use “best available science” in policymaking and summarizes ODF efforts to address these mandates. Section III provides an overview of Systematic Evidence Reviews and how they are conducted in the fields...
The OSU Government Relations Office provides periodic updates that describe events in Washington, DC and Salem. These updates include insights on how budget and policy decisions at the state and federal level will affect OSU and are issued once or twice a month, depending on the level of activities in...
The 2003 Oregon Legislature directed the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to convene a citizen work group to review and evaluate the ODF Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy for state forests in northwest Oregon. In November, 2003 ODF contracted with the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) to support the SAH Work...
The research reported here was conducted to identify interests and needs among various sectors of the Oregon agricultural community regarding sustainable agriculture. The study also sought to gauge potential for establishing a program in Oregon to serve those needs.
This classification lists the native plant associations known to occur in Oregon, and includes both successional and climax vegetation types that were an important part of the presettlement landscape of Oregon. It serves as an index to the diversity, distribution and relative rarity of the state's native plant associations, and...
White paper from the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) is an Oregon University System institute located at Oregon State University and Portland State University.
Pine Creek Conservation Area (PCCA), just northeast of the John Day River in Wheeler County, Oregon, was acquired in 1999-2001 by the Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs with support from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), to mitigate for wildlife losses created by the large, hydropower Columbia River Dams, particularly the...
The OSU Government Relations Office provides periodic updates that describe events in Washington, DC and Salem. These updates include insights on how budget and policy decisions at the state and federal level will affect OSU and are issued once or twice a month, depending on the level of activities in...
The purpose of this project was to conduct a preliminary examination of the environmental use of plants in Oregon by gauging the breadth of opportunities and challenges faced by growers, users, and researchers who are involved in the general area of the environmental uses of plants. More specifically, the project...
A systematic review of evidence was conducted concerning the effects of large wood placement on salmonids. In contrast to a general literature review, a narrowly focused question was targeted. The question was formulated before the review commenced and specified the subject, treatment, and outcomes of interest. The primary review question...
This report documents an Oregon Department of Forestry pilot project conducted through the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University on a science synthesis method known as systematic review- a rigorous, transparent literature review technique developed and now widely used in clinical medicine. A systematic review focuses narrowly on...
This report is one of a series prepared by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) which summarizes the physical and biological data for selected Oregon estuaries. The reports are intended to assist coastal planners and resource managers in Oregon in fulfilling the inventory and comprehensive plan requirements of...
INR’s mission is to provide Oregonians with ready access to current, science‐based information and methods for better understanding resource management challenges and developing solutions and after the 2004 release of the Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming (GAGGW’s) extensive report, The Oregon Strategy for GHG Reductions, INR recognized the need...
This report is laid out as a progressive exploration of how the economics of ES production interacts with finance, broadly construed, in actual credit transactions. The inquiry proceeds in several steps. First, the economics of ecosystem services production is explored to provide critical context for potential financing approaches. This section...
INR’s long-term goal with this and other projects is to help revitalize rural economies and contribute to rural sustainability, while increasing ecosystem restoration and thoughtfully developing ecosystem services markets. To assist in meeting these goals, this project aims to understand and overcome a significant hurdle on the supply side of...
On behalf of the Board of Forestry (the Board), the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) approached the Oregon University System’s (OUS) Institute for Natural Resources (INR) to conduct an independent, outside review of the body of science ODF considered as it evaluated forest management plans and developed the Species of...
Over the last 25 years numerous approaches, understandings, and perceptions about natural areas have changed – changes which affect the relevance of programs such as the Heritage Program. As one participant stated, “the complexity of science in general has been humbling”. The last 25 years has shown many assumptions and...
EWEB envisions the development of an investment mechanism that makes payments for ecosystem services (PES) as a way to maintain and improve water quality within the McKenzie River Watershed, Eugene’s sole source of drinking water. The public name for this concept is the Voluntary Incentives Program. Under the envisioned Voluntary...
Once lost, a species can never be recovered, and there is no way of knowing how useful it may have been. We do know that human beings and many of their industries depend on plant and animal products. About 50% of all pharmaceuticals have a natural component as an active...
The structure and components of riparian areas influence the rate, amount, and timing of water, nutrients, organic debris, and inorganic materials that enter streams and rivers. The energy of floodwaters and their ultimate volume, timing and erosive power is influenced by the soils, vegetation and geomorphology of fluvial surfaces within...
This document reports on findings, conclusions and recommendations derived from scientific literature and knowledge regarding the effectiveness of tide gate removal or upgrade in improving conditions for Oregon’s native migratory fish species, particularly salmonids, and other plant and animal species that utilize estuarine ecosystems. The project was commissioned by the...
The Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming developed this Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Reduction.1 Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed the Advisory Group early in 2004 to perform this task. This Strategy, if implemented, will complement the agenda of the West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative undertaken by the governors of...
Artificial substrates colonized by diatoms from Yaquina Estuary, Oregon, were exposed to solar visible radiation and three levels of ultraviolet radiation (UV-B, 290-320 nm). Flow-through microcosms were constructed inside a glasshouse to serve as chambers for the artificial substrates. The artificial substrates were sampled during three spring/summer experiments. Chlorophyll a...
"This document is an interim report by the Heritage Program, submitted to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Branch. It summarizes: 1) the data collected on natural areas in private, county and municipal ownership throughout the state; 2) the techniques used to collect this data; 3) a system for storing, analyzing...
In recent years, depletion of sands in the nearshore environment along the northern Oregon and southwest Washington coasts has been documented. This erosion raises concerns about protection of economic and ecological resources in the area. The Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project was initiated to engage public and private sector...
Full Text:
and Overview of the Workshop Objectives
Louise Solliday, Oregon Governor’s NaturalResourceOffice
In recent years, depletion of sands in the nearshore environment along the northern Oregon and southwest Washington coasts has been documented. This erosion raises concerns about protection of economic and ecological resources in the area. The Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project was initiated to engage public and private sector...
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NATURALRESOURCES AT OREGONSTATE UNIVERSITY
AND
THE LOWER COLUMBIA SOLUTIONS GROUP,
NATIONAL
The conceptual foundations of the study emerged from a review of
the literature, suggesting that a serious gap exists between clergy
and laity in terms of ministerial expectations. This gap has been
attributed in part to a growing estrangement between seminaries and
the churches they serve.
Thus, the central problem...
The signatories of this statement seek to describe the state of scientific knowledge regarding likely impacts of climate change to the Pacific Northwest region. The intent is to assist Governor Kulongoski’s Advisory Group on Global Warming in its task of developing a greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy for Oregon. The...
We monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) along the Oregon coast from 1 April – 15 September 2014. From north to south, we surveyed and monitored plover activity at Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River estuary, the Dunes Overlook, North and South...
A method was developed for converting the food producing capabilities
of Oregon's soils to numerical data from which state and county
carrying capacities for human populations could be calculated. Another
method was developed for converting the needs for housing and related
support construction to numerical data which would consume cultivated...
The OSU Government Relations Office provides periodic updates that describe events in Washington, DC and Salem. These updates include insights on how budget and policy decisions at the state and federal level will affect OSU and are issued once or twice a month, depending on the level of activities in...
The OSU Government Relations Office provides periodic updates that describe events in Washington, DC and Salem. These updates include insights on how budget and policy decisions at the state and federal level will affect OSU and are issued once or twice a month, depending on the level of activities in...
Prior to settlement in the 19th century, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter referred to as ‘sage-grouse’) inhabited 13 western States and three Canadian provinces, and their potential habitat covered over 1,200,483 square kilometers (km) (463,509 square miles (mi)). Sage-grouse have declined across their range due to a variety of causes...
This report is one of a series prepared by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) which summarizes the physical and biological data for selected Oregon estuaries. The reports are intended to assist coastal planners and resource managers in Oregon fulfilling the inventory and comprehensive plan requirements of the...
Aerial photography taken of waste plumes from Kraft pulp mill ocean outfalls was shown to be an effective tool in the study of waste disposal sites. This technique is not limited by sea conditions and permits monitoring and evaluation of outfall sites throughout the year. Photography taken at one instant...
The OSU Government Relations Office provides periodic updates that describe events in Washington, DC and Salem. These updates include insights on how budget and policy decisions at the state and federal level will affect OSU and are issued once or twice a month, depending on the level of activities in...