District Board Adopts New Work Plan

The Clackamas County SWCD Board of Directors today adopted an annual work plan for July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014.

The plan is organized by calendar quarters, reflecting the seasonality of work to be performed by the District.

Download the annual plan:

2013-2014 - CCSWCD Annual Work Plan
2013-2014 - CCSWCD Annual Work Plan
CCSWCD-Annual_Work_Plan-2013_2014-ADOPTED_1May2013.pdf
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Background about the District

Introductory text in the plan provides a high-level view of how the District plans to operate, and describes our priorities.

About the District

We are a service organization. The Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District is a special service district headquartered in Oregon City, Oregon. We are governed by a board of publicly elected directors. The District employs professional staff to serve our citizens. We provide service throughout Clackamas County, Oregon.

We see a future where people and places thrive. We see the District as a place where our communities, environments, and economy thrive together.

Our mission is to help create that future. We provide technical service and support designed to help people use natural resources sustainably today and for future generations.

Our values guide us as we work toward accomplishing our mission:

  • We strive to maximize community, environmental, and economic benefits through our projects and programs.
  • We are accountable to our voters, taxpayers, and residents, and we measure the impacts of what we do.
  • Our technical assistance to landowners is based on science and decades of proven technology.
  • We leverage District resources through outside funding and form strategic partnerships to accomplish our work.
  • We work as members of a flexible and responsive team, and treat everyone with respect.
  • We support continuous learning and professional development.
  • We reduce, reuse, recycle, and restore our natural resources.

An elected Board of Directors provides governance and accountability. The Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors. Our Directors are locally elected and serve four-year terms. The purposes and functions of a soil and water conservation district are described in Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 568.

Our professional staff provides high quality service. Staff specialists provide a wide range of services and knowledge to our citizens. Conservation specialties include: farm planning; streambank restoration; invasive weed management; and urban conservation practices. We provide many workshops throughout the year to help our citizens learn and do more conservation of our natural resources. Our management and administrative employees assure compliance with the many regulations and procedures needed to protect the financial resources entrusted to us.

We assist individuals, neighborhoods, and watersheds. Traditionally, we work one-on-one with individuals who are concerned with their land and related resources. Natural resource issues like soil erosion and water quality are rarely limited to a single land parcel. Instead, these issues often involve neighbors, neighborhoods, local landscapes, and sometimes entire watersheds. By finding ways to work together, we can achieve better solutions.

Our services are based on voluntary cooperation, not regulation. We do not issue tickets or turn people in. We often serve as an interface between a landowner and a regulatory agency. Our services and resources are available to people who collaborate with us to find solutions.

We provide services without discrimination. For all programs and activities, the Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information or political beliefs. The District is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

About this Plan

This plan is a guide. This annual work plan is organized into three-month periods representing calendar quarters. A plan is only a guide, and the very nature of the District’s work requires that we remain nimble and flexible in order to meet the emerging needs of citizens and natural resources.

Each Quarterly period is represented by a table divided into several columns: focus area; what the activity is; who is responsible for making sure the task gets done correctly and on time; when the task should be completed; and notes.

Because this is a plan, it is dynamic in nature. We update it regularly as resource conditions and natural events provide new opportunities to conserve our precious natural resources.

Our planned work addresses many important conservation needs. The District focuses our available time, money, and energy on a variety of important conservation issues, and on the sound operation of the District.

Our top three natural resource priorities are water, wildlife, and weeds:

  • Water quality and quantity – Protecting and restoring the quality of surface and ground water, and assuring future supplies of water for people, plants, and animals.
  • Wildlife – Developing habitat conditions to enhance living conditions for wild creatures.
  • Weeds – Detecting, controlling, and eradicating invasive plants.

We also highly value the work performed by a variety of partners. Other program areas include:

  • Watersheds – Working toward stronger, more resilient watershed conditions.
  • Weather – Developing responses to our changing climate, as well as floods and droughts.
  • Wildlands – Working to improve wildlands, including prairies and forests.
  • Working lands – Providing service to help keep agricultural lands productive.
  • Workshops, outreach, and education – Reaching and teaching citizens, agencies, and organizations.
  • Working together – Developing and nurturing key partnerships to help achieve our conservation mission.
  • Workplace – Assuring accountability and sound delivery of services to our citizens.

Clackamas SWCD