Talk on Water Quality Planning

Emily-Bell Dinan.

The Siletz Stakeholder Engagement Project, addressing the Siletz River’s watershed from bay to headwaters, is the topic for the Siletz Watershed Council’s meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 6:30 p.m. in the Siletz Public Library (225 S.E. Gaither St.).  The event is free and open to all; refreshments will be served.

To help lessen human impacts to the watershed, the Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District (LSWCD) is carrying out a multi-year outreach effort to build community connections with private residents, agricultural producers, timberland managers, tribal entities, and other diverse stakeholders along the Lower Siletz River, Middle Siletz River, and Rock Creek watersheds. As a result, local knowledge will help inform future restoration projects identified to improve water quality on a landscape scale. LSWCD Conservation Programs Coordinator Emily-Bell Dinan will present on this effort at the council’s winter quarterly meeting.

This presentation will introduce the Siletz Stakeholder Engagement Project’s background, purpose, process, goals and timeline, and allow for discussion of how Siletz Watershed Council members and other residents of the area can get involved in the years to come.

Dinan joined LSWCD in 2018 to coordinate, develop, and lead restoration, community education and outreach projects serving environmental needs within Lincoln County. She earned her MS in Wetland Restoration Ecology at the University of Oregon Environmental Studies Program. She worked as a field botanist for the City of Eugene in the West Eugene Wetlands and as a Program Manager for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation before coming to the coast. She has over a decade of experience in non-profit and government agencies supporting local communities and addressing environmental issues.

A Siletz Watershed Council meeting will follow the presentation to give updates on the MidCoast Watersheds Council restoration and monitoring work in the Siletz Basin and any updates and announcements from the SWC community.