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Board recognizes reconstituted Sandy River Watershed Council; resolution adopted unanimously
Summary
The Multnomah County Board adopted a resolution recognizing a reconstituted Sandy River Watershed Council, making the group eligible for Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board capacity grants and signaling county support for salmon restoration and equity‑centered watershed work.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt Resolution R1 recognizing the newly reconstituted Sandy River Watershed Council.
Roy Umai, with the Department of Community Services Transportation Division Water Quality Program, described the council as the local watershed council for the Sandy River and said county recognition would make the organization eligible for Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) capacity grants. Umai noted the watershed council model is a public‑private partnership central to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds.
David Osborne, a member of the new board who said he lives near the river, summarized a yearlong community needs assessment and charter process used to form the new council. The charter’s vision names the Sandy River watershed as a place of “celebration, connection, and spirituality,” and lists values including inclusion, equitable power sharing, centering indigenous connections and knowledge, and innovating for resilience and justice.
Umai and Osborne said the original Sandy River Watershed Council formed in the mid‑1990s and dissolved in 2021; the new council has an interim board that includes Lili Yazzie, Eric Briggs, Macy Patel, David Osborne and Roy Umai. Umai and other speakers told the board the recognition will allow the council to pursue state funding and to restart watershed restoration projects, including past county collaborations on culvert replacement and fish passage projects.
The motion to approve R1 was moved by Commissioner Brandt Mcgregor and seconded by Commissioner Singleton. A roll‑call vote recorded “yes” from Commissioner Moyer, Commissioner Singleton, Commissioner Grama Edwards, Commissioner Jones Dixon and Chair Vega Peterson; the chair announced the resolution adopted.
Ending: Commissioners thanked council volunteers and emphasized the county’s interest in supporting salmon restoration and equity‑focused watershed work; no further county action on funding was presented at the meeting.
