Outreach Update
by Janice Reid
2020 Banquet: The 25th Anniversary of the incorporation of Umpqua Watersheds is this year! We are in full swing planning and organizing the Annual Banquet and Silent Auction which will 
be April 4, 2020 at Umpqua Community College Campus Center. Umpqua Watersheds’ first banquet speaker was Roy Keene and this year he returns to give a historical look at the last 25 years in the Umpqua watershed with his talk titled “How the Wilderness was won.” Roy is the Director of “Our Forests” in Eugene, Oregon, a non-profit organization seeking to promote honesty, integrity, transparency, and fairness in the human use of our forests and is focused on engaging the public and media in timely and important forest issues. “Our Forests” evolved from the Public Forestry Foundation (PFF), a volunteer group of public interest foresters with a mission to reform public forestry. PFF designed ecosystem management strategies and low-impact forest restoration operations. In 1983, Roy received the Wilderness Society’s “Environmental Hero” award for wilderness preservation. An Oregon resident for over 40 years, Roy has argued for forestry reform on TV and radio, exposed fraudulent and exploitive actions on public lands and has co-produced an award winning educational film “Forests For The Future.” Roy continues to publish opinions, radio talks, and convincing videos to raise awareness on a variety of forestry related issues including timber tax subsidies. Be sure to get your ticket for the event so that you
don’t miss out. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. The cost covers the dinner, venue, and other associated expenditures for such an event. We are seeking sponsors for our low income, students, and AmeriCorps associates. We are accepting items, activities, gift certificates, and more for the silent auction. You can drop off auction items at the UW office during business hours or call the office to arrange for assistance with coordinating a pickup of items. Thanks and hope to see you there, if not before.
Outdoor events: Our snowshoe hike this year was hugely popular even though it was cold and snowy. 23 people attended specifically because they heard about it through Umpqua Watersheds. Check our Facebook and website calendar for outdoor activities or events that may be of interest to you. Outreach has been busy being the “face” of the organization, but the nuts and bolts are those that work behind the scenes to keep track of the voluminous amount of legislation, management proposals, projects and actions that impact our community. We have lots planned for the future including more hikes, music events, and festivals. Our outreach committee continues to formulate ideas to raise awareness and funds for our mission. If you would like to help, we can use you. Even the little stuff still needs to be done and just a little of your time could help. You can be a part of the solution even if it is picking up the recycling or making sure the property is clean and free of debris.
Fundraising: The successful year end campaign brought in much needed funds and we so appreciate the response. The communities to the north and south of us have so many more resources and a population that makes the “lift” so much lighter. Here is the bottom line. We need you. We cannot do this without effort and funds. If you have skills, you can contribute. If you have time, you can contribute. If you have money, you can contribute.
