KEY SERVICES:

• Habitat Assessment & Connectivity

• Communications & Outreach

• Web & Print Design

• Geographic Information System (GIS) Services

Samara Group was hired by Portland State University to lead species selection and outreach & engagement efforts for the Oregon Connectivity Assessment & Mapping Project. This project is intended to advance priority conservation planning through understanding and mitigating barriers to wildlife movement in the state of Oregon. The project included connectivity assessment and mapping at fine resolutions across Oregon to fill knowledge gaps, extensive outreach to encourage a diverse group of partners to utilize and implement the results from the assessment, and communication of data and results that is easy to access, view, and understand. The results from the Oregon Connectivity Assessment and Mapping Project, including the Priority Wildlife Connectivity Areas (PWCA) Web Map is now publicly available here.

KEY SERVICES:

• HABITAT ASSESSMENT & CONNECTIVITY

• GROUP FACILITATION

Samara Group and River Design Group were hired by the Bend to Suttle Lake (B2S) Wildlife Passage Initiative Working Group to lead the production of a mitigation analysis and conceptual design report for wildlife crossings along Highway 20 between Bend and Suttle Lake, Oregon. The goal of this project is to reduce vehicle collisions with wide-bodied mammals and increase permeability across Highway 20 for all wildlife species. This project will include completing a corridor analysis for potential multi-species wildlife crossing sites, developing an alternatives analysis and conceptual designs for the wildlife crossings sites identified in the corridor assessments, and completing a preliminary design for a dedicated wildlife crossing site.

KEY SERVICES:

• Group facilitation

• Strategic Planning

• Wildlife & Vegetation Monitoring

Samara Group has shown exceptional ability to work with a diverse group of partners and incite involvement among public and private landowners. Samara Group has facilitated the partnership through various challenging organizational exercises and has ensured the partnership’s strategic plan moved forward. Some of the responsibilities of holding this position include effective communication (newsletters, outreach materials, website maintenance, social media, etc.), facilitation of productive meetings and all associated follow-up processes, fundraising, data collection and research, and general organizational capacity building. Link to West Willamette Restoration Partnership Website.

KEY SERVICES:

• Habitat Assessment & Connectivity

• Wildlife & Vegetation Monitoring

The Central Oregon coast population of coastal marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) is particularly small. Although trapping, habitat loss, and predation are primarily responsible for its decline, mortality from vehicle strikes has the potential to be a significant source of mortality in this particular population. Samara Group recently received a federal grant to support actions with a goal of reducing vehicle-related mortality in coastal marten and other wildlife species by identifying locations to improve, replace, or create road crossing structures near areas of high marten/wildlife activity along Highway 101. This project is an important first step toward implementation of feasible mitigation measures to reduce road mortality and give the local coastal marten population a chance at recovery.

KEY SERVICES:

• STRATEGIC PLANNING

• GROUP FACILITATION

Samara Group was hired by Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District to develop a 5-year Tualatin River Weed Management Plan for the Tualatin Watershed Invasive Species Team (TWIST). The Plan will be used by land managers and basin partners to strategically implement priority invasive species monitoring and management actions and will include watershed-wide and sub-basin scale assessments that prioritize high value habitat and the prioritization of invasive plant species that pose the highest threat to these areas. TWIST partner organizations include Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, Clean Water Services, Metro, Columbia Land Trust, and Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District.

KEY SERVICES: 

• STRATEGIC PLANNING

• GROUP FACILITATION

Samara Group was hired to facilitate the development of a state action plan for the invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). In order to create this plan, Samara Group worked in partnership with the client to convene a preparedness advisory group whose focus was to develop a preparedness and response plan, as well as outreach and education strategies for spotted lanternfly. The advisory group was made up of over 35 members across more than 12 agencies and organizations. Members shared their expertise by writing up individual sections of the state action plan and Samara Group led this collaborative effort by implementing an interagency communications plan, which involved conveying details with advisory group members, answering questions, connecting contacts, providing templates and example writing formats, collecting all writing sections, and designing the final report.

KEY SERVICES: 

• GROUP FACILITATION

• STRATEGIC PLANNING

• COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH

Samara Group is contracted to lead coordination of a multi-agency Council involved in protecting the state from invasive species. In addition to coordination of Council activities, Samara Group facilitated the development of a 10-year strategic plan and accompanying action plan. We used a collaborative stakeholder approach in combination with milestone tracking to ensure a finished, on-time product with stakeholder buy-in. We coordinated a working group to lead the process and multiple advisory meetings with council members, advisory members, and committees, culminating in a summit with a wide range of invasive species professionals, agency heads, and policy makers attending to shape the plan. The final product is a user-friendly, visually appealing plan that also serves as an outreach tool for invasive species education as well as a reference for 10-year planning. An accompanying 2-year action plan was developed as a working document to allow for edits over time from those who are working to protect Oregon from invasive species.

KEY SERVICES: 

• Habitat Assessment & Connectivity

• Geographic Information System (GIS) Services

Samara Group worked with project partners to finalize the Metro Habitat Connectivity Toolkit Guidebook, streamline field assessment scoring, and solicit expert feedback on habitat and permeability models for eight surrogate species selected to represent connectivity for key habitats in the Metro region. This work built on efforts started in 2014 by Leslie Bliss-Ketchum, professors at Portland State University, and Metro staff to develop methodology to assess connectivity at an actionable scale.

KEY SERVICES:

• Wildlife & Vegetation Monitoring

• Study & Framework Design

We have been monitoring wildlife activity before and after the construction of the Kinsman Road extension using trail cameras for the City of Wilsonville. Our goal is to explore the differences between pre- and post-construction data to inform an understanding of how effective the crossing structures have been in maintaining the presence, persistence, and movement capabilities of local wildlife. This project also includes the continuation of a long term wildlife monitoring project started in 2009 by Leslie Bliss-Ketchum under Boeckman Bridge using sand tracking. This method documents wildlife movement through an underpass built for wildlife as they pass under a high traffic road through important wetland habitat.

Key Services:

• Habitat Assessment & Connectivity

• Communications & Outreach

Working with River Design Group, Keller Associates, and GeoEngineers, Samara Group was hired to conduct research on amphibian underpasses and assess current site conditions leading to Northern red-legged frog mortalities on Highway 30 near the Harborton Wetland in Portland, Oregon. Using this information, the design team performed an alternatives analysis of potential crossing structure designs for improving frog crossing and habitat connectivity. Following this analysis, Samara Group led a community outreach effort and organized an engagement meeting that allowed interested organizations and community members to review the proposed crossing design and comment on the effectiveness of the plan in reducing frog mortality and encouraging safe passage across the highway and neighborhood roads.

KEY SERVICES:  

• Communications & Outreach

• Strategic Planning

• Branding

• Media

Samara Group supported communications planning for the Gorse Action Group (GAG), which was created to bring federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations, private industries, and local landowners together to improve regional ecology, public awareness and safety, and fire defense. Some of the services we provided to the GAG included rebranding the project, developing a multi-year Communication Plan, creating a variety of trade show materials for the Annual Gorse Blossom Festival, and designing educational handouts, branded templates, and 12 large signs on Highway 101 for a multi-year gorse removal demonstration project.

Key Services:

• Communications & Outreach

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council (CSWC) hired Samara Group in 2020 to conduct a Green Infrastructure Initiative Feasibility Study via an online survey. The main goals of the survey were to learn more about the motivations for and barriers to voluntary green infrastructure investments by the private sector and for the CSWC to build relationships with the businesses located along the Columbia Slough. To do this, Samara Group prioritized the inclusion of a site visit form, phone call outreach, and open-ended survey questions to better hear the perspectives of business leaders. We heard from businesses across a gradient of sizes, industries, tenancy, and locations. The survey was designed for relationship-building objectives which resulted in hundreds of conversations with businesses, dozens of responses, and multiple respondents interested in follow-up site visits. Following the success of Phase I, CSWC hired Samara Group again in 2021 to conduct a follow-up survey to further build relationships with businesses along the Slough. During this Phase II survey, Samara Group helped increase outreach opportunities through designing and distributing a postcard and supporting a second round of phone outreach.

KEY SERVICES:

• Wildlife & Vegetation Monitoring

Samara Group is working with Washington County to provide wildlife passage analysis of a riparian area in Beaverton, where a bridge is due for replacement. After an initial site visit, we began pre-construction wildlife monitoring to observe and document current wildlife activity. Once complete, we will provide the client with a recommendations report based on known wildlife use of the structure.

KEY SERVICES:

• Group Facilitation

Samara Group was hired to facilitate a series of workshops for the Clackamas Partnership. This partnership is a collaborative group that incorporates expertise and knowledge across multiple watersheds to support ecological uplift in the Clackamas River Basin. As the partnership continues to implement a Focused Investment Partnership grant through the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the group identified the importance of reviewing decision-making tools, prioritization of projects, and distribution of funding for possible updates or adaptive approaches. Samara Group led three workshops with over 24 participants that focused on the objectives of the partnership moving forward, the decision-making tools and processes involved, and the existing governance documentation. These online workshops used breakout sessions and consensus-based group discussions in order to outline future funding and project goals. Following the discussion series, Samara Group provided a final report that included meeting summaries and outcomes, additional recommendations, and a framework for a combined procedural document.

Key Services:

• Group Facilitation

• Strategic Planning

Samara Group and River Design Group were hired by the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition (SOWCC) to perform an alternatives analysis and conceptual design for potential wildlife crossings along Interstate 5 between Ashland OR and the California border. The goal of this work is to increase the overall permeability for wildlife to move between wilderness and natural areas east and west of the highway as well as reduce collisions that are dangerous to drivers and wildlife populations alike. There are existing culverts and a bridge already in the project area that provide some crossing opportunities for certain species that will remain, however new structures designated for wildlife will improve overall connectivity. In order to assess all alternatives Samara Group led a series of interviews with members of the SOWCC to gauge priorities and potential roadblocks for each crossing. Following these interviews, River Design Group and Samara Group presented and facilitated a series of workshops for the SOWCC to fully evaluate the engineering and wildlife considerations of all alternative crossing structures. The project team developed a design alternatives report that presented preliminary research and gave recommendations for preferred alternatives at each crossing location. Finally, the project team created a conceptual design report that compared the selected preferred alternatives against each other and considered the overall corridor strategy to determine which crossing structure(s) would be the best for wildlife movement.

Key Services:

• Wildlife & Vegetation Monitoring

• Communications & Outreach

Samara Group was hired by the engineering firm NV5 and Washington County to provide technical expertise and recommendations addressing the impact of a new road in Hillsboro, Oregon on wildlife. This portion of road includes a bridge that will cross over Rock Creek and pass directly adjacent to Noble Woods Park. Samara Group has submitted a recommendations report that addresses the issues brought up in public comments from community members worried about the impacts of this new road. This report focused on recommendations for addressing public concerns which included reducing habitat and inhibiting movement for wildlife, increased road noise, and effects of new street lights. Additionally, Samara Group placed two wildlife cameras on site to monitor the wildlife species that move through the space.

Key Services:

• Communications & Outreach

• Group Facilitation

Samara Group was hired to support the update of the 2001 Oregon ANS Management Plan for the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs at Portland State University. Samara Group created a three-part engagement plan to guide the revision process and capture significant changes in management authorities and increased participation in aquatic invasive species (AIS) management by local and regional entities. We conducted scoping exercises, facilitated stakeholder engagement and input, presented updates to the Oregon Invasive Species Council, and will be seeking and incorporating public comment before submitting a final draft for approval. Upon final approval, the revised plan will serve as a comprehensive document reflecting a broad spectrum of current AIS management objectives.

Key Services:

• Strategic Planning

• Communications & Outreach

• Group Facilitation

Samara Group partnered with GeoEngineers to develop a 10-year Watersheds Action Plan for the North Clackamas watersheds. This Watersheds Action Plan contains actions for all agencies and partners that operate within the North Clackamas watersheds, as well as the Council, where each partner can play to their strengths. Samara Group led the team’s planning efforts to organize available data, assess gaps in information, set plan objectives and strategies, facilitate stakeholder engagement and input, and oversee the data analysis informing the final plan’s effectiveness for the North Clackamas Watersheds Council as well as the partners they work with. The team interviewed multiple stakeholder organizations, evaluated over 300 reference records, re-defined the urban watershed boundaries, and developed an outline of objectives and assessment questions intended for presentation to interested community and jurisdictional representatives for discussion and input.