We are pleased to announce that we've found a fantastic individual, Jesse Jones, to help further develop the our North Coast Blue Water Task Force program and partnership with Oregon Parks and Recreation (OPRD) and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on water quality monitoring at Oswald West State Park. Our ability to bring Jesse on board is due to the generosity of the Eva Chiles Meyer Fund #1 and the Oneatta Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.
Jesse has an extensive background in water quality and will be working on building and training a team of passionate volunteers (both from the North Coast and Portland) to help collect and test samples at five sites along the north coast from Short Sands to Seaside. Read on to learn more about her!
Jesse grew up in the Oregon coast range on the Nehalem River and has always been fascinated with a river’s journey to the sea. She immerses herself in learning about a community's natural water resource and working with that community on how they can best care for that resource so it can be sustained and used, at the same time. Since 2006, she has worked with organizations who have a goal to protect and restore the most important functions of watersheds for a well functioning ecosystem. Educated at Portland State University with a degree in Community Development, Jesse also studied documentary filmmaking at the Northwest Film Center, did graduate course work in Natural Resource Policy (also at PSU) and is currently earning certification in the River Restoration Professional program. In 2011, in her role as coordinator of the North Coast Watershed Association, Jesse began to research how much and what water quality data was being collected on the north Oregon Coast and how north coast watershed councils could meet their shared goal of building volunteer sampling teams to test for temperature, fecal coliform and other parameters in rivers, streams and lakes. She is currently working with the NCWA to collate, graph and present 18 years of temperature data collected at numerous points on Ecola Creek. When she’s not working for water, Jesse can be found finding new incredible natural places, enjoying big meals with friends and creating art and music.
For fore information on how to get involved contact Jesse: jesse.vernonia@gmail.com