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Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SWCC)

The Soil and Water Conservation Commission provides assistance and direction to Oregon's 45 conservation districts and advises and develops policy with the department in the administration of its duties. To assist with this advisory role, the chair of the commission, by statute, is also a member of the State Board of Agriculture. The commission also has a major role in overseeing the SWCD support grant.

Upcoming meetings

  • July 10, 2024: 1-4:30 p.m., at Curry SWCD, 29286 Ellensburg Ave., Gold Beach
  • July 11, 2024: 8:30-12:30, at Curry SWCD
  • October 16, 2024: 1-5 p.m., Hood River Inn, 1108 E Marina Way, Hood River, after Oregon Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting

Meeting information

SWCC members

See the SWCC District Map for the commissioner in your area.

Email: ​gourmethay@onlinemac.com

Location: McMinnville

​Position: Chair

Term Expires: November 2024

Lower Willamette Area, representing:​ Benton SWCD, Douglas SWCD, Lincoln SWCD, Polk SWCD, Siuslaw SWCD, Umpqua SWCD, and Yamhill SWCD.

​Barbara Boyer has been a Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner since 2008 and a member of the Yamhill SWCD Board since 2004. Barbara graduated​ from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Plant Sciences and then worked in the Oregon nursery b​usiness for five years. Barbara and her husband farm i​n Yamhill County, were they grow hay and have a community suppo​rted organic agriculture operation. Barbara is co-founder of the McMinnville Farmers’ Market and is an active supporter of farmland preservation.​​​

Email: jw.dw1@frontier.com

Location: Newberg

Position: Vice Chair

Term Expires: June 2027

North Coast Area, representing: Clatsop SWCD, Columbia SWCD, Tillamook County SWCD, Tualatin SWCD, and West Multnomah SWCD​.

Jerry Ward has been a Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner since 2011 and a member of the Tualatin SWCD Board since 2006. Jerry has a degree from Oregon State University in Agriculture Business Management. He has 36 years of experience in banking focusing on large commercial loans. He and his wife are farm owners in Washington County where they grow filberts and enjoy working with their horses in Reined Cow Horse and Team Roping activities. Jerry is a member of the Tualatin River Subbasin Local Advisory Committee.​​​

Location: Mitchell

Term Expires: July 2026

John Day Area representing: Gilliam County SWCD, Grant SWCD, Harney SWCD, Monument SWCD, Morrow SWCD, Umatilla County SWCD, and Wheeler SWCD.

James "Jim Bob" Collins serves as the chair for the Wheeler Soil and Water District Board. He is the owner/operator of Table Mountain Cattle Company in Wheeler County. The ranch is about 19,000 acres with range ground, including about 6 miles of steelhead spawning stream habitat in the John Day Watershed. The ranch leases an additional 10,000+/- acres from the National Forest Service for summer grazing. He has lifelong experience as an owner/operator rancher, performing restoration and ag water quality projects with multiple agencies. He also served as a private contractor for restoration projects in Wheeler County. His close contact between ODA and his region's SWCD board helps to further the joint venture of healthy agricultural communities and conservation efforts, keeping watersheds healthy and ag businesses profitable, and providing a balanced working landscape for all.

​

Email: stan.dean@jswcd.org​

Location: Ashland

Term Expires: June 2024

Southern Oregon Area, representing: Coos SWCD, Curry County SWCD, Fort Rock/Silver Lake SWCD, Illinois Valley SWCD, Jackson SWCD, Klamath SWCD, Lakeview SWCD, and Two Rivers SWCD.

Stan Dean has been a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission since August 2016 and has served on the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors since 2015. Stan earned a Bachelor of Science from Lafayette College, and his Master of Science from the University of California Davis. He is registered as a civil engineer in Oregon and California. He is serving on the Advisory Council for the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Service Land Steward Program. Stan considers his second (unpaid) career to be promoting and facilitating good land stewardship.

Location: Junction City

Term Expires: July 2024

Upper Willamette Area, representing: Clackamas County SWCD East Multnomah SWCD, Linn SWCD, Marion SWCD, and Upper Willamette SWCD.

Al Hrynyshyn​ is a retired geologist who received his degrees from the University of Wyoming (BS) and Utah State University (MS). He was employed as a production geologist in the oil and gas industry, in the University of Wyoming's Department of Geology, and as a geology educator. He taught grade school, university and adult professional levels. He and his family actively manage a 25-acre property in the Coast Range foothills. They have a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) stream-restoration project on the property, and manage it with a focus on clean water, pollinator and wildlife habitat and invasive plant control. He's been on the Board of Directors of the Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District for the past seven years, and on the Board of Directors of the Long Tom Watershed Council for the past four years.

​

Email: takerns@bmi.net

Location: Haines

Term Expires: July 2025

Eastern Oregon Area, representing: Baker Valley SWCD, Burnt River SWCD, Eagle Valley SWCD, Keating SWCD, Malheur SWCD, Union SWCD, and Wallowa SWCD.

​Tim Kerns has been a Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner since 2005 and a member of the Baker Valley SWCD Board since 1994. Tim graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Crop and Soil Science. After gradua​​tion, he was a research assistant at OSU for three years. He then returned to the family ranching and farming operation to become the third generation to run the operation. Tim and his wife are cattle ranchers and potato producers in Baker County. Tim is a member of Country Natural Beef, the Baker County Association of Conservation Districts, and the Powder-Brownlee Local Advisory Committee.

​

Location: Bend

Term Expires: August 2027

Deschutes Area, representing: Crook County SWCD, Deschutes SWCD, Hood River SWCD, Jefferson County SWCD, Sherman County SWCD, and Wasco County SWCD​​​.

Robin Vora has been serving on the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Board in Central Oregon for more than 10 years. He has knowledge and experience to understand the breadth of issues and opportunities districts face in Central Oregon. He also is familiar with the policies of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

He has worked 39 years in natural resources for the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in seven states as a forester, ecologist, wildlife biologist,and manager. He has a Masters degrees in wildlife resources and forest resources from the University of Idaho, and a Bachelor’s in Natural Resource Management/Forestry from the University of California at Berkeley.

Robin​ is looking forward to working with the Commission to develop and advise on policies that address natural resources issues on private lands in Oregon and in aiding SWCDs to obtain priority grant funding.