Farewell to Longtime District Employee, Mike Crabtree
After more than 14 years of district service, Mike Crabtree has announced plans to transition and move his family to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho by the end January. As one can imagine, it is difficult to lose long-term team members like Mike. He has the skills, experience, institutional knowledge, and established relationships in the community that bring tremendous value to the district and those we serve.
During his tenure Mike provided a wide range of conservation services and technical assistance, supporting Agricultural Water Quality, invasive species management, forestry, water conservation, and wildlife habitat. He was the primary lead to plan the annual native plant sale, manage plant inventories, and oversee the sale. Over the past five years, Mike took on
greater responsibilities with the district’s lands protection program by planning and overseeing land stewardship activities at Miller Woods, Chegwyn Farm, Muddy Valley Habitat Reserve, Mt. Richmond, and other properties. Mike maintained strong relationships with dozens of landowners and the district’s conservation partners including NRCS, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, and others.
With Mike’s efforts, the district secured grant resources for knotweed, spurge laurel, garlic mustard and other invasive species control efforts. In 2018, he helped secure funds to hire Justin Cooley, the districts’ new Invasive Species Program Coordinator, which allowed the district to control priority weeds and conduct inventory work with Yamhill County.
Mike has been a valuable contributor, a champion for conservation, a creative problem solver, and friend to many in the community. His heart for service, passion for local conservation, and broad range of skills and experience will certainly be missed.
On behalf of the entire district board and staff, we offer Mike our deepest gratitude for his service, and lasting contributions to conservation in Yamhill County. We wish Mike and his family the best as they start a new adventure in Coeur d’Alene.
587 fifth grade students enjoyed the outdoor classroom setting at the 57th Annual Cruickshank Woodland Tour in McMinnville. The beautiful woods, owned my Doris and Dave Cruickshank, provided a beautiful and serene backdrop for students as they visited six educational stations:
FREE disposal of old, restricted, or unusable pesticides BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Anonymous collection event for local agricultural growers. Also FREE collection of triple-rinsed or pressure washed plastic pesticide containers – NO REGISTRATION NEEDED for empty containers.
