I am honored to be writing my fifth end of the year update, sharing our annual report with you, along with a few collected thoughts. This year certainly looked different for the South Santiam Watershed Council than my first year. When I started my tenure at the council in 2020, we were just 6 months into covid and it would be another month before the Labor Day fires swept through basins to the north and south of us. So much has changed as we've unpacked those experiences, made changes, bid farewell to long-serving staff and board members, and started new chapters.

But other things have not changed. We continue to rely on our partners, our friends of the watershed, with whom we build personal and professional relationships. Rooted in these relationships, the council now moves into 2025 with the strength of many. In the coming year, we look forward to implementing several fish passage projects; growing our youth education offerings; planning and securing funding for several habitat restoration projects; expanding our community-level wildfire resilience work; managing noxious weeds; and (my favorite) other duties as assigned. Our role in the community continues to be that of liaison, and along with the work we plan, we remain flexible, ready to respond and adapt to the needs of the people and places we serve.

And so, at the end of this year, I am both satisfied with what we leave behind from 2024 and eagerly anticipating what we move toward in 2025. Along with my colleagues, we leave this year in gratitude and welcome the new with joy. Thank you for being a part of it all!