<![CDATA[Luckiamute Watershed Council - Luckiamute Watershed Council Blog]]>Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:06:14 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[LWC featured in local newspaper]]>Thu, 24 May 2012 19:12:17 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2012/05/lwc-featured-in-local-newspaper.htmlLuckiamute fish runs need help
POLK COUNTY -- Your best bet at finding trout within the 202,000-acre Luckiamute watershed would be in the upper west fork of the Luckiamute River.

Craig Coleman

May 22, 2012

POLK COUNTY -- Your best bet at finding trout within the 202,000-acre Luckiamute watershed would be in the upper west fork of the Luckiamute River.

A biological assessment shows that an 18-mile stretch that includes Beaver, Boulder and Miller creeks -- 8 percent of all stream miles in the basin -- produces about 91 percent and 45 percent of all steelhead and cutthroat trout, respectively.

Overall, however, fish numbers in the basin are low and there's a limited amount of functional stream habitat, the report also showed.

"The Luckiamute, like the Marys and Yamhill rivers and other streams that enter into the Willamette River from the west, are low elevation and heavily impacted by agriculture," said Michael Cairns, former Luckiamute Watershed Council coordinator and project manager. Cairns helped coordinate the study.

"It gets very warm during the summer, which isn't good for native fish," Cairns said.

LWC commissioned a four-year inventory of 214 miles of streams and creeks to determine the abundance and distribution of cutthroat, steelhead and young salmon.

The work was performed by Steve Trask, a biologist and owner of Bio-Surveys, LLC, between 2008 and 2011.

Trask and his team donned snorkeling gear, waded into stream segments during the summer months and did visual counts of fish in selected pools before moving upstream, then extrapolated those numbers for the entire waterway.

Gail Oberst, a LWC board member, said the data will prove critical in identifying which parts of the basin warrant restoration projects and for seeking grant funding.

"When you do projects on sections of the creek, you have to determine how much good it's going to do," Oberst said.

The final year of the study concentrated on 85 miles of stream with the highest number of fish.

Last year, snorkelers spotted 9,745 cutthroat, most of them in the mainstem of the Luckiamute River or its upper tributaries. Only 820 steelhead were sighted and 840 coho salmon.

Cutthroat production declined each of the last three years, but didn't see large fluctuations like other species, Trask said.

Coho are a near anomaly. There were no coho salmon observed in 2008 and 2009, but a whopping 46,000 counted in 2010, most in the Luckiamute mainstem, Pedee Creek and the confluence of the Little Luckiamute and Teal Creek.

Trask explained that thousands of adult coho salmon had passed through Willamette Falls in 2009, and that a significant number ended up spawning in the Luckiamute basin the following year.

Geology affects the basin's low fish production, Trask said. The basalt and sedimentary rock formations in streams that the three native fish thrive in are limited to the west and northwest portions of the watershed. Annual rainfall is also highest in the northwest corner.

Overall, agricultural use in the basin has drained wetland and floodplains, which impacts water quality and temperatures, he said.

"The west fork of the Luckiamute, upper Pedee Creek and above the Little Luckiamute Falls are good-looking habitats," Trask said. "A lot of the rest of the basin comes out with a low habitat score."

Trask said key goals for the basin should be identifying and protecting the key "anchor" habitats and enhancing the mainstem of the Luckiamute by expanding forest buffers. Access to upstream tributaries would help juvenile fish migration during the summer, he also said.

"We assume that if you're restoring those kinds of watershed functions, you're helping lots of other species as well," he said..]]><![CDATA[Volunteer Habitat Restoration Work Party November 25]]>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:34:03 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2011/11/volunteer-habitat-restoration-work-party-november-25.html__What: Work off some turkey dinner— volunteer event in the Luckiamute State Natural Area!
Where: Luckiamute State Natural Area, North Unit Trailhead
When: Friday, November 25, 2011, 9 AM to 2 PM 
Goals: Restore a 3.5 acre “demonstration prairie” as an example of native prairie habitat which was historically widespread in the neighborhood, including portions of Luckiamute State Natural Area (LSNA). Recreate habitat suitable for threatened grassland species such as Oregon vesper sparrow, which nested in the demonstration area until recently.
Activities:
  • Plant bulblets of native prairie/savanna wildflowers (camas, brodiaea and ookow) in demonstration plot near trailhead.
  • Plant and rake in native grass and wildflower seed over additional parts of the area.
  • Swap ideas for more volunteer activities at LSNA in the coming years.
Please Bring: Garden tools (especially rakes and hand trowels), work gloves, and kneeling pads if you use them.

RSVP or Questions: please email Joel Geier or call (541) 745-5821.

Click here to download .pdf with more information and detailed driving directions to the trailhead from Albany, Corvallis, and Monmouth/Independence. Hope to see you there!
]]><![CDATA[LWC Council Meeting: Thursday, October 13, 2011]]>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:41:23 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2011/09/lwc-council-meeting.htmlThe Luckiamute Watershed Council will hold their monthly meeting on Thursday, October 13, beginning at 7:00 pm at Volunteer Hall in Monmouth.  Meetings are always open to the public and discussion topics include local watershed issues and actions. Volunteer Hall is located at 144 S. Warren St. in Monmouth.

For additional details, please email the LWC or call (503) 837-0237. ]]><![CDATA[LWC Chair Featured in Itemizer-Observer ]]>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:40:05 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2011/09/lwc-chair-featured-in-itemizer-observer.htmlPicture
Photo by Pete Strong, Itemizer-Observer
Thursday, April 14, 2011:  LWC Chair Kelly Gordon was recently featured in an article in the Polk County Itemizer-Observer newspaper.

Craig Coleman
SUVER -- Kelly Gordon guesses his preoccupation with land stewardship is inherent. When his father, George Gordon, relocated to Oregon from Northern Texas in 1947, he had passed on spreads in the Columbia Basin and Madras. "Dad had lived through the Dust Bowl and didn't want to be in dry country again," Kelly Gordon said. "Those places ... they felt too much like Texas."

George Gordon bought property -- from the U.S. Army, post-Camp Adair -- in the Suver area of southern Polk County. His grandfather, another Dust Bowl veteran, followed two years later and acquired a ranch nearby. Kelly Gordon said both installed subsurface drainage to prevent water stress on crops, limed and fertilized fields to keep them productive. His dad planted shrubs and trees up to the creek.

"He was always really worried about leaving things without vegetation on it," Gordon said. "He had seen his father's place blow away and that was sobering to him." Today, Gordon raises sheep on his grandfather's ranch and grows orchard grass and some organic crops on his father's property. Maintaining a balance between farming and nature is something he holds dear.
Click here to download the entire article.
]]><![CDATA[LSNA Lecture Series: Otters of the world and the world of otters ]]>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:30:24 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2011/09/lsna-lecture-series-otters-of-the-world-and-the-world-of-otters.htmlWednesday, April 13, 2011:  They’re out there.  Navigating the river, searching for fish, and exploring the banks, the North American River Otter is one of the most elusive residents of the Luckiamute Watershed.  On April 28th at 6:00 pm, Dr. Nicole Duplaix will use a global perspective to shed some light on our enigmatic otters during the April edition of the Luckiamute State Natural Area Lecture Series.

Thanks to a unique partnership between Oregon Parks and Recreation District and the Luckiamute Watershed Council, the Luckiamute State Natural Area Lecture Series provides a monthly opportunity to learn about the ecology and history of the LSNA and surrounding area.  “Otters of the world and the world of otters” marks the culmination of the 2011 LSNA Lecture Series.  From May-October, the Luckiamute Watershed Council will take to the field and offer a monthly series of hikes and tours around the Luckiamute State Natural Area.  The Lecture Series will resume in January, 2012.

Space is limited.  To reserve a seat, leave a message at (503) 837-0237. Light refreshments will be provided.

Lectures take place at the Luckiamute State Natural Area Headquarters, located at Luckiamute State Natural Area headquarters, 14707 Buena Vista Road, at the Benton-Polk border.

About Nicole Duplaix

Nicole Duplaix is the Coordinator of the Luckiamute Watershed Council. She received her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Paris. She conducted her doctoral research on the giant otters in Suriname, the first time this species had been studied in the wild. She has studied otters for 35 years in the wild and in captivity and now focuses on otter conservation in Asia and South America. She is the founder and Chair of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. She co-founded TRAFFIC and headed its Washington DC office — this organization monitors and documents the international trade in endangered and protected species, with 14 offices around the world.  She works as a contract photographer for the National Geographic Image Collection. Currently she resides in Oregon and teaches at Oregon State University in the Fisheries and Wildlife Department. Otters are still her passion.

]]><![CDATA[LWC Council Meeting: Thursday, April 14 ]]>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:27:29 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2011/09/lwc-council-meeting-thursday-april-14.htmlWednesday, March 30, 2011: The Luckiamute Watershed Council will hold their monthly meeting on Thursday, April 14th at Volunteer Hall in Monmouth.  Meetings are always open to the public and discussion topics include local watershed issues and actions. Volunteer Hall is located at 144 S. Warren St. in Monmouth.

The LWC Education and Outreach Committee will meet at 6pm on April 14th at Crush in Monmouth.

For additional details, please contact the LWC at info@luckiamutelwc.org or call (503) 837-0237.


]]><![CDATA[LSNA Lecture Series at Wings of Wonder ]]>Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:33:24 GMThttp://www.luckiamutelwc.org/1/post/2011/09/first-post.htmlFriday, March 18, 2011: Join the Luckiamute Watershed Council at Wings of Wonder This month the Luckiamute State Natural Area (LSNA) Lecture Series goes afield  as we journey to one of the warmest places in western Oregon.  Join us on March 31st at 6:00 pm at Wings of Wonder Butterfly Farm where we’ll tour a 2,400 square foot butterfly conservatory and propagation lab that’s maintained at a balmy 80 degrees.  Robert Heriford, lepidopterist and Wings of Wonder owner will talk about butterfly ecology and share his thoughts about the potential for enhanced Fender’s Blue habitat at the Luckiamute State Natural Area.

Due to space limitations, advance reservations are required.  To register, leave a message at (503) 837-0237.

Light refreshments will be provided.  Dress in layers. Wings of Wonder is located at 5978 Willamette Ferry Street in Buena Vista. For mapping purposes, use Independence as the city.

Thanks to a unique partnership between Oregon Parks and Recreation District and the Luckiamute Watershed Council, the Luckiamute State Natural Area Lecture Series provides a monthly opportunity to learn about the ecology and history of the LSNA and surrounding area.

To learn about Wings of Wonder, visit  http://www.wingsofwonder.us

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