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Yesterday, members of our public works crew teamed up with the Luckiamute Watershed Council and the Ash Creek Water Control District to clean a section of Ash Creek next to Pioneer Park. Residents alerted the city about trash, pollutants, and other debris in the creek, highlighting the need for a collaborative solution. In response, the city reached out to the Luckiamute Watershed Council for assistance, prioritizing the preservation of the creek's natural integrity. The team successfully hauled out an impressive amount of trash, including plastic, remnants of a railroad trestle, and a surprising amount of tires—all of which pose significant threats to the surrounding wildlife.
Pioneer Park, known as Independence’s first park, was included in the original town plat back in the 1800s. Nestled at the corner of Seventh and C streets, the park sits at the confluence of the South Fork and Main Stem of Ash Creek and features an intact native riparian zone. |
ALBANY, Ore. — Nearly 30 minutes southwest of Salem is the Luckiamute State Natural Area, a former gravel quarry and farmland that is being restored back to a riparian forest habitat, rich with birds and other wildlife.
“It's a combination between a state park and a wildlife area,” said park ranger Steve Hernandez. “It's managed in a way where the focus is not just on the recreation, but mainly on the ecology.” Hernandez has been a park ranger with Oregon State Parks for 21 years. The Luckiamute State Natural Area has a north and south unit. The north unit is currently closed after a huge cottonwood tree branch fell and took out a bridge, but according to Hernandez, the smaller south unit is worth the drive, too... Click here to read the full story and watch a video featuring Oregon State Parks Ranger Steve Hernandez and LWC Outreach Coordinator, Suzanne Teller! |
The Luckiamute Watershed Council and its partners are pulling back the layers on a biodiversity restoration project this Saturday, June 8, an ongoing effort at J2E Tree Farm, a 360-acre private farm with a variety of natural resources and features.
How much variety? We're talking everything from wetlands, riparian areas and upland meadows, to oak woodlands and a variety of Douglas fir forests. Tickets — which are free to obtain — have been quick to sell out. Owner Dave Ehlers bought the farmland around 2003, according to Donna Schmitz, resource conservationist at the Benton Soil and Water Conservation District... Click here to read the full press release on the Corvallis Gazette-Times website. |
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries’ recommendations for Oregon fish passage projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Salmon and other native fish are so central to our culture and economies here in Oregon, and it is essential to help recovery efforts after years of population decline,” Wyden said. “These projects are vital to restoring and preserving our beautiful Oregon waterways, and I will continue to fight for resources to continue such efforts...” Click here to read the full press release on Jeff Merkley's website. |
The Luckiamute Watershed Council will showcase the J2E Tree Farm for the first time, a woodland restoration area in Philomath, in its River to Ridge Biodiversity Tour on June 8.
A volunteer-based organization, the Luckiamute Watershed Council has been advocating for better water quality and habitat conditions since 2001. The group works to protect and enhance the area’s natural resources, according to their website. One of the watershed’s highlights, J2E Tree Farm, will be on display that Saturday. This small woodland area is nestled on the Luckiamute River, which is northwest of Corvallis, and occupies 360 acres of the 201,668-acre watershed.... Click here to read the entire article on The Daily Barometer website. |
![]() Aubrey Cloud, project manager for the Luckiamute Watershed Council, explains how depositing salvage logs in streams helps improve aquatic habitat. The council received a $100,000 grant to expedite such a project, part of the $10 million recently disbursed under Oregon’s Private Forest Accord grant program. Photo by Mateusz Perkowski
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By next summer, the Luckiamute Watershed Council must be ready to deposit 430 logs along 1.7 miles of a fish-bearing stream in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
“We are trying to replicate natural processes that used to happen in creeks and rivers,” said Aubrey Cloud, the council’s project manager. However, federal grant dollars for the project won’t be disbursed early enough for the nonprofit to finish the preliminaries needed for on-the-ground work to start on time. The problem was recently solved with $100,000 from Oregon’s new Private Forest Accord grant program, which will allow the council to begin acquiring the necessary materials and permits right away. “This is kind of a prep phase, to make sure we have all our ducks in a row,” Cloud said. “It’s really helpful to get... Click here to read the entire article on the Capital Press website. |
The Private Forest Accord Grant Program, administered by ODFW, funded its first-ever round of habitat restoration projects awarding more than $10 million to 25 projects throughout Oregon. The Luckiamute Watershed Council was among the 25 awardees.
This year’s PFA grant funding prioritized projects that improve stream and wetland conditions for fish and wildlife. The projects will restore critical spawning grounds, fish passage, and other important aquatic habitats for fish and wildlife with a focus on the recovery of native salmon, trout and select amphibians. They will also improve.... Click here to read the entire article on the Polk County Itemizer-Observer website. |
Beavers and humans have this in common: They both work to alter the flow of water to their own benefit. Unfortunately for both parties, their activities are sometimes at odds.
“Beavers are land managers like farmers,” said Brian Bangs, aquatic ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “They don’t always see eye-to-eye, but some values are shared.” In the past, trapping or killing has been the main way to control those beavers disturbing operations on the farm with their dam-building. But lately, scientists, tribes, conservation groups and landowners are re-discovering ways to work with nature’s pesky engineers, according to the Mid-Willamette Beaver Partnership in Oregon... Click here to read the entire article on the Capital Press website. |
Poet and writer Henry Hughes, a professor of literature and writing at Western Oregon University, shares readings from “River Poems,” a collection of poems from authors that he edited. The event was held at The Valkyrie Wine Tavern on Main Street in Independence Saturday and organized by the Luckiamute Watershed Council. All proceeds from the sale of the book went to the LWC. Click here to read on the Polk County Itemizer-Observer website.
Photo by Anne Scheck |
Tribal historian and Oregon State University Professor David Lewis discussed Kalapuya Tribes and their legacy in the Willamette Valley as the first featured speaker for a nonprofit Sips ‘n’ Science series.
Approximately 93 people logged into Zoom to attend the virtual event, while another 30 gathered at the Brew Coffee and Tap House in Independence for a watch party on Tuesday, Oct. 19. Lewis began the webinar by jokingly lamenting over one aspect that wasn’t possible with him presenting over a virtual platform. “I’d really prefer to be talking with you all in person and drinking a beer,” he said. Lewis is a descendant of the Santiam Kalapuya, Chinook, Molalla, Takelma and Yoncalla Kalapuya peoples. He has served as manager of the Grand Ronde Cultural Resources Department and past Chachalu Museum curator and Tribal historian. He has a doctorate degree in anthropology from the University of Oregon and directed the Southwest Oregon Research Project. He is currently an assistant professor of anthropology and ethnic studies at Oregon State and... Click here to read the entire article on the Smoke Signals website. |