2004 Summer-Fall Current News, Clackamas River Basin Council

8/9/2019 2004 Summer-Fall Current News, Clackamas River Basin Council

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the Clackamas the Clackamas the Clackamas the Clackamas the Clackamas

CURRENT NEWS CURRENT NEWS CURRENT NEWS CURRENT NEWS CURRENT NEWS The New sletter of the Clackamas River Basin Council Summer/ Fall 2004

Your Clackam as RiverWatershed-Reflections

A peaceful summer day floatthrough a pool and drop sectionof the lower river reveals osprey, bald eagles, swimmers, rafters orriverside residents cooling off in

the shade of a tall Douglas firtree. A salmon slides through ashallow riffle tempting nearbyfisherfolk. Basking beach goerstoast bronze in the sun. For arange of reasons the ClackamasRiver is a favorite to many.

The Clackamas River headwatersstart near Ollallie Butte andTimothy Lake, and its swirlingwaters course through steepcanyons and around broadgravel bars along its 83 miles toOregon City. The river comesfrom subalpine lakes and spring-fed wildflower meadows andeddies past the communities ofSpringwater, Estacada andDamascus until it comes to theWillamette River at ClackamettePark. Along the way it waters our berries and Christmas trees, fills

our water taps and showers, andcarries salmon to their spawninggrounds.

Over the years, the ClackamasRiver Basin has captured theattention and affection ofresidents and visitors alike.Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Book, fished along its

banks near the mouth of ClearCreek in 1889 and wrote, “it wasa day to be remembered…on the banks of the Clackamas... imaginea stream seventy yards widerunning over seductive riffles andswirling into deep quiet poolswhere the good salmon goes…How shall I tell the glories of theday.”

The river provides anopportunity for reflection andreverence. MJ Cody a local writerwho grew up on the ClackamasRiver states in an excerpt from apoem, “nothing can take away thecolor. The green of memory, the greenof sorrow, the green of all thingsenchanted, the green of deepestcomfort and regret. The color of home. The Clackamas.”

What do you like about theClackamas River, its streams,its national forest or itsneighboring communities? Doyou have a favorite story ormemory to share about the riveror one of its many streams?Exclamations of appreciation forthe Clackamas are bountiful. I amsure you have your own.

Do you have a quote, poem oressay of your own about thelandscape of the Clackamas?Please share.

See inset for reflections from thewatershed community.

“Picture a river in your mind.Where does it start? Where does itend? How far does it travel? What path does it take? How does itaffect the world around it? How isit impacted by the world? Whatdoes it try to tell people? Is it in

pain? Can it be helped? What do people think about it?”- James Boger; Clackamas HighSchool Student

“The Clackamas River singsthrough the wilderness in color.Greens of Iceland, greens of glaciers, greens of the darkest jade.”-MJ Cody; writer who grew upon the river near Estacada

“As a child, I used to spend allday down by the river; it was a

perfect playground for me. Now I want to go down to the river and paint it, swim in it.”-Earlean Marsh; teacher,riverside resident since1947.

“It’s like a treasure that peoplewant to take care of and there aremajor things and major decisionscoming up that will affect its future. Are we going to protect itnow or not at all?”-Ris Bradshaw; riversidelandowner, former ClackamasCounty sheriff.

To submit your ClackamasReflection for possibleposting in future newslettersor on our website send to:[email protected]



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The past few monthshave been busy for thecouncil. In March wemoved to our newoffice in Damascus,

unpacked and gotsettled in. April foundus planting trees atBargefeld Creek, withthe help ofAmeriCorpsvolunteers.In May the Knotweedcrew made progress working withlandowners to identify and remove invasive Japanese Knotweed. (see story on Knotweed)and June found us hosting a tour for NOAAto demonstrate the effectiveness of thepartnerships they supported that arerestoring salmonid habitat by addressing fishpassage issues in the Clackamas.

In late June thetalented and energeticLauren Rector, anOregon State

University studentinternjoined us.Laurenhelpedoverhaul ourdisplay and

make it fun for children, andextended our outreach program,taking our display to local eventssuch as Mary Charlotte’s Garden party at

Phillip Foster Farm .

July heated up and found us working withtwenty-one Clear Creek streamside residentsfrom age two to seventy-two and anAmeriCorps crew to remove invasive speciesalong the tributary in preparation for a fall tree-planting. It was a great day of community building and stewardship.

An exciting July event was the unveilingof the new ClackamasWatershed sign.Look for these signsat river and stream

crossings in thelower watershed. Thesigns developed inpartnership with theArt Institute ofPortland’s AdvancedStudio Design Class,are being placed along creek crossingswith the generous support of WaterEnvironment Servicesof Clackamas County.

The 2nd Annual Clearand Foster CreekWater QualitySnapshot Event heldat Carver Park July19th attracted localsliving along thosecreeks who werecurious about the

quality of their water. Studentvolunteers analyzed watersamples at the park for waterquality indicators such asnitrogen, phosphates and bacteria and returned theresults to participants.Summarized data will beavailable on our website.

Current Wit h the Watershed- The Clackam as River Basin Council in Action



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What Can I DoAbout Knotweed?

Japanese and Giant Knotw eed Threaten theClackamas

An Escaped OrnamentalNative to the Far East Japanese and Giant Knot-

weed are perennial plantsnative to Asia, brought tothe United States as an or-namental garden plant.Along rivers and streams theplant is aggressive, spread-ing rapidly and crowdingand shading out nativeplants. Left unchecked it spreads by rhizomes, forming dense thick-ets that are inhospitable to native plants and animals.

Giant Bamboo-like Stalks and Heart-shaped LeavesKnotweed is sometimes called elephant ear, fleeceflower or Mexicanor Japanese Bamboo. Its bamboo-like green or reddish stems formdense stands that thrive in the moist soil and cobbles along creeks.The leaves are large, smooth and heart-shaped. Spikes of small whiteflowers in summer look a bit like the native mountainspray flowers.During winter dormancy, the brown bamboo-like stalks remain stand-ing while the leaves wither.

How This Noxious Plant SpreadsAlong the Clackamas and its tributaries Knotweed often spreads whenits roots are moved by floods or when cut and moved by beavers,people or machinery. Root fragments as small as one half inch longcan sprout and form new plants. The ‘96 floods distributed the plantin several parts of the watershed, particularly along the northerntributaries and the mainstem. In 2003, the Clackamas River BasinCouncil recognized the threat to water quality and wildlife habitat.Because of the high potential to eliminate this noxious plant in sometributaries, CRBC teamed up with METRO to sponsor AmeriCorpsvolunteers who have been hard at work mapping infestations in thewatershed and conducting systematic treatment. With the assistanceof volunteer landowners, we expect to successfully control the plantin the southern tributaries.

Treatment by Lethal InjectionOne especially promising treatment method is an unusual methodcalled “stem injection.” Initial controlled experiments showed thatwhen lower stems were directly injected with an approved herbicidethe plant died. This method has now been approved for general useand is the preferred method of treatment. If you have Knotweed onyour property you qualify for assistance in our special eradicationprogram. Call 503.813.7554 for help or for more information.

Check Your Property.If you have Knotweed call us

for recommendations and helpwith control.

Avoid spreadingKnotweed.Be careful working around it assmall fragments can easilyresprout if it gets into machin-ery or slash piles or are left inmoist places.

Because of Knotweed’s largeroot system and strong abilityto resprout following cutting,care must be taken tosuccessfully control it -Especially around water.Call our Knotweed Team at503.813.7554 for free assis-tance in eradicating thisnoxious plant from yourproperty.

An excellent reference onKnotweed and controlmethods is availableon-line at:

http:// tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/ moredocs/polspp01.pdf



Coho Salmon;Silver Treasure of the Clackam as

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Who W e Are:Our M ember Groups...

Small Woodlot OwnersCommercial WoodproductsAgriculture (Non-Timber)CommerceIndustryFish & Wildlife InterestsEnvironmental InterestsRecreation InterestsFederal Land Owning AgencySpecial DistrictsWater ProvidersState Natural Resource AgencyNative Tribes & InterestsLocal Hydropower UtilityCity or CountyRiverfront Property OwnersProperty Owner on TributaryRural CPOsUrban CPOsEducation / YouthCitizens at Large

We welcome the public to joinus at our council meetings,held the third Thursday of themonth from 6 - 9 p.m.

For meeting location andagenda, or if you would liketo serve on the Council byrepresenting one of the abovegroups please call503.558.0550or [email protected]

“...probably no tribu tary of the Columbia has aboundedso profusely with Salmon in the pastas the Clackamas”

- Livingston Stone, US FishCommission 1877

“The Clackamas, and itstributaries of Clear Creek,Foster Creek, Richardson andDeep Creeks are importanthabitat for one of two lastsignificant runs of Coho inthe Columbia Basin.”

In 1877, Livingston Stone, a fisheries biologist charged with operatingthe first fish hatchery in Oregon at the mouth of Clear Creek nearCarver, reported the above statement to his superiors at theUS Commission of Fish and Fisheries.

One of the salmon species Stone found in abundance was the Coho,or Silver Salmon, a hook jawed fighter that flushes red when it returnsto its birth stream after a few months tothree years in the ocean.

Coho fry emerge from the gravel in thespring and most fry stay in the stream forover a year feeding on aquatic insects,zooplankton and other small fish. The

juveniles live in shallow river and streammargins and defend territories fromother salmonids as they grow. Adequatestream cover, cool temperatures and lotsof dissolved oxygen in the water are very important to juvenile survival.Small Coho prefer quiet areas free of current, with submerged woodydebris, from which they dart out to seize drifting insects.

Migrating to sea in the spring, some male coho (jacks) will mature andreturn to their birthplace to spawn in the fall of the same year. The restcontinue to grow rapidly in the ocean for up to three years, feeding first onplankton, and later on squid, herring and other small fish. They return inthe fall to the Clackamas mainstem above North Fork Reservoir and to thetributaries of Clear, Eagle, Deep, Foster and Richardson Creeks, and spawnfrom October to January.

Today the Clackamas and its tributaries are still home to Coho, though the big runs of the early days are diminished. The Clackamas and itstributaries are important habitat for one of the two last significant runs

of Coho in the Columbia Basin. A candidate for threatened status on thefederal roster and listed as endangered on the Oregon state list, the CohoSalmon has declined in much of it’s range due to the usual gauntlet ofchallenges salmon face including impacts to its habitat, historicaloverfishing and predation by non-native species such as the bullfrog and

bass. The CRBC is working with volunteer landowners in the watershed toprotect water quality and improve habitat for people and Coho. Salmon areamazingly resilient, and we have reason to believe that working together ongood stewardship of our river and tributaries, there is a flash of silver hopefor the Coho in the Clackamas.



A Dynam ic DuoTeams U p forWatershed Health

In the 1940’s a young man fromNorth Portland by the name of Cole

Gardiner discovered the lure of theClackamas. These were the dayswhen you could hop a trolley to theend of the line in Estacada, walkdown to the river and catch your-

self a finesteelheador salmonand be backin Portlandfor dinner.For many

years Colefished andhunted theClackamasWatershed,

first as a young man, then later withhis own family.

After many years of enjoying theriver, Cole decided he wanted togive something back. He began tovolunteer to help with conservation

projects. He’s worked with theCRBC since its beginning in 1997.Cole has served as Chair the of ourFish and Wildlife Committee andtaken a lead in developing commu-nity partnerships for streamsidetree planting. With support fromlandowners, fishing groups, theForest Service, the BLM andClackamas County, Cole hasworked on behalf of the CRBC toplant over forty thousand trees in

the watershed that will help protectwater quality and wildlife habitat.This type of partnership epitomizeswhat the Clackamas River BasinCouncil is all about.

This spring the ClackamasCounty Commissionersrecognized Cole for his years ofservice to the community

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What is a W atershedCouncil?

The Clackamas River BasinCouncil (CRBC) is a localand voluntary nonprofitwatershed council.

We have representativesfrom 21 diverse membergroups.

Our mission is to fosterpartnerships for clean waterand to improve fish andwildlife habitat and thequalityof life for those who live, work

and recreate in the watershed.

We consider the entire riverdrainage, and focus our workalong the mainstem and thetributary streams that enter theClackamas River belowEstacada.

The council meets the thirdThursday of each month andcitizen participation isencouraged. Join us!

For more information pleasevisit our website atwww.clackamasriver.orgor call us at 503.558.0550

(photo right) and we recognizeCole each year by the “ColeGardiner Stewardship Award ”which the council presents at ourannual Salmon Bake/WatershedCelebration to an outstanding con-servation partner.

Another Shining Star

Last year this award recognizedcontributions of board memberLowell Hanna who is Cole’s righthand man and key player on thetree planting team.

Lowell is a unique combination ofright brain, left brain; a retired fis-

cal manager and former watercommissioner, who makes beauti-ful pottery which is exhibited inseveral galleries in Oregon. Lowellhas been indispensable to thecouncil’s riparian restoration ef-forts- helping to organize workcrews, transport plants to sites andcoordinate plans.

Lowell also pitches in with amyriad of council tasks, from help-ing to move our office to servingon the council’s wildlife committee.

A huge thanks to both these stellar board members!



Clackamas River Basin Council W atershed Calendar

♦ Fourth Annual Watershed Celebration and Salmon Bake- Sept. 19♦ Advance Pasture Management Seminar, Clackamas Community College - Sept. 30

For details call Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District at 503.656.3499♦ Fall Riverside Cleanup- Oct. t.b.a.♦ Small Farms Workshop- Oct. t.b.a.♦ Clear Creek Tree Planting Work Parties- Nov. 6 and Dec. 4- Call to Volunteer♦ Clackamas Watershed Basin-wide Action Planning Workshop- Nov. 11 and 12♦ Clackamas Stream Team - Streamside Tree Planting - Nov- March

Clackamas River Basin CouncilP.O. Box 1869 Clackamas, OR 97015Phone: 503.558.0550Email: [email protected]

In This Newsletter:

♦ Your Clackamas River WatershedReflections

♦ Clackamas River Basin CouncilCurrent Activities

♦ Coho Salmon♦ Lethal Injection- A Treatment for

Knotweed

Coming Soon to Your W atershed:

FourthAnnualWatershed Celebration

and Salmon Bake

Sunday September 19th2-5 p.m.

Phillip Foster Farm, Eagle Creek

The CRBC would like to express a special thank you to the following local businesses and organizations

for their generous support:Clackamas County Water Providers Portland State University Outdoor Recreation ProgramStudent Watershed Research Project Aunt Fannie’s Olde Egg Shoppe and Mercantile, Eagle Ck.All Star Rafting Phillip Foster Farm- EagleCk.

Documents

2004 Summer-Fall Current News, Clackamas River Basin Council