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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 11 Trout Unlimited project manager to speak in Sisters By Craig F. eisenbeis Correspondent He has been described as a man protecting ecosys- tems “one salmon at a time.” Darek Staab is the Upper Deschutes Home Rivers Initiative Project Manager for Trout Unlimited, and he will be speaking in Sisters next week. As part of its continuing quarterly speaker series, the Sisters Trails Alliance (STA), will host Staab’s speak- ing engagement next week. Staab’s presentation is free and open to the public. He has titled his talk “Spring- fed Rivers and Stewardship: Conserving our habitat along trails and streams for our community’s future.” STA board member Bjarne Holm is the coordinator for STA’s speaker series and invited Staab to address the STA forum. According to Holm, “Darek will share a mix of work he has under- taken on the Metolius and Fall rivers, focusing on out- door recreation and steward- ship and how we can help take care of our waterways and shared habitat.” Originally from Utah, Staab has worked in the Pacific Northwest for the past 14 years. His under- graduate work was com- pleted in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology at Utah State University, and he holds a Masters of Education in Natural Science Education from Western Washington University. He has conducted research and education proj- ects while studying fish and rivers in the West and Alaska for 22 years. Trout Unlimited is an organization founded in 1959 to conserve and protect fisheries and watersheds in North America and to fos- ter the goal of ensuring the health and stability of wild and native trout populations. Among Staab’s credits, he played an important role in the Elwha Dam removal and Elwha River restoration in Olympic National Park. The dam removal, completed in just the last few years, was a landmark river restoration project. As the project manager for Trout Unlimited’s Upper Deschutes Home Rivers Initiative, Staab has been based in Bend for the last sev- eral years. He started a new youth education initiative called the “Spring-fed Rivers Stewardship Program,” which strives to connect elementary and middle school students to their local spring-fed riv- ers and provide field trips and classroom visits focused on river ecology and watershed stewardship. The program serves approximately 500 students each school year, with students typically taking part in field trips and class- room instruction. Holm has a vested interest in the region’s unique rivers and streams. As a geologist, he notes that “The Metolius and Fall rivers are unique because they emerge directly to the surface, fed from a plumbing system of faults, fractures and abandoned lava tubes ... other drainages, such as Whychus Creek, are mainly fed directly from rain and melting snow. The underground storage of water under the Sisters region is not only extensive, but appears, in part, to be fed by water seeping into the ground west of the Cascade volcanoes.” There were specific rea- sons why Holm invited Staab to speak. “I have had a chance to work with Darek Staab on a couple of previous occasions,” Holm explained. “Working with the Sisters Science Club, I help to orga- nize the out-of-district com- panies and organizations for the yearly Sisters Science Fair. Darek Staab has part- nered with Michael Riehle, the Forest Service district fisheries biologist in Sisters for the last couple of years, to set up a large fish tank with live trout and steelhead.” Holm feels that Staab’s experience teaching the region’s natural and cul- tural history to all age lev- els deserves an even wider audience. “Darek Staab led a full field trip day for an OSU Master Naturalist Class I was part of last sum- mer. The class spent most of the day in the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve to study the ongoing stream restora- tion efforts along Whychus Creek. Students examined all the major aquatic insects that were returning to the stream as a result of restora- tion efforts. Later in the day, the class was introduced by TREATING SPORTS INJURIES SISTERS GARAGE DOORS Children & Adults Sales • Service • Installation Three Sisters Chiropractic Life is like a garage door; it has its ups and downs. 270 S. Spruce St., Sisters Dr. Inice Gough, DC, 541.549.3583 ThreeSistersChiropractic.com Dale Lester CCB#151832 541-815-1523 photo providEd darek Staab will talk stream stewardship in Sisters. Darek to the stream-bank restoration efforts along the Metolius River.” Next week’s program is the eighth in STA’s quarterly series of free public presen- tations designed to promote outdoor public recreation and education in Sisters Country. The presentation will be held on Thursday, January 21, in the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Station Community Hall in downtown Sisters at 355 S. Elm St. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the formal program will begin at 7 p.m. The pro- gram is free and open to the public. Snacks and refresh- ments will be provided. For more information about STA call 541-719- 8822. Additional informa- tion about STA can be found on their website at www. sisterstrails.com. • Eyelash Extensions • Airbrush Tanning • Manicures • Pedicures • Gel Nails • Nikibiki Apparel Sarah Rybka, Owner/Technician 473 W. Hood Ave., Ste. 101 THE GALLERY R E S TA U R A N T A N D B A R Breakfast & lunch 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Full-service dining in the bar nightly until 10 p.m. (21 & over) — Orders to go always welcome — Connect with us on Facebook for daily soups and other great specials! 171 W. Cascade Ave., Sisters • 541-549-2631
