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Wednesday, April 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Collaboration key to forest health
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
When conflicting inter-
ests arise in forest man-
agement, Forest Ecologist
Maret Pajutee says that win-
win solutions are still pos-
sible. Pajutee, whose 25-year
Forest Service career is in its
final days, spoke to a keenly
receptive audience last week
as part of the Sisters Trails
Alliance (STA) speakers
series. She dubbed her talk
“Tale of Two Rivers — The
Sequel — Keeping the ‘Wild’
in Wild and Scenic,” build-
ing on earlier references to
restoration efforts on the
Metolius River and Whychus
Creek.
She began by relating
how, 20 years ago, the Forest
Service asked its planners to
start thinking about the land-
scape and its future. So, they
did, starting with analysis of
watershed data dating back to
the mid-19th century. One of
the particular concerns was
the astoundingly pathetic
condition of what was then
called Squaw Creek, which
was so oversubscribed for
irrigation that the stream
often went completely dry on
its way through Sisters in the
summer.
Two decades later, the
stream has a new name and
new life — the result of
what Pajutee touted as col-
laboration. In looking at
how to restore what is now
known as Whychus Creek,
the Forest Service recog-
nized that “It wasn’t our
water, our fish, or our dams,
so we had to adopt a collab-
orative approach,” Pajutee
said.
Today, Whychus Creek
once again flows year-round,
and its decimated fish popula-
tions are being restored. This
all came about, she said, not
through the efforts of one
agency or organization, but
as a result of collaboration
among many.
“When you think about
how screwed up the Whychus
system was 20 years ago,”
Pajutee said, “that was a
really fast turnaround.”
She reported that, as part
of the elaborate restora-
tion efforts, steelhead have
already been recorded in a
restored portion of Whychus
Creek at the Deschutes Land
Trust’s Camp Polk Preserve,
and a few have been observed
in the Metolius River, as
well.
Pajutee pointed out that
Upper Whychus Creek and
the lower Metolius River are
among the few national gems
Congressionally designated
as “Wild and Scenic Rivers.”
There are only 203 such des-
ignations in the entire nation,
and two of them are right here
in our own neighborhood.
Pajutee conceded that the
substantial growth projected
in Central Oregon will defi-
nitely challenge future forest
planning.
“Where is the sweet spot
for development versus con-
servation?” she asked, before
admitting, “I don’t have the
answer. None of us does.”
She likened the Deschutes
National Forest to the prover-
bial golden goose and showed
a graphic with an admoni-
tion pleading, “Don’t kill the
golden goose.” And that is the
challenge now being faced,
she said. Amazingly, use of
the Three Sisters Wilderness
doubled in 2015 over just
the previous year, and it had
already been on a steady
increase.
There are currently
1,566 miles of trails in the
Deschutes National Forest,
400 of them in the Sisters
Ranger District. Various
proposals for new trails in
the Sisters Ranger District
alone would add more than
800 miles. So, obviously,
the opportunities for col-
laborative planning are far
from over. Much more will
have to be done in the future
to balance wilderness with
the growing demands being
placed upon it.
Part of that process will
entail what Pajutee described
as “growing new stewards.”
To accomplish that, the Forest
Service and others are already
working closely with schools
to instill young people with
an “attachment to the land” in
the hopes of creating an emo-
tional link to the land around
us. Adults are also being edu-
cated through outreach with
other organizations such as
that provided by the STA
forum.
There was a time, Pajutee
PHOTO BY CRAIG EISENBEIS
Maret Pajutee chats with STA board members Gary Guttormsen and Chuck
Humphreys following her pre-retirement address.
said, when competing out- from last October which
door, forest, and environ- read “Everybody wins on
mental issues were viewed Whychus Creek,” which was
in a solely partisan manner. the hoped-for resolution all
Instead, she says, opposing along. In that way, she said,
parties can better view each we can all be winners in the
other as allies with common long run.
interests in order to seek com-
Her remarks were greeted
mon solutions. She hopes the with a standing ovation.
days of win/lose confronta-
For more information
tions are a thing of the past about STA or performing vol-
and that the concept of “muti- unteer work on trails or other
ple-use” can make everyone outdoor-related projects,
winners.
contact the organization at
As a perfect illustra- 541-719-8822 or visit https://
tion, she cited an edito- sisterstrailsalliance.wildapri
rial headline in The Nugget cot.org.