Two decades of digging
in Sisters page 5
Stars over
Sisters page 16
Owls, owls and
more owls page 17
The Nugget
Vol. XXXX No. 14
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Long-time U.S. Forest
Service biologist Kevin
Keown has taken up the reins
as Acting District Ranger
at Sisters Ranger District
as Kristie Miller stepped
into retirement at the end of
March.
Keown has worked for the
Forest Service for more than
26 years, beginning his career
as a biological technician and
advancing as a professional
wildlife biologist and dis-
trict ecology staffer. He has
most recently served as the
Forest Wildlife Biologist for
the Ochoco National Forest
and Crooked River National
Grassland.
The majority of his career
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Yarn bomb!
Keown
tapped to
lead ranger
district
Kallberg
will be
Rodeo
grand
marshal
By Bonnie Malone
Correspondent
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Young artists, reportedly under the direction of Kit Stafford, conducted a guerrilla art operation
in downtown Sisters at dawn on April 1. They “yarn bombed” the stallion that guards the east end of
Cascade Avenue. Their work remained up through Saturday.
See KEOWN on page 25
Inside...
Curt Kallberg has been
selected as the Grand Marshal
of the 2017 Sisters Rodeo
Parade.
The former wild horse
racer, current auto racer and
contractor is a man who
thrives on action and speed,
ready to do what it takes to
get something done.
I n S i s t e r s , K a l l b e rg
became a whirlwind in a
town that had stopped shrug-
ging its shoulders in accept-
ing the inevitable, to become
See KALLBERG on page 23
March was warmer and
wetter than usual
According to preliminary
data received by NOAA’s
National Weather Service
in Pendleton, temperatures
at Sisters averaged slightly
warmer than usual during the
month of March.
The average temperature
was 40.1 degrees, which was
0.5 degrees above normal.
High temperatures averaged
51.5 degrees, which was 0.2
degrees below normal. The
highest was 67 degrees on
March 15. Low tempera-
tures averaged 28.6 degrees,
which was 1.2 degrees above
normal. The lowest was 18
degrees, on March 5.
There were 20 days with
the low temperature below 32
degrees.
Precipitation totaled 1.70
inches during March, which
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
was 0.72 inches above nor-
mal. Measurable precipita-
tion —at least .01 inch — was
received on 10 days with the
heaviest, 0.60 inches reported
on March 24.
Precipitation this year has
reached 5.97 inches, which
is 1.79 inches above normal.
Since October, the water year
precipitation at Sisters has
been 10.92 inches, which is
1.86 inches above normal.
Snowfall totaled 1.6
inches, with at least one inch
of snow reported on one day.
The heaviest snowfall was 1.6
inches reported on March 7.
The greatest depth of snow on
the ground was two inches on
March 7.
The highest wind gust was
See WEATHER on page 18
DLT secures 130 acres near Sisters
The Deschutes Land Trust
has purchased and perma-
nently protected 130 acres of
land along Whychus Creek
near Sisters.
The new Willow Springs
Preserve — located below
the Rim at Aspen Lakes —
includes nearly one mile of
Whychus Creek, creekside
meadows, juniper and pine
woodlands, and rimrock
cliffs. The acquisition is part
of the Land Trust’s ongo-
ing Campaign for Whychus
Creek.
“The purchase and cre-
ation of Willow Springs
Preserve is a great example
of how the Campaign for
Whychus Creek can lever-
age local resources to con-
serve the best of Whychus
Creek,” said Brad Chalfant,
Deschutes Land Trust execu-
tive director. “Early donors
to the Campaign provided
PHOTO COURTESY DESCHUTES LAND TRUST
The Willow Springs Preserve is located below the Rim at Aspen Lakes.
the essential private funding
which allowed us to work
with partners to quickly
secure the property. The
Campaign is now in the final
months and we need the com-
munity to continue stepping
up, donating to the Campaign
and helping us achieve
this important community
vision.”
Willow Springs Preserve
includes one mile of
Whychus Creek and its asso-
ciated meadow floodplain.
While currently providing
See LAND TRUST on page 31
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Obituaries ......................... 9 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Sisters Naturalist ..............17 Classifieds ..................26-28
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ................12 Stars Over Sisters ............ 16 Crossword ....................... 25 Real Estate .................29-32