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Wednesday, November 21, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Restoring Indian Ford meadow
By Jim Anderson
Correspondent
Historically, Indian Ford
Meadow northeast of Sisters
was overgrazed. Grazing
removed native grasses and
riparian shrubs, causing an
increase in canary reed grass
and the sheep-borne cheat
grass. Over-allocation of
Indian Ford for irrigation
also put a strain to native
habitat and riparian meadow
conditions.
In January 2016, the
Oregon Department of
Agriculture identified Indian
Ford Creek as an impaired
watershed according to (OAR)
603-095-3040. These regula-
tions provided guidance to
landowners to improve surface
and groundwater quality to:
• Exclude livestock or
cropping to allow streamside
vegetation to establish and
grow.
• Plant streamside vegeta-
tion appropriate to the site.
• Properly store or export
manure from the site.
• Apply manure to crop or
pastures at agronomic rates.
• Feed animals and store
manure at locations safely
away from the stream.
• Don’t over-graze.
• Provide adequate run-
off control from confinement
areas.
Through the work with
the Deschutes Soil &
Water Conservancy District
(DSWCD) and watershed spe-
cialist Dr. Michael L. Hughes
of Oregon Technological
Institute, a plan was formu-
lated to bring Indian Ford
meadow and the creek back to
life.
In November of 2016,
young people attached to
the Oregon National Guard
Youth Challenge Program
(ONGYCP), with oversight
of DSWCD put Dr. Hughes’
plan into action, spending a
great deal of time and energy
planting hundreds of willow
and other riparian grasses
and shrubs along the banks
of Indian Ford Creek and
meadow.
The positive attitude and
eagerness of the ONGYCP
students showed how they felt
about what they were doing —
conserving water and improv-
ing habitat conditions. Private
landowners also got involved
with removing invaders along
the creek and were mostly
happy to see the planting
happen.
The list of riparian plants
put in originally represents
what is needed to put the
meadow and creek back the
way it was before the heavy
hand of man almost killed
them off. Ponderosa pine,
Pacific willow, alder, dog-
wood, aspen, wild rose, snow-
berry, elderberry, golden cur-
rant, wax currant, and Douglas
spiraea are the species planted
originally.
Phase I was enacted in
2016 with the initial plant-
ing of willows, finishing with
planting of other native spe-
cies. Fifty percent of the origi-
nal plantings of 2016 were
protected from deer and elk
grazing by cages the Guard
students made to surround the
plantings.
Other conservation efforts,
such as illegal dam and culvert
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removal, restored the natural
flow of the creek. The cadets
also removed reed canary
grass and cheat, and planted
bundles of native willows in
the ditches. All concerned
hoped this would bring the
creek’s temperature down to
normal as the native riparian
plants grew and created shade.
Everything looked good the
following spring as the ripar-
ian plants took root and began
to thrive. However, there is a
natural mortality to such proj-
ects; deer browsing and lack
of moisture, along with com-
petition of reed canary grass
has begun to choke off many
of the 2016 plantings.
T h e O r e g o n Wa t e r
Enhancement Board (WEB),
DSWCD and other state agen-
cies made several attempts to
help the new native riparian
plants gain a footing, but soil
conditions kept deteriorating
and alien grasses continued to
gain more footing over time.
Phase II started in the sum-
mer of 2018 with prepara-
tion for additional planting
and spot-spraying of the reed
PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON
Jan Roofner guiding Libby Stahancyk, operating post-hole digger, where
another willow will be planted in Indian Ford Meadow riparian habitat.
canary grass. The answer to
saving the restoration project
came in the form of an OWEB/
ODA grant which was enough
to hire Libby Stahancyk, the
owner and operator of a nat-
ural-resource consulting firm,
to enhance the original resto-
ration work of 2016 and 2017.
DSWCD has a strong, his-
torical relationship with pri-
vate landowners in the Indian
Ford Creek watershed.
“We are encouraged by the
participation we received from
landowners and their efforts to
maintain this relationship,”
said Todd Peplin, DSWCD
planner/technician. “We hope
to continue working with the
landowners and our state and
federal partners to further
coordinate conservation effort
in the Indian Ford watershed.”
It is hoped, with the
replacement of the origi-
nal plants that died and with
future irrigation provided by
snow and runoff, there will be
enough water to restore Indian
Ford Creek and Meadow to its
original health and beauty.
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