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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2018)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM ܂ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 ܂ 3A Forecast projects warmer than normal winter Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK On the heels of a drought-stricken summer and fall, Oregon is expected to stay warm into this coming winter. Long-term forecasts project a 50 to 60 percent chance of a warmer-than- normal winter likely to include low snowpack, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. The extended forecast, which in- cludes December to February, says a weak El Nino loads the dice toward warm and dry conditions in the North- Parks Continued from Page 1A istrative tasks in the office and covering more ground out in the field. Some big projects planned for the winter include a new restroom and pic- nic shelters at Scotts Mills, new picnic tables at Denny and Labish Village and cutting back of overgrown vegetation at Spong’s Landing. A big summer for county parks The addition follows a busy summer season for the county park system. The department had eight temporary employees over the summer season which allowed some larger projects to be tackled. A long-overgrown area in Minto Park, about 4 miles east of Mill City along the North Santiam, was cleared for a trail and viewpoint overlooking the river. west, meteorologists said. “Historically, winters with a weak El Nino bring warmer temperatures and lower snowpack,” said Jeremiah Pyle, a meteorologist with the National Weath- er Service in Portland. “It doesn’t always end up like that,” he said, “but some of the worse winters we’ve had have been in weak El Nino years.” The news doesn’t come at a particu- larly good time. Eighty-five percent of Oregon re- mains mired in “severe drought” follow- ing the ninth- warmest summer in rec- ords going back to 1894. It was the Salem area’s fourth-hottest June, July and Au- gust on record, according to meteorolo- gists. The hot and dry conditions this sum- mer led to the most expensive wildfire season in history, the Statesman Jour- nal first reported earlier this month. Multiple wildfires burned from July to September in a season fueled by last winter’s dry conditions. Oregon had below-average snow- pack for much of last winter, particular- ly in the south, which paved the way for a wildfire season that cost $514.6 million in 2018. “There is good reason to be con- “The trail opened westward to new areas I hadn’t even seen,” Dilley said. Nearby, the county’s only camp- ground, open since 2014, saw record at- tendance this summer. The 15-site campground at Bear Creek Park had 443 groups stay in 2018, up from 391 last year. Additionally, Dilley says the county parks along the North Santiam River haven’t seen tree die-offs from drought damage like other nearby parks in the Santiam Canyon. Fishermen’s Bend, a 170-acre park operated by the Bureau of Land Man- agement, and the North Santiam State Recreation Area, a 150-acre park man- aged by the Oregon Parks and Recrea- tion Department, both saw large-scale projects this summer to remove dead or dying trees. The county has a full description and location of every park on the Marion County Parks website at http:// www.co.marion.or.us/PW/Parks/. County parks open year-round Fish Bonesteele Park north of Turner Auburn, Denny, Eola Bend, Joryville, Labish Village and Parkdale in the Salem area Rogers Wayside near Silverton Minto, Niagara and Packsaddle along the North Santiam River County parks closing for winter The following parks will still close for the winter season on Nov 1.: Spong’s Landing near Keizer Bear Creek, North Fork and Salmon Falls along the North Santiam River Basin Scotts Mills: The gate will be locked but walk-ins are allowed. Restrooms are not available. The following park closed for the season Oct. 1: St. Louis Fish Ponds: The gate is locked but walk-ins are allowed. Restrooms are closed. think the city and county are actually diametrically opposed to what we’re trying to accomplish in the lawsuit,” Fairbrother said. “Part of us are us doing a better job of explaining what this law- suit is about. “My understanding is they think we’re seeking to compel the corps to build the fish passage.” Contact Bill Poehler at bpoeh- ler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twit- ter.com/bpoehler Detroit Lake U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS Y OU R F E L AL K C L TA C UP “It even goes further from there that it flushes out the carnivorous fish that tend to live in the river,” Fairbrother said. “It also moves sediment and debris in the river. It also helps reduce infec- tious diseases in the reservoirs that de- velops in their gills and will kill them eventually. “Some promising results coming out of that and we’d be interested in explor- ing where it would be feasible to explore some draw downs.” Native Fish Society, Northwest Envi- ronmental and Wildearth Guardians filed a lawsuit in March against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for not meet- ing its legal requirement under the 2008 opinion. When Marion County and the City of Salem intervened in the lawsuit be- tween three environmental groups and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the environmental groups did not fight it. “Our standing is that we have an eco- nomic and agricultural interest,” Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron said in an earlier interview. “Salem’s on the water supply, the domestic water supply. And Stayton relies on that water, and they didn’t enter into (the lawsuit). AN LE gration by 10 times at Fall Creek. “That is certainly what we’re inter- ested in seeing is making sure that all the options are on the table and make sure that we’re choosing the thing that’s best for the rivers and the communi- ties,” Fairbrother said. “Detroit is a more unique dam project on the Willamette basin.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal would draw down Detroit Lake for one to three years to build a water cooling tower to correct water temper- atures in the river to pre-dam levels and build a system to move fish upstream past the dam. Among the construction alternatives the Corps has presented is drawing down the water level at Detroit Lake to 1,310 feet above sea level for construc- tion, below the 2015 drought level of 1,425 feet. The Corps considered a similar con- cept to the Fall Creek solution by draw- ing down the elevation to 1,370 each winter as part of its screening process, but eliminated the alternative because of how Big Cliff Dam is operated and the need for higher water to produce hydro- power. Big Cliff Dam is downstream of De- troit Dam on the North Santiam River and is used to re-regulate the river. The Corps’ current plans to build a water tower and fish collection screen are projected to cost $100 million to $250 million by the time it’s completed in 2028. Drawing down the water yearly, in- stead, has the potential to correct more environmental problems than fish pas- sage, environmental advocates say. Aumsville Ponds near Aumsville “What that allows us to do is be on the team when negotiations are made.” That Marion County and the City of Salem are involved in the suit doesn’t mean they are on the same side as the environmental groups. The environmental groups asked that the governmental bodies’ involve- ment in the suit be limited to areas where they have specific interest, nota- bly the North Santiam River. “In the big picture of things, we don’t Continued from Page 1A cerned,” Pyle said. “We could easily see a warm and dry winter, and that obvi- ously could be a problem. “At the same time, nothing is set in stone. There have been El Nino winters that brought good snowpack. You just never know.” Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 11 years. He is the author of the book “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJour- nal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors. T2080A2-42 • 20 Gross HP † , 2-Cylinder, V-Twin Gasoline Engine • 42” Mower Deck • Cruise Control • Hydrostatic Transmission $0 DOWN, 0% A.P.R. FINANCING FOR UP TO 60* MONTHS ON SELECT NEW KUBOTAS! 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