Appeal Tribune
| WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 | 1B
OUTDOORS
A campsite at Southshore Campground at Detroit Lake. ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Detroit Lake, Santiam
Canyon partially reopen
Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
Last week I took my two girls camping at Detroit Lake and, within our little
bubble on the south side of the reservoir, it felt like the beginning of any
other summer in Oregon. h We swam and paddled and roasted hot dogs,
hiked our favorite trail and made friends with other campers as our kids
reenacted scenes from “Frozen II” and “Moana.” h It all seemed very nor-
mal. Blissfully so, after two and a half months of being limited from our
favorite outdoor destinations. h Yet a deeper look at outdoor recreation in
the Santiam Canyon and Detroit Lake area shows that even as things open
up, it’s far from a normal season in the outdoors.
“This isn’t going to be a normal sum-
mer, that’s just the reality right now,”
Forest Service Detroit district ranger
Dave Halemeier said. “That’s especially
true early on.”
While trailheads and recreation sites
have reopened, many bathrooms are
not open or won’t have toilet paper.
While a handful of campgrounds are
currently open — and even more should
reopen by June 9 — others will remain
closed deep into summer.
And the campgrounds that do open
are likely to be short-staffed and short
on amenities.
The Statesman Journal reported last
week that Oregon’s State Parks depart-
ment is facing a $22 million shortfall
that will mean severe cutbacks on rang-
ers and amenities. In the case of Detroit
Lake State Park, scheduled to reopen
June 9, showers won’t be available and
trash removal could be limited.
Another example of an outside-the-
norm situation is on the North Santiam
River. While the majority of river access
points have reopened, Fishermen’s
Bend, a frequently-used put-in and
take-out, is still closed with no reopen-
ing date, leaving an awkward situation
for raft and fishing trips.
The reason for closures remaining in
place is to allow land managers to clean
up and prepare for visitors, including re-
moving hazard trees. The importance of
that work was illustrated in heartbreak-
ing detail Memorial Day weekend, when
a large tree fell and killed a 13-year-old
Utah girl at Detroit Lake.
Even so, the scattershot combination
of open and closed areas is likely to
cause confusion and frustration as the
weather warms and the region is
swarmed by a population weary from
COVID-19 stress, job losses and a his-
torically difficult few months.
“There’s a lot of tension coming into
this summer and people have been anx-
ious to find a place to relax,” Halemeier
said. “The problem is that many of the
normal experiences won’t be there right
away. What we really need is for people
to do a lot of research before they come
up here, have a backup plan and bring
their own amenities like toilet paper.
“Most importantly, I hope people
have grace for each other. We’re all do-
ing our best and we’re all in this togeth-
er.”
Problems have already emerged, Ha-
lemeier said. Where bathrooms are
closed, people have been answering na-
ture’s call in unacceptable places.
“Unfortunately, some of our dis-
persed campsites have gotten overrun
and ended up being a hazmat site with
all the human waste,” he said. “We’re
really hoping people can learn to use
Leave No Trace practices when camp-
ing.”
What all this means is that this sum-
mer is a time to prepare for the unex-
pected and embrace self-reliance, from
packing out your own trash to under-
standing how to go poo in the forest
without creating a stink. Those mea-
sures, as much as anything, will allow
Oregon’s outdoors to be the peaceful
refuge so many people need it to be right
now.
See REOPEN, Page 2B
June free fishing survived cancellations
Fishing
Henry Miller
Guest columnist
Talk about a depressing litany:
St. Louis Ponds: event canceled.
Silverton Reservoir: event canceled.
Salmon River Hatchery: event can-
celed.
OK, so they’re not the Oregon State
Fair or the Salem Art Fair & Festival do-
ing viral patty melts this year.
But dropping the bulk of this year’s
June statewide celebration of all things
fishing still hurts, a lot.
On the plus side, Oregon’s traditional
Free Fishing Weekend still went on.
Saturday and Sunday no licenses,
tags or permits were required to go fish-
ing, clamming or crabbing for residents
of the Beaver State, although regula-
tions such as bag and size limits as well
as rules about gear restrictions and area
closures remained in effect.
On the major-downer side, by my
count off of the events list posted on the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
website, 22 events that traditionally
draw thousands, many of them kids
fishing for the first time, are toast be-
cause of coronavirus precautions.
“It’s kind of sad … It’s a letdown be-
cause its one of the highlights of the
year,” said Michelle Dennehy, the com-
munications coordinator for Fish and
Wildlife.
No kidding.
I’ve covered about three decades’
worth, from the grins on kids’ faces and
the gleam in their eyes as hatchery
workers tossed net-loads of trout in
front of eager families waiting for the
“go” signal at Foster Reservoir near
Sweet Home in the late 1990s to more re-
cent events in which anglers lining the
fishing platform at Hoover Campground
on Detroit Lake and the accessible
docks at St. Louis Ponds west of Ger-
vais.
Not to mention the annual free family
shuttle buses for families from down-
town Silverton to Silver Creek Reservoir
on the special day.
Oregon’s traditional Free Fishing
Weekend in June has always been a
very, very big deal both for anglers and
for the hundreds of organizers and vol-
unteers for the clinics, events, derbies
and other activities that take place.
Sans the parade of events, though,
fishing opportunities still are available.
While fishing, clamming and crab-
bing are free for Oregonians, for out-of-
state visitors, clamming remains pro-
hibited statewide, as well as crabbing on
the coast south of Cape Falcon, near
See MILLER, Page 2B
A lot of kids catch their first fish at Free Fishing Weekend events such as this one
in 2011 at Hoover Campground at Detroit Lake.
HENRY MILLER/SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL