Appeal Tribune
| WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022 | 1B
OUTDOORS
A floodplain restoration project has transformed a stretch of Deer Creek to be more hospitable to salmon spawning. A new phase of the project
begins this summer. MCKENZIE WATERSHED COUNCIL
Project to begin final phase
of Deer Creek salmon habitat
Adam Duvernay
Register-Guard
USA TODAY NETWORK
A successful salmon habitat restoration pro-
ject on a McKenzie River tributary is beginning
its final phase.
Since 2016, the U.S. Forest Service and the
McKenzie Watershed Council have worked to
revitalize a stretch of Deer Creek so it can sup-
port salmon as it once did.
The project requires using heavy machinery
to pull down large trees into the creek to foster
better spawning habitat, which will temporarily
make some nearby areas inaccessible.
McKenzie River Watershed Council de-
scribed the tributary that flows into the upper
McKenzie River downstream of Olallie Camp-
ground near river mile 80 as "significantly de-
graded" before the project began. Large pieces
of wood had been removed, berms had been
built to channel the creek and the stream bed
consisted of large cobble and boulders with lit-
tle of the gravel and deep pools salmon need to
spawn.
"A lot of our streams have been impacted
from a variety of practices, whether that was
stream cleaning because they thought having
wood in the stream was impacting fish passage
or manmade berms to dry out areas to have log-
ging roads," Watershed Council Restoration
Program Manager Jennifer Weber said. "You
end up with a very narrow, channelized system
with a lot of energy acting like a firehose push-
ing out that finer sediments needed for habitat."
Phases of work
The restoration work so far has been done in
three phases, Weber said.
In 2016, contractors removed 10,000 cubic
yards of berms and fill from the project area and
used it to match the elevation portions of the
channel with the surrounding valley bottom to
improve hydrological connectivity.
In 2017, contractors pulled 16 stream-side
trees into a nearly half-mile section of Deer
Creek to further improve the habitat.
New mapping technology became available
after the original work was done, which allowed
crews to return in more recent years to more
thoroughly treat the area.
Deer Creek Closure Map WILLAMETTE NATIONAL
See PROJECT, Page 3B
FOREST
‘What makes Hawaii Hawaii?’ Exploring Hawaiian heritage
Eve Chen
USA TODAY NETWORK
National Asian American, Native Ha-
waiian and Pacific Islander Heritage
Month is over, but the mission of hon-
oring and sharing Hawaiian heritage
continues year-round at Haleakala Na-
tional Park in Maui.
"Haleakala is a sacred place to Native
Hawaiians," said Honeygirl Duman, an
interpretation and education specialist
at the park. "We have sites that tie to
certain people in Hawaiian culture in
our stories, that people can trace their
ancestry back to."
Legend has it that the demigod Maui
stood on Haleakala's mountaintop to
lasso the sun and extend daylight, ac-
cording to Hawaii's official tourism arm
– just like in Disney's "Moana" song
"You're Welcome."
Haleakala means house of the sun in
Hawaiian. It's still known for its awe-in-
spiring sunrises, which are so popular that
summit viewings require reservations, but
the land means much more to Native Ha-
waiians past and present.
"What makes Hawaii Hawaii?" asked
Duman, who is Native Hawaiian. "It's
not just the mai tais. It's not just the
sandy beach or the hula dancers. It's so
much more.
"It's the resources that we have, and
it's the culture that came from our re-
sources that made us who we are today,"
Duman said.
Native Hawaiians have cared for Ha-
leakala for more than 1,000 years, ac-
cording to the national park's website.
"It's what we call malama 'aina," Du-
man said. "Malama is to care for, and 'ai-
na refers to the land, but it also extends
out to the ocean as well."
The National Park Service's Leave No
Trace principle helps carry on that lega-
cy. Haleakala park rangers and cultural
practitioners brought in by the park
help share other Hawaiian traditions
with visitors.
Duman loves sharing Haleakala's
deep Hawaiian roots with travelers but
See HAWAII, Page 3B
Haleakala National Park is known for its stunning sunrises. Visitors must make
reservations to see it from the park's summit. HONEYGIRL DUMAN, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE