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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2017)
2 Fall 2017 Applegater APWC celebrates 25 years of participation and collaboration OBITUARY Chuck Eckles BY LAURA CRANE March 4, 1932 - December 27, 2016 Charles (Chuck) Kenyon Eckels Jr. of Jacksonville, Oregon, passed away on December 27, 2016. He was born on March 4, 1932, in Spokane, Washington, to Charles K. Eckels Sr. and Kathleen (Kelley) Eckels. Chuck grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and graduated second in his class at Wauwatosa High School in 1950. Chuck graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture (animal science) in June 1954. While in college, Chuck was in Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Zeta, and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, serving as president of the chapter. He was also president of the Country Magazine Board of Control, vice president of the Saddle and Sirloin Club, a reporter for Sickle and Sheaf, and a member of agriculture student council. In the fall of 1952, during his junior year, he was on the UW meat-judging team, which participated in several competitions held at livestock shows around the country. His team won first place in Baltimore in November of that year. In December, the team entered a competition at the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, and the three-man team not only won the contest (out of 20 college teams entered), but for the first time in the history of the competition, the three team members were also awarded the top three places in individual ratings. Chuck married Jeanne Hamm in January 1954, then served in the US Army from 1955-1957, stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Following his service, Chuck began a long career with Wilson & Co., working in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Oklahoma. He later worked in both food and financial industry positions. In 1985, Chuck moved to the Medford area where he enjoyed many outdoor activities and a gorgeous view from his home near the Siskiyou National Forest. He enjoyed spending time with his shooting group and serving on the board and volunteering for the Rogue Book Exchange. He was a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan and an avid reader and photographer. Chuck is survived by his children and grandchildren Judi, Mark, Kevin, and Chris Stillwell; Linda, Brent, Trevor, and Catherine Gee; Steve, Glennis, Riley (Alison), Tucker, and Tatum Eckels; and Elizabeth and Mary Elizabeth Eckels; sisters-in-law Patricia Hamm Biever and Karen Hamm Rahn (Bradner); and numerous nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, former wife, and son, Daniel Eckels. Chuck’s family and friends gathered for a celebration of his life on July 14 in Jacksonville. Donations in Chuck’s memory may be made to the Nature Conservancy, Salvation Army, or UW Animal Sciences Department. Southern Oregon Smoked Salmon Festival On Saturday, September 23, competitors will again have the chance to find out if their smoked salmon is truly the best in southern Oregon, and event-goers will be able to taste the entries and place their vote for the People’s Choice Award. The upcoming Smoked Salmon Festival is the fourth annual fundraising event for the Maslow Project folks, who do important work supporting homeless youth in Jackson and Josephine counties. Check out their website at maslowproject.com, and go to southernoregonsalmonfest.org to purchase tickets for the event or to enter the competition. For the past two years the bragging rights have been won by Applegate locals, so come on out and give it a try or a taste or both! The Smoked Salmon Festival takes place from 1 to 5 pm at Pear Blossom Park in downtown Medford. For more information, visit southernoregonsmokedsalmonfest.com. Paul Tipton ptipton@frontier.com The year was 1992. The band U2 was playing on the radio. Bill Clinton had just replaced George Bush as president. A n d t h e “o w l s versus logs” debate was raging in the Pacific Northwest. This was also the year the Applegate Partnership was born. To J a c k S h i p l e y, founder and current board member of the Applegate Partnership Now unused, this Powell Creek dam was historically used to create a pool for the landowner’s tigers. Photo: APWC staff. & Watershed Council (APWC), the sides in the owl controversy were too polarized to The APWC will also be working on be constructive. The debate sounded like instream habitat restoration through large a sword fight without swords: a jab here, a wood placements and partial removal of swing there, lots of undercutting, and zero an unused concrete dam on Powell Creek productivity. at the request of the landowner. The dam In October 1992, Jack invited currently impedes fish passage by creating people on all sides of the controversy to a velocity barrier: the water flows so fast a meeting at his house in the Applegate through the dam that fish cannot physically Valley. Representatives from the timber swim through it. We are grateful to have industry, federal and state agencies, and our partnerships with local landowners for environmental groups attended, and an these projects. eight-member board that encompassed The APWC is a nonregulatory and every perspective was chosen that day. nongovernmental agency. During our long Despite widely varying viewpoints, the history, our organization and members board operated from its very beginnings have been instrumental in some of on the principle of complete consensus— the Applegate Valley’s most important if a proposed action did not meet with ventures: the Applegater Newspaper, the total approval by all board members, it Applegate Fire Plan, and the preservation simply did not move forward. What has of Cantrall Buckley Park as a joint project made the group successful over the last 25 between the citizens and the county. years is a calculated, long-term effort to The APWC staff and board members focus on commonalities among members continue to strive for community instead of differences and on areas of involvement and public outreach through agreement rather than disagreement. In participation in local meetings and the beginning of the partnership, all agreed gatherings and through our committees that conflict could and should be handled and board meetings, lectures, and other more reasonably, that discussions needed events, all of which are open to the to remain at a local level, and that natural public—we believe that people have a right resource management and environmental to actively participate in the management quality are not mutually exclusive. of their lands, waters, and community. The extraordinary spirit of collaboration We want to work with landowners and participation of the original Applegate to improve these lands and waters for people and wildlife. We work to provide Partnership continues today. Collaboration has had good results. funding to cover the cost of projects. This year, the APWC will complete Potential projects include increasing the several projects that will benefit people efficiency of irrigation systems; ditch and wildlife in the Applegate Watershed. piping or sealing; installation of pumps; One of those projects is to pull out the riparian fencing; removal of old and Butcherknife Creek Road culvert, which, unused dams; improving fish passage at in the early 1990s, easily allowed passage dams or culverts; and riparian restoration, of migrating juvenile and adult salmonids, including blackberry removal and planting according to an evaluation by natural of native plants so that people and wildlife resource experts and road crews at that can once again have access to streams. If you have ideas for a project on your time. But 25 years later, the culvert had property, contact the energetic APWC deteriorated and became a major safety hazard for local residents and drivers along team at contact@apwc.info. We can Butcherknife Creek Road, as well as a barrier acquire funding for projects and provide to fish. A new bridge is scheduled to be technical assistance. Laura Crane, APWC Intern installed in late August 2017 thanks to contact@apwc.info private donations and state grants. A heartfelt thanks to all our firefighters! This summer, as in summers past, with the heat and humidity came the lightning strikes and the fires. Many fires are still raging all over southern Oregon as this paper goes to press. To all our firefighters, thank you! Thanks to those on the front lines and those behind them who plan and strategize and map. Thanks to those in command of vehicles of all sorts—from helicopters and airplanes to trucks and busses. Thanks to those who provide various needed unknowns in support of firefighting operations. We concur with Chamise Kramer, acting public affairs officer at Rogue River- Siskiyou National Forest, who said, “We’re so proud of all of our personnel, our partners, and the people coming to assist us with these fires!” Please accept this note of deep thanks and appreciation. Firefighters on the lightning-caused Blanket Creek Fire, now part of the High Cascades Complex, that has been burning since July 26, 2017. Photo courtesy of Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
