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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
Applegater Winter 2019 For the fish and people: APWC collaborates for ecosystem resiliency BY BARBARA SUMMERHAWK Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council (APWC) has received over $1.5 million in grants to partner with local landowners, farmers, timber companies, vineyards, water users, agencies, and other nonprofits to make life easier for fish in the Applegate and Evans Creek watersheds. Various projects across the valley and beyond will involve working with these partners to remove fish- passage barriers, improve stream health, and improve irrigation systems. Let’s take a quick look at some of these projects planned for the 2020-2022 cycle. On Williams Creek, the Lower Bridgepoint Dam blocks juvenile fish access to core cold water upstream during the summer months. The dam is listed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) as a statewide fish priority, so the engineered designs for dam removal will eliminate one of the many speed bumps fish encounter while accessing miles of high-quality fish habitat for Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and Pacific lamprey. The project will also improve the irrigation system and stabilize the stream banks. Partners for this project include local irrigators, Blue Fox and Whistling Duck farms, local landowners, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Rogue Basin Partnership, and Oregon Water Resource Department. Downstream, Murphy Dam, on the Applegate River, has received funding to (1) secure survey and engineering services to improve irrigation efficiency throughout the ditch system and (2) provide designs to improve the diversion and fish passage at the dam. In partnership with the Murphy Ditch Association and Two Rivers Soil and Water Conservation District, the project will help 38 water users attain these goals. Outside the Applegate Watershed, but within the APWC’s mission, flows Evans Creek. This stream flows northeast to the town of Rogue River in Jackson County. The APWC has two fish- passage projects and a large instream habitat improvement project in this watershed. Through partnerships with local landowners, timber companies, and agencies, APWC is working to design fish passage improvement on Sykes Creek; implement fish passage improvements at Wimer Siphon, an abandoned concrete siphon on Evans Creek; and improve stream complexity and instream fish habitat on the West Fork of Evans Creek through the placement of large woody debris in the creek. Evans Creek is designated as a “core area” and one of the highest priority restoration areas under the Final Recovery Plan Upper Powell Creek juvenile salmon. Photo: Jason Jaacks 2017. for the Southern Oregon Northern California Coho (SONCC) Salmon. All of this work will mean the survival of more juvenile fish and aid in the recovery of Endangered Species Act-listed and state- listed species. Back in the Applegate near Provolt, the lower six miles of Williams Creek struggles with barriers to fish, water quantity, and temperature issues, all problems that reduce water quality and stream complexity. This part of Williams Creek flows from the Williams Creek Preserve, owned by the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, down to the confluence with the Applegate River. Janelle Dunlevy, executive director of APWC, says, “This project gives us an opportunity to partner with the Williams Creek Watershed Council and develop opportunities with the landowners that will benefit both the landowner and the creek. We look forward to implementing this stakeholder grant and working with the landowners in this area.” With a new head gate, ditch piping, and fish screen on the Little Applegate River, the Upper Philips Fish Passage and Irrigation project will improve access to miles of essential cold-water habitat for steelhead, Pacific lamprey, and cutthroat trout, while improving irrigation water delivery to local landowners and improving water quality. The many partners on this project include landowners, water users, Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, Middle Rogue Steelheaders, and ODFW. The APWC continues its mission to restore and maintain the ecological health of the watershed for the fish and for the people of the Applegate. We will continue our lecture series with a winter lecture on January 16 on well and septic health. For more information, please see our ad in this issue of the Applegater and our Facebook page. If you have any questions about these or other activities of the APWC, feel free to contact the organization at contact@ apwc.info or 541-899-9982. Barbara Summerhawk APWC Board Member contact@apwc.info 21 Establishing an Education and Outreach Program in the Applegate BY JENNIFER PAYNE The Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council (APWC) is developing an Education and Outreach Program (EOP) that provides hands-on learning opportunities for youth and the public. The program includes watershed education for students, opportunities for interns, and public outreach at various events. The goals are to build support for and knowledge of the Applegate and Rogue River watersheds and to offer opportunities for people to make a positive difference for local wildlife and the environment. Take it outside! The APWC is ramping up partnerships with local schools to get students outside and to provide them with outdoor education experiences they won’t soon forget. Students first learn about their watershed Top photo: Salmon enthusiasts Taylor Cooper in the classroom and then visit local and Owen Stabach create salmon hats at the riverfront parks, Cantrall Buckley Park Bear Creek Fall Festival in Medford in October. and Provolt Seed Orchard Recreation Bottom photo: Whitney Anderson, Southern Area, for a field trip to learn about river Oregon University intern, models a salmon hat systems, the life cycle of salmon, the at the APWC outreach booth at the festival. health of wildlife habitats, and ways to make a positive impact. Wading knee- deep in the river and hunting for insects plantings. In addition, APWC provides and signs of healthy salmon habitat keep lectures throughout the year. Don’t students excited about learning. The miss the Well Water Warriors on January word “watershed” comes alive when kids 16. Bring your well water sample experience it first-hand. Students feel for testing and find out what’s in your connected to their local rivers and forests water! Visit the APWC website for time by helping to plant native plants, remove and location details, or look for our ad in invasive plants, collect data on the health this Applegater. of the ecosystem, and build and place bird More opportunities for collaboration. and bat boxes in the Applegate Valley. Through the EOP, APWC is partnering Investing in the community. For with ROCS, Well Water Warriors, Salmon educational opportunities, APWC Watch Program, SOU EE Program, Oregon utilizes local professional expertise and Department of Fish and Wildlife, Jackson brings in resources through student County, Bureau of Land Management, internships. For example, APWC has been SOLVE, and Rooted in Hope. working with local woodworker Tommy Funding for the pilot program this first Maddox, owner of 4M Timber, to plan year is made possible by: the construction of bird- and bat-box kits • A small Momentum Grant from A for student service projects with Ruch Greater Applegate (AGA) Outdoor Community School (ROCS). • Private fundraising efforts of APWC Through work with the Southern Oregon board member Cathy Rodgers University Environmental Education • Volunteer hours contributed by Program (SOU EE Program), APWC is Janis Mohr-Tipton and Jennifer and providing internship positions in the field, Gregg Payne like habitat restoration and monitoring, • APWC capacity funds for executive as well as positions in outdoor education director Janelle Dunlevy’s hours and public outreach. Currently, SOU I am excited to develop the Education EE intern Whitney Anderson is working and Outreach Program because, with full with the eighth-grade class at ROCS in funding, we can provide services for all local plant-identification activities and Applegate Valley schools, bring students geocaching for upcoming hikes. She is also from other areas to experience our valley’s helping with public outreach. These are natural beauty, provide a presence for examples of win-win relationships. the Applegate Valley at regional public Reach out! Playing “Match the Scat” events, and create a pipeline for more games, planting tree shoots, and designing resources for the local environment. I am salmon hats are surefire ways to capture currently pursuing funding from both the public’s attention. Through these kinds private and public sources. Please visit of engaging activities, APWC is providing applegatepartnershipwc.org for more education about how to protect wildlife information and/or to donate to this new habitat, as well as promoting the Applegate program or contact me at outreach@ Valley in general. Recently, APWC apwc.info. had a booth at the Bear Creek Fall Festival Jennifer Payne in Medford. People left with smiles APWC Education & Outreach on their faces, wearing silly salmon Program Director hats and carrying their willow tree outreach@apwc.info
