Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current, July 25, 2007, Page 8, Image 8

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    Page 8
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Selma’s Camp lets Nature rehab forest
BREEZY CONDITIONS
made it difficult for Float
& Fly participants to
launch their aircraft.
Laureano Mier, (above)
was one of the grounded
flyers. (At left) An uni-
dentified flyer snoozed
while awaiting better
flight conditions. The
17th annual event was
held Saturday and Sun-
day, July 21 and 22 at
Lake Selmac. (Photos by
Illinois Valley News)
River weed pull shows successful efforts
the Illinois River corridor
from the green bridge at
Eight Dollar Mountain to
Six Mile Creek. Riparian
areas are especially impor-
tant in strategic weed con-
trol, as seeds and plant ma-
terial can be transported
during high-water events,
potentially infesting remote
locations within the Wilder-
ness Area along the lower
Illinois River corridor.
Weeds in remote loca-
tions can then quietly spread
for years before being dis-
covered, crowding out na-
tive plants and limiting food
sources for wildlife. This
affects the value of public
By SUZANNE VAUTIER
Coordinator,
FAC Weed Program
Saturday, July 7 was the
date for the second annual
Illinois River Weed Pull,
sponsored by Forestry Ac-
tion Committee (FAC) in
collaboration with the U.S.
Forest Service’s Wild Riv-
ers Ranger District.
A couple folks from the
Oregon Dept. of Fish &
Wildlife came to give a
hand, along with several
Illinois Valley residents.
Rogue Wilderness, of Mer-
lin, again donated the use of
its rafts.
The weed pull covered
land.
During the event, a lot
of Scotch Broom was
pulled, and many Scotch
Broom seeds were hand-
pulled and bagged for later
disposal. Some Meadow
Knapweed also was found
and removed, along with a
patch of Star Thistle.
It was with great satis-
faction that we are able to
report that there were less
noxious weeds along this
section of river than there
were last year, showing that
this project is gaining
ground.
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Sign Petitions
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(HB 2007)
and
‘Immoral’ Education Law
(SB 2)
in the November, 2008 General Election
Petitions available at:
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Camp said. “This place was
wiped out.”
Camp began designing
and building his house in
1969 and set about rehabili-
tating the property.
Instead of following
conventional wisdom re-
garding forest management,
Camp applied his philoso-
phy of natural selection to
the land. He built several
ponds, and set up 10 miles
of looping roads.
Over time, Camp found
that the once-barren land-
scape had become a thriving
forest. Several of the ponds
he created have become a
habitat for endangered Coho
salmon.
Camp’s philosophy in-
volves combining resource
and recreational uses of
forestland, with a focus on
naturally selected dead tree
extraction.
According to Camp, the
best way to manage a forest
Benefit Dinner
for the
breast cancer foundation
is to simply let Nature take
its course.
“I don’t know of a for-
ester in the world who’s
made a sustainable forest,”
he said.
Camp has a phrase for
his brand of forestry --
“ecostry,” which he defines
as “the art of seeing through
Nature’s eyes.”
Tours and workshops
had been held at the Camp
Forest during the past three
decades. Camp, 72, said that
he often puts in 10 to 12
hours a day maintaining the
property.
“There isn’t anything
out there like this,” Camp
said. “It has been a demon-
stration project and an edu-
cation project.”
In an attempt to spread
his ideas, Camp published
The Forest Farmer’s Hand-
book in 1984. He’s currently
working on finishing an-
other book.
Friday, August 3rd
Please join us for great
food , music , & wine !
For information &
reservations: 592-2009
Labor Day
Saturday & Sunday
September 1 & 2
2 p.m. both days, across from park
Cash Prizes - 70% of entry fees
1st - 2nd - 3rd
Get your trucks ready…
Roll Bars & Seat Belts Required
Sponsored by I.V. Lions
Mondale
(Continued from page 1)
First office at I.V. Medical Center
Monday - Friday by appointment
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Growing up in a timber
family, Selma resident Or-
ville Camp was accustomed
to the world of mills and
tree harvests.
But somewhere along
the line, he had a change of
heart and decided to embark
on a different path.
“We were destroying
our own forests. I didn’t like
that,” Camp said. “I thought
there had to be a better way,
but I didn’t know what that
was.”
Camp’s family first
came to the Illinois Valley
in 1909, residing in the
Thompson Creek area.
While attending school at
Illinois Valley High School
at its original site, which
now is Lorna Byrne Middle
School, Camp and his uncle
built and ran a lumber mill.
After graduating from
high school in 1953, Camp
joined the U.S. Navy, where
he specialized in electronics.
Camp served his four-
year military commitment,
and then headed to Corvallis
to attend Oregon State Uni-
versity. While still a student,
he started an electronics
business, which grew rap-
idly and prompted him to
abandon his studies.
It was during this time
that Camp was invited to a
“sensitivity group” by a
friend who worked as a
clinical psychologist. Dis-
cussions with that group
taught Camp about Charles
Darwin’s theories on natural
selection, which he began
applying to forestry.
“That became a chang-
ing experience in my life,”
Camp said.
He returned to Selma in
1967 and bought a 180-acre
parcel of property. At the
time, Camp said, the land-
scape left much to be de-
sired, due to years of aggres-
sive logging practices.
“I started with nothing,”
country in those duties.
During that period,
Mondale lived in Northern
Virginia. But the fast pace
of that lifestyle prompted
him to look elsewhere for a
permanent residence.
“I had no inclination at
all to live in that kind of
setting again,” Mondale
said. As a result, he and his
wife, Elaine Wood, began
looking for an ideal rural
atmosphere.
Wood’s family was
from Oregon, and she had
taught in Gold Beach and
the Salem area. The couple
had passed through South-
western Oregon repeatedly
during the years, and always
marveled at the area’s natu-
ral beauty.
After three years of
looking, Mort and Elaine
found their slice of Heaven.
“It was the very natural
kind of property we were
looking for,” Mondale said.
“It just made a lot of sense.”
They bought their
Selma property in 1994 and
moved in during fall 1996.
Since arriving in Illinois
Valley, Mondale has be-
come actively involved in
the community. Aside from
establishing a Sierra Club
chapter, he served as the
first chairman of the Selma
Center’s board of directors.
“That was a great effort
for the community to come
together as a community,”
Mondale said.
He added that he has
been pleased to see the
Selma Center evolve, and
enjoys noting that the struc-
ture housing the Selma
Farmer’s Market has solar
panels that provide power to
the center.
“The Selma Center has
steadily grown with the
leadership of good people,”
Mondale said. “I’m very,
very proud of it.”
Such civic involvement
is almost second nature for
Mondale, the younger
brother of former Vice
President Walter Mondale.
He credits his dad for em-
phasizing the importance of
community and family.
“My father was a Meth-
odist minister who believed
in public service,” explained
Mondale.
Mondale is also no
stranger to political cam-
paigns. His first stint came
during his high school years,
when he helped his brother
run Hubert Humphrey’s
campaign operations in
Southwest Minnesota.
These days, Mondale
and Wood prefer the quiet
life, and spend much of his
spare time working on their
property. But they wouldn’t
have it any other way.
“We like stretching out
and meeting Nature on its
own terms,” Mondale said.
Fine Dining
Steaks - Chicken - Fish - Large Hamburgers
Restaurant separate from lounge
Now Available Every Day!
Prime Rib & Prime Rib Sandwiches
Open 4 to 10 p.m. 7 days
592-2892 or 592-4222
Bridgeview Community Church --
Come for the music, stay for the Word
All welcome