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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2014)
• The Pastors for Peace Friendship Caravan to Cuba will stop in Corvallis for a fundraiser at noon Thursday, July 10, at Westminister House, 101 N.W. 23rd St. The caravan will stop overnight Friday, July 11, in Eugene and a potluck and presentation about challenging the embargo of Cuba will run 6 to 8:30 pm Friday at the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) office at 458 Blair Blvd. Call 485-8633 or email lasc@ efn.org. • 350 Eugene’s summer MeetUp will be from 7 to 8:30 pm Thursday, July 10, at First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St. Cascadia Wild will do a presentation on resisting the southern Oregon Pacific Connector LNG export pipeline. Also on the agenda is supporting a carbon tax in Oregon. Contact Deb McGee and Patty Hine at 350eug@riseup.net. • The annual McKenzie River Cleanup begins between 8 and 9 am Saturday, July 12, at Hendricks Bridge Park, with a barbecue and festivities for volunteers to follow from 1 to 4 pm at Hendricks Bridge Park. Sponsored by McKenzie River Guides, McKenzie Flyfishers and McKenzie Watershed Council. Email administration@mckenziewc.org to sign up or for more information. POLLUTION UPDATE Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) sent Delaware-incorporated Jordan Cove Energy Project L.P. a warning letter in late June for excavating residual sludge waste (generated by the Weyerhaeuser mill that used to be at this site) and incorporating that waste into berms associated with the Jordan Cove project (located on Coos Bay). DEQ’s letter requests that Jordan Cove Energy Project submit a permit application for its activities by July 31. DEQ sent Kevin Cruickshank a pre-enforcement notice on June 17 for operating a failing septic system at 82855 N. Butte Rd. in Creswell. Lane County visited the site in February and April, and it appears that as of the date of DEQ’s letter Cruickshank had failed to take any action to correct the situation. — Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project LANE COUNTY AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE • Freres Timber Inc., (503) 859-2111, plans to hire Western Helicopter Services, Inc., (503) 538-9469, to aerially spray 69 acres near upper Lake Creek with glyphosate, imazapyr and additives. See ODF notice 2014-781-00704, call Robin L. Biesecker at 935-2283 with questions. • Dan Kintigh, 746-1847, plans to hire Camas Creek Resources, LLC, 521-5897, to ground spray 22 acres near Cougar Creek with aminopyralid, glyphosate, imazapyr, metsulfuron methyl, sulfometuron methyl and/or MSO. See ODF notification 2014-771-00575, call Tim Meehan at 726- 3588 with questions. • Weyerhaeuser Company Springfield Operations, 988- 7502, plans to hire Northwest Reforestation Services, 344- 4991, to hack and squirt 50 acres near Parson Creek tributaries with imazapyr. See ODF notification 2014-771-00569, call Tim Meehan at 726-3588 with questions. • ODOT is currently spraying roadsides. Call Tony Kilmer at ODOT District 5 at 744-8080 or call (888) 996-8080 for herbicide application information. • Lane County, 682-6900, is still applying an asphalt overlay to Horton Road. Hydrogen sulfide may be emitted from hot asphalt. Compiled by Jan Wroncy and Gary Hale, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, for- estlanddwellers.org NEWS INVASIVE WATER SNAKES HEADING FOR OREGON? California’s budding population of invasive common watersnake could make it up to Oregon due to similar climate and suitable habitat in the Willamette Valley, according to a recent study at University of California, Davis, that projected possible areas of infestation. Although the original source of the water snakes is uncertain, they were not introduced through natural means such as natural disaster or climate change, ac- cording to Brian Todd of the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation and co-author of the study. “The three populations of water snakes in Cali- fornia were established before 2008, so there is the pos- sibility that they were pets that were unwanted, or were intentionally released,” Todd says. “But it’s not a natu- ral occurrence — they were definitely brought here by people.” The common watersnakes are nonvenomous, though Todd notes that they have a “nasty temperament” and may leave an unremarkable bite. The biggest concern is the impact the snakes will have on native populations of amphibians and fish, as California has already begun to see them interrupt native habitats and eat native species. Rick Boatner, invasive species and wildlife integrity coordinator of Oregon’s Wildlife Division, says that the red-legged frog, yellow-legged frog and Pacific tree frog are just a few species that might be negatively impacted AMY RED FEATHER The daughter of a military man, Amy Red Feather was born in California and “moved all over” prior to her high school years in Slidell, La. “I got interested in permaculture and gardening,” says Red Feather, who completed a degree in animal science and conservation at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla., then worked in ecotourism with conservation groups in Maui. “We showed them hidden waterfalls and talked environmental education.” On Maui, she met people from Eugene. “It’s like our sister city,” they told her. After a visit here in 2004, she moved to Eugene in 2005, and found work teaching science to home-schoolers. “I fell in love with the community,” she says. “So many people taking action.” Twice married and divorced, Red Feather is the single mom of two sons, Jonah and Gabriel, ages 11 and 6. When she began having seizures in 2011, she gave up teaching and became a home-based glass artist, working with local glassblowers. “Ninety percent of my stuff sells on Facebook,” she says. An ardent home gardener, she enlisted the help of her sons, neighborhood children and the Eugene Avant-Gardeners group to transform the yard of an abandoned house next door, at 1350 Acorn Park St., into a small community garden. “We had 20 people at the last work party,” she says. “We’ll put the vegetables on a table for the neighborhood.” Tim Verkler Full Service Real Estate Broker Since 1997 Experience Matters ÒFrom Vintage Homes to New Construction From Condos to Country EstatesÓ Former Home Builder | UO Alumnus Cell - 541-554-0910 timverkler@gmail.com eugeneproperties.net 10 July 10, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com by the arrival of the common watersnake. “Currently that family is uncontrolled in Oregon, which means that anyone can have it for a pet without permits or any- thing,” Boatner says. “We’ll be doing a risk assessment to see if we need to move it to a prohibited species.” Most of the common watersnake’s arrival in Oregon depends on how California deals with its population. “It’s a relatively new problem and both the state and federal authorities are spread pretty thin, dealing with a lot of problems that are already more widespread. This one is still in its early stages,” Todd says. Without any transportation help from people, Todd estimates that it would take 20-50 years for it to spread naturally up to Oregon. However, there is still potential for Oregon to create its own accidental invasive population. “People should never release unwanted pets. Even if it’s a native species that you have legally, you should not release it because it could have a disease that could spread to native populations,” Todd says. “Or if it is non-native, it could potentially become an established invasive pest.” Oregon does have the Pacific Coast aquatic garter snake, which is native and can be found in streams and ponds. To report sightings of the common or Southwestern invasive watersnake or other invasive species, contact Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Rick Boatner at rick.j.boatner@state.or.us. — Anna V. Smith BY PAUL NEEVEL LERT HAPPENING PEOPLE ACTIVIST
