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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2016)
NEWS B Y RYA N M O L O N E Y THE RIVER IS ALIVE, COME CHECK IT OUT Kim Nelson, Oregon State University, will talk about the ecology of marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus)and the effect of forest landscape patterns and predators on their survival. Her presentation, “Marbled Murrelets, Landscapes and Predators” is 7-9 pm Thursday, June 23, in room 184 at the UO School of Law. Nelson discusses the marbled murrelet, “a secretive seabird” that breeds in older-aged forests along the west coast of North America, including Oregon. “Marbled murrelet populations have declined over much of their range due primarily to current and historic loss and fragmentation of their breeding habitat.” On a related note, conservation groups including Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild and Coast Range Forest Watch submitted petitions June 21 asking the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Oregon Board of Forestry to take new measures to better identify and protect important forest areas for protected marbled murrelets. According to a press release, the petition to ODFW requests that the agency “uplist” the marbled murrelet to “endangered” status under the Oregon Endangered Species Act (OESA). The petition to the Board of Forestry asks the agency to identify and protect important forest sites critical to the species’ survival. The agencies are required to work together to recover murrelets. The groups say, “While murrelets have been listed as a ‘threatened’ species for nearly 30 years, Oregon has never developed a plan to recover them or protect the old-growth forests where they live.” POLLUTION UPDATE The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting comments through 5 pm on June 28 on the proposed issuance of Clean Water Act permit coverage to Portland-based Stratus Real Estate Developers, LLC for construction stormwater discharges from a new Yogi Tea facility to be located at W. 11th Avenue and Renne St. According to the permit application, the project is anticipated to disturb 13.3 acres of land, with discharges flowing to Amazon Creek. DEQ is also accepting comments through 5 pm on June 30 on the proposed issuance of Clean Water Act permit coverage to Land Whisperers LLC for construction stormwater discharges from Willow Run Subdivision, a 43 lot subdivision to be located at Irvington Drive and Golf Course Way. According to the permit application, the project is anticipated to disturb 8 acres of land, with discharges flowing to the A-1 Channel of the Amazon Creek System. Visit goo.gl/Yp4iAK for more info on commenting. Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project LANE COUNTY AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE Oregon Department of Transportation is spraying roadsides. Call 503-986-3010 to talk with a vegetation management coordinator or call 1-888-996-8080 for recent herbicide application information. Hwy. 36 was recently sprayed. Weyerhaeuser Company, 746-2511, plans to hire Northwest Reforestation Services LLC, 554-0489, to backpack foliar spray and hack and squirt 932.1 acres west of Marcola Road with aminopyralid, metsulfuron methyl, sulfometuron methyl, glyphosate, imazapyr, Hi-Light Blue and/or MSO Concentrate. See ODF notification 2016-771-07490, call Brian Dally at 541- 726-3588 with questions. Compiled by Gary Hale, Forestland Dwellers: 541-342-8332, forest- landdwellers.org 8 June 23, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com T such an incredible place to live,” MRT Associate Direc- he McKenzie River is more than just a line on the tor Liz Lawrence says. “We’re really lucky here to have map. It is a living river, constantly shifting and forward-looking people who want to support projects like forming the surrounding land, creating a dynamic this.” habitat for hundreds of native species. Sitting atop Local companies including Ninkasi Brewing Company, this vibrant river is Green Island, home to one of Oakshire Brewing, Hot Mama’s Wings and others will pro- the most diverse ecosystems in the Willamette Valley. vide complementary food and drinks over the course of the The McKenzie River Trust is hosting its 8th annual Liv- event. ing River Celebration from 7 am to 5 pm Saturday, June There will be activities 25, on Green Island. throughout the day at The Hub, McKenzie River Trust the event’s main base located in (MRT) is a nonprofit land trust the middle of the property, in- that works to protect and con- cluding tree climbing with the serve thousands of acres of land city of Eugene River House and in Western Oregon. kayaking with Oregon Paddle This Saturday’s Living Sports. There will be live music River Celebration is a rare op- from 11 am to 3 pm featuring portunity to visit Green Island, a quartet presented by The Jazz which is usually closed to the — J O E M O L L , E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R Station as well as other local public for restoration and con- artists. servation. Green Island is home “Come to the river with dif- to hundreds of species of fish, ferent sets of lenses,” MRT Ex- birds and other wildlife, some ecutive Director Joe Moll tells EW. “Come here as a kid, of which are threatened or endangered, such as the Western come here as an adult, look at it through different points pond turtle and Oregon chub. of view.” Attendees can explore the site by themselves or partici- Green Island is located at 31668 Green Island Road, pate in guided tours throughout the day. Tours range from Eugene. The event is free and open for all ages. Registra- bird watching hikes in the morning to a reptiles and am- tion is voluntary, but registered attendees are entered into phibians walk at the end of the day. a raffle for a $100 gift card to REI. For more information, “The amazing natural resources that we have in our visit mckenzieriver.org. backyard are part of what make Eugene and Springfield ‘Come here as a kid, come here as an adult, look at it through dif- ferent points of view.’ NEWS BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN CELEBRATE SOCIAL JUSTICE! RG Foundation, once known as the McKen- zie River Gathering, began on the banks on the river for which the foundation was named, says the group’s communications manager Ali- son Wandschneider. Founders Leslie Brocklebank and her husband Charles Gray came into an inheritance of about $500,000, Wand- schneider says, and brought a group of activists and phi- lanthropists together to figure out how the money could have the deepest impact on the root causes of social ineq- uity and environmental degradation. Forty years later, MRG Foundation has “rethought the way foundations could be built and act, and allows those most affected to figure out how to best solve the tricky problems of the day,” she says. While MRG now makes grants all over Oregon, it originally had a Eugene focus, Wandschneider says, and on Sunday, June 26, the group will host its annual Social Justice Summer Party here in Eugene at the Campbell Se- nior Center. The gathering brings together grantees, folks on the ground, donors and more, Wandschneider tells EW. It’s open to the public and leads to community building as people can come and connect to others in the social jus- tice movement. MRG has gained board members and key M volunteers from people coming to the summer party, she says. MRG still has an activist-led grant-making model, Wandschneider says, former grantees and activists on the ground work to decide who should get grants — “people who understand the movement and stay rooted,” she says. Locally, groups such as Beyond Toxics, Eugene- Springfield NAACP and CALC (Community Alliance of Lane County) have received funding from MRG, and Wandschneider says that CALC was one of the original 1976 grants. Statewide, MRG has funded empowering LGBTQ youth, the Rural Organizing Project and Lakota Oyate Ki, which engages incarcerated Native Americans in tra- ditional cultural and spiritual practices inside the Oregon State Penitentiary, to name a few. The foundation has two grant cycles a year giving out a total 17 of general fund grants per cycle with a total of $225,000 awarded per cycle. The Social Justice Summer Party celebrates the MRG’s 40 years of work and the work of its grantees. The MRG Social Justice Summer Party is 1 to 4 pm Sunday, June 26, at the Campbell Senior Center, 155 High Street in Eugene. The cost is a sliding scale of $5-$20 with children under 5 free. Call 541-682-5318 or go to mrgfounda- tion.org for more info.
