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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2016)
Page 8C OUTSIDE East Oregonian BLOOMIN’ BLUES Saturday, July 23, 2016 Catherine Creek gets electriied By DICK MASON The La Grande Observer Photo courtesy Bruce Barnes Wormleaf stonecrop Thick, colorful plant found in upper elevations By BRUCE BARNES For the East Oregonian Name: Wormleaf Stone- crop Scientiic name: Sedum stenopetalum The Blue Mountains are in the middle of the range of this plant, which is found from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, and south to California to Wyoming. This and one other very similar appearing sedum are by far the most common of the three species known to be in northeast Oregon. The Latin name Sedum comes from sedeo, meaning to sit, probably referring to some species which appear to squat on the ground with whorls of thick leaves at the plant base. Stenopetalum is Latin for having narrow petals. The common name “stonecrop” may come from many species of sedum growing among rocks. “Wormleaf” may come from the cylin- drical shape of the leaves. Wormleaf stonecrop is usually about six inches tall, and has short, somewhat cylindrical leaves. The leaves and stems vary in color from pinkish to yellow or yellow- ish-green. The lowers are single or just a few in a tight cluster at the top of the stem, and look like bright yellow stars with ive petals. The lowers in the photo are not yet open. This sedum is distin- guished by a cluster of bulb- lets in the leaf axils (where the leaves attach to the stem) of the upper leaves. Each bulblet can potentially drop and produce a new plant. The other common stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum, does not have the bulblets, and has leaves that are sometimes much thicker. Several sedum species in North America have been used for a number of medic- inal purposes. The only reference I could ind for this particular sedum indicates it was used by one Indian tribe to treat venereal disease. Where to ind: The plant can be spotted easily along rocky cliff faces, outcrop- pings and rocky ridges, from deserts to upper elevations in the mountains. By this time of year it will be past blooming unless it is over about 4,000 feet. BRIEFLY Aquatic restoration proposed on Umatilla Forest The Umatilla National Forest is developing a forest-wide approach to rehab sensitive habitat for ish, wildlife and riparian vegetation. Watershed conditions have deteriorated over the past 150 years across the Paciic Northwest due to things like mining, logging, agriculture and roads, according to the forest. The result has been a widespread decline or outright extinction of native ish populations. The forest has proposed a number of aquatic restoration projects to boost ish habitat and improve stream lows and water quality. Categories for projects include ish passage, stream bank restoration, livestock fencing and erosion control. In-stream projects would be done in cooperation with the local tribes, landowners and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. The forest is inviting public comment on forging the strategy, which should be submitted to Forest Supervisor Genevieve Masters by Friday, Aug. 12. Masters can be reached at the forest’s main ofice at 72510 Coyote Road in Pendleton, or email comments-paciicnorthwest- umatilla@fs.fed.us. For more information about speciic actions identiied in the scoping letter, contact John Evans at 541-575-3869. Young hiker hurt in southwestern Oregon ROSEBURG (AP) — A 17-year-old hiker fell over 50 feet down a mountainside in southwestern Oregon and was found by a search and rescue team before being lown to a hospital. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Ofice says the young man from Medford, Oregon, had been hiking along the North Umpqua Trail near Lemolo Lake when he lost his footing as he was trying to get a better view of a waterfall on Saturday. His mother ran to a place where she was able to get cell reception to make an emergency call. He was lown by helicopter to a hospital in Medford. No information was given as to the extent of his injuries. Feds extend comment period on Nevada race through monument RENO, Nev. (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management — accused of illegally rigging the process to approve the biggest off-road race in the nation — has extended the public comment period on plans to run part of the race through a national monument in Nevada over the objections of conservationists. The agency announced this week it had pushed the comment deadline from July 31 to Aug. 3 on an environmental assessment it issued July 1 for the 20th annual “Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno Race.” The proposed 650-mile route includes 37 miles on dirt roads within the Basin and Range Monument, which President Obama established last July across 1,100 square miles northeast of Las Vegas. The agency will have until Aug. 17 to consider the comments and issue a decision. But that’s just two days before the two-day race is set to begin Aug. 19. UNION — Catherine Creek is in the midst of an electrifying month. An electroishing operation to protect ish in Catherine Creek is underway as major habitat restoration work is conducted. Crews are using backpack electroishers that generate mild electrical currents that pass through specially made poles placed in water. The current briely stuns ish, allowing them to be easily netted. The ish are then transported to another part of Catherine Creek, far from the habitat restoration work, which involves the use of heavy equipment, that could harm them. Electroishing work started July 1 and will continue for about another three weeks. “We have moved thousands of ish,” said Ian Wilson, of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who is responsible for recording the number of ish netted and their species. Most of the ish moved have been young Chinook salmon and steelhead, sculpin and dace. All are being transported in an ODFW ish liberation truck. Much of the work is being done by staff from CTUIR, ODFW and Union Soil and Water Conservation District. Matt Saladin, of the ODFW, said the work can be tiring but it is also interesting. “You learn the nuances of how ish react and behave,” Saladin said. Electroishing is done only when the water temperature is at or below 64 degrees, said Aaron Bleisner of the Union Soil and Water Conservation District. Bleisner added that electroishing is not done when the water is too cloudy to see the ish clearly. “When it is real turbid, we wait until it clears up,” Bleisner said. The power of the electrical current emitted by the electroshockers being used is mild at best to someone exposed to it. Photo by Dick Mason, La Grande Observer Five men with electroishers and nets walk through a portion of Cather- ine Creek searching for small ish. The men are with the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Union Soil and Water Conservation District. “It is a little jolt. Not as bad as touching an electric fence,” Saladin said. Fish are being collected and transported from areas where natural woody debris, like large, dead trees, is to be placed in the stream channel. The woody debris creates pools, hiding cover and other features that ish like, Bleisner said. The habitat restoration work, which is being funded by the Bonneville Power Administration and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, involves a stretch of Catherine Creek about three miles east of Union and runs four miles east. Planning for the project started in 2011, and work began in 2013. A portion of the project has involved restoring the natural meander of Catherine Creek over a stretch of about three-quarters of a mile. This will reduce erosion by slowing Catherine Creek’s low rate, allowing for a greater diversity of plant life to grow along its banks. The added plant life will provide additional shade, which will cool the water. Cool water is a critical part of salmon habitat, for they need streams cooler than 64 degrees to survive, said Jesse Steele, of the Grande Ronde Model Watershed. Catherine Creek lost its natural meander many decades ago when its channel was straightened. The current habitat restoration project is expected to be inished by the end of the year. The partners who have worked together on the project include the ODFW, the Union Soil and Water Conservation District, the Grande Ronde Model Watershed and CTUIR,. Planning and design work was done by the Bureau of Reclamation. The habitat restoration work is being done with the cooperation of six landowners along the four-mile stretch of Catherine Creek. Steele said that the landowners’ help has been critical to the success of the project. “We would have hardly gotten any of this work done without landowner cooperation,” Steele said. Bend tourists lock to luxury tents By MARINA STARLEAF RIKER The Bulletin BEND — A queen-sized bed. Wi-Fi. A home-cooked breakfast. These amenities aren’t usually found at the average campground, where campers are often responsible for bringing their own toilet paper and are lucky to access a shower. But in the midst of peak summer tourist season, property owners are pitching luxury tents, teepees and campers on private property and offering them to Bend’s tourists. The rentals cost anywhere from $15 to well above $100, with some that boast comforts such as heated massage beds, tribal rugs and feather pillows. In Oregon and throughout the rest of the country, glamping, or glamorous camping, is a growing trend, with luxury tent rentals and resort camp- grounds popping up in several states. From a $2,476-a-night tent with an adjacent teepee in Utah’s desert to a safari-style tent for $1,155 a night on a Montana cattle ranch, people are paying hundreds of dollars to camp without the discomforts of setting up a tent or starting a ire. But there’s only one problem — it’s not legal to live in tents, teepees, yurts or mobile homes in the city of Bend, let alone rent them out as vacation rentals, according to city planners. Deschutes County generally doesn’t allow it either, with the exception of RV parks, permitted campgrounds and for those experiencing medical hardships. “It just doesn’t meet our code in any way, shape or form,” said Rachel Ruppel, an associate planner in Bend’s Community Development Depart- ment. Even if zoning laws allowed people to live in tents or trailers in Bend, prop- erty owners would still be required to get an operating license from the city to open a vacation rental, she said. “One of the things of being in a tourism-dependent economy is that people are often trying to make ends meet,” Ruppel said. “So they’re like, ‘Oh, this could be a really low-cost way for me to get into the long-term or short-term rental market.” An Airbnb spokeswoman said the company asks all its hosts to comply with local laws when they sign up for Airbnb. Right after property owners select the location of their listing, they’re provided with links to webpages on complying with local laws and how to be a responsible host. It’s also in HomeAway’s terms and conditions that people follow local laws when listing properties as vacation rentals, said Adam Annen, a spokesman for company. But because HomeAway.com works like an adver- tising agency, it doesn’t keep track of clients’ booking records and whether each one is complying with local laws, he said. Still, several Deschutes County property owners are offering up their land, tents and trailers for rent to visi- Joe Kline /The Bulletin via AP In this July 15 photo, Darren Kling, owner of Panacea at the Canyon Resort, straightens a bed in one of the resort’s king stargazer suites on the property near Terrebonne. Kling said he spent nearly two years obtaining all the permits required to operate his resort. Joe Kline/The Bulletin via AP In this July 15 photo, a king stargazer suite is visible at Panacea at the Canyon Resort near Terrebonne. tors, with more than a dozen listings on websites like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO. With names like “CAMP- TIQUE, boutique camping,” “Tipi to the Sun” and “The Chief Deschutes,” the listings say visitors can expect an experience more similar to staying in a hotel than roughing it in the wilderness. About an hour drive north of Bend, visitors can pay between $450 and $750 a night at Panacea at the Canyon, a luxury tent resort in Terrebonne. The resort was opened to serve as a sanctuary for those looking to unplug from cellphones and computers and reconnect with nature, said owner Darren Kling, who started planning the resort with his wife nine years ago. The permitting process took at least two years to complete, Kling said, adding that the resort was approved as a permitted campground, rather than short-term rentals. Since then, “the whole luxury camping thing has caught on quite a bit,” Kling said. But the vast majority of tent and camper rentals listed in and around Bend cost less than most hotel rooms. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in Bend hotels and lodging rose as high as 90 percent in 2015, according to Visit Bend data. And on summer weekends, the occupancy rate is even higher. Over the last several years, visitors to Bend are increasingly opting for vacation rentals instead of hotels, which has spurred pushback from some Bend residents who say the rentals have replaced long-term housing and are a nuisance to neighbors. In response, a city task force estab- lished new rules last year that made it more dificult to operate a vacation rental by imposing a density limit. The rules prevent two rentals from being within 250 feet of each other if approved after April 2015. Rental owners were also required to purchase an operating license from the city, which must be annually renewed. Since the new laws went into effect, there are few enforcement issues with illegal rentals, most of which are spurred from complaints by Bend resi- dents, said Julie Craig, a code enforce- ment oficer for Bend. And so far, the city hasn’t received any complaints about visitors offering tents or mobile homes as vacation rentals, Craig said.
