Spilyay Tymoo
July 9, 2014
Coyote News, est. 1976
Vol. 39, No. 14
July – Pat’ak-Pt’akni – Summer - Shatm
Mill Creek restoration under way
Construction crews are moving
tons of earth in the area of Potter’s
Ponds on Mill Creek.
This is a large-scale fisheries im-
provement project, similar to but big-
ger than the 2009 Shitike Creek im-
provement project.
The Bonneville Power Adminis-
tration is funding much of the work,
as a mitigation project, with over-
sight by the tribal Natural Resources
Branch. Scott Turo, fisheries biolo-
gist, and Johnny Holliday, project co-
ordinator, are on site daily.
The contractor for the project is
BCI Contracting, based in Portland.
The company focuses on wetland
and stream restoration projects.
Business co-owner and operator
Drew Porter said any tribal mem-
ber with heavy machinery creden-
tials is invited contact him about
work opportunities. His number is
503-317-5868. Or email:
drew.porter@bcicontacting.com
The earth-moving work will cre-
ate side channels, and spawning habi-
tat for fish. A final phase of the
project —after the major earth-
moving work—will involve planting
thousands of trees and other veg-
etation.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay photos
Scott Turo and Johnny Holliday, of Natural Resources, with contractor Drew Porter by the Mill
Creek restoration work area.
use, in to the 1970s, Mill Creek ex-
isted only as an overflow channel
skirting the ponds on the north.
A deep gully was all that was left
to mark the path of the channel.
The ponds eventually destroyed fish
spawning areas and habitat.
Log storage ponds
Toward restoration
In the 1940s, the Warm Springs
Lumber Co. built two large log
ponds on Mill Creek. These were
located about seven miles upstream
of the Highway 26 Bridge.
While the ponds were in active
Within the restoration area, the
project objectives include:
Measures to reconnect the flood-
plain, increase sinuosity, enclose the
riparian area with fencing, eliminate
livestock presence, remove the lat-
eral berms (dams), enhance off
channel habitat through the devel-
opment of side channels, ponds and
alcoves.
Reconnecting the floodplain
means that the creek will no longer
be confined to a deep, narrow chan-
nel.
Instead, with re-grading of the
entire area between the outer banks,
the stream will wind through a se-
ries of S-turns, feeding off into side
channels and deep pools.
Sinuosity is the side-to-side
wandering of the stream within its
floodplain. Sinuosity helps to
create side channels and pools
and is a feature of a healthy
stream system.
Riparian fencing is necessary
to protect the newly created habi-
tat from overgrazing that would
damage vegetation and stream
banks.
In time, Mill Creek will pro-
vide suitable habitat for a variety
of fish and wildlife species.
(Olney J.P. Patt at tribal Natu-
ral Resources helped with this ar-
ticle).
Pi-Ume-Sha 2014
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
School Update
Construction
wrapping up
next week
A week from Friday will mark a
milestone for the Confederated
Tribes. Friday, July 18 will be the
substantial completion day for the
Warm Springs k-8 Academy, mean-
ing the school will be ready for oc-
cupancy.
After that date, tribal and school
district officials can tour the facili-
ties, making any suggestions as to
final construction details.
“We’ll be on site until the end of
the month, but we should have the
certificate of occupancy by July
18,” said Jason Terry, school project
manager, with Kirby Nagelhout
Construction.
Construction began about a year
ago, and proceeded on schedule,
even during the heavy snow of last
winter.
“We had a really high perfor-
mance team,” Terry said. “From the
Warm Springs representatives, the
school district, the Wenaha group
and the architects. We were able to
make good decisions and have a
quality project put together in a short
amount of time.”
The Back to School Barbecue
later this summer will be a chance
for the public to come and visit the
$20 million k-8 academy.
The grand opening for the fall
term will be a milestone in that a
new local school had been a goal
among tribal leaders for the preview
few decades.
New exhibit
at Museum
Dave McMechan/Spilyay photos
The Confederated Tribes, June 27-29, celebrated the Forty-Fifth Pi-Ume-Sha,
commemorating the 159th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of 1855.
There is a great new exhibit on
display at the Museum at Warm
Springs.
The Changing Exhibits Gallery is
featuring “Celebrating Native
American Youth: Today’s Youth,
Tomorrow’s Leaders.”
The exhibit features fascinating
old photographs of Native Ameri-
can young people and their fami-
lies. There are short essays explain-
ing the importance of young people
in the Native culture.
Many of these black-and-white
photos are on loan to the Museum
at Warm Springs from the High
Desert Museum.
The Museum at Warm Springs
is featuring youth-related exhibits
during 2014, as the tribes and
school district are preparing to open
the new k-8 academy.
The museum is open 9-5 p.m.
daily during the summer months.
You can reach the museum at 541-
553-3331.
The museum will be hosting its
annual fundraiser Huckleberry Har-
vest in August. The harvest this
year will be at the museum, on Sat-
urday, August 9.