SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2015
STEP
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“They were really motivated
to come out, see what is going
on and help with the Whittaker
Creek steelhead trap project,”
Grano said.
For several years, Gessert
took her class on field trips to
see the Knowles Creek smolt
(juvenile salmon) trap outside
of Mapleton.
“I would take them on a
nature walk, identifying plants
and trees,” Grano said. “We
would even plant trees. We did
that for several years. Then I
told Kate about the steelhead
project that STEP was running.
She saw what a unique experi-
ence it was and knew her stu-
dents would love doing it.”
“Jim and the men in STEP
are all very kind and patient,”
Gessert said. “They guided us
through every part of the
morning. Everybody knew
what they were doing and
understood more about the
steelhead and the STEP pro-
gram.”
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife helped fill out the
volunteer application forms
Spray
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A resident of the area down-
hill from the spraying, who
asked to remain anonymous,
said, “This has not been com-
fortable for us in the neighbor-
hood. We have the Clear Lake
watershed on one side of the
hill, and just across the hill is
the Siuslaw River.”
The Clear Lake watershed is
the water source for 4,500
Heceta Water PUD customers.
The resident was concerned
that the neighborhood does not
get advanced warning of when
required before the students
could go hands-on as STEP
volunteers.
Steelhead heading upstream
to spawn are directed into the
trap. STEP volunteers sort the
fish, sending the wild steel-
head on up stream and taking
the “ripe” hatchery-raised fish
back to the hatchery in
Florence, located near 24th
and Willow streets. They are
“milked” for eggs and milt
before being returned back
into the Siuslaw River.
STEP gathers approximately
400,000 fertilized eggs per
year from hatchery-raised
steelhead. It is not known how
many eggs the wild steelhead
leave.
“The STEP group normally
checks the trap every Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday,”
Grano said. “The steelhead
enter the trap and don’t turn
around once they are inside, as
long as water is flowing
through the trap. They are pro-
grammed to swim upstream.”
According to Grano, during
the spawning season, which
runs from early January
through the middle of April,
volunteers find from three to
300 steelhead in the trap. On
the day the LCC class visited,
they removed approximately
50 fish, most weighing
between eight and 10 pounds.
“If STEP wasn’t doing this
there would be no recreational
steelhead fishing on the
Siuslaw River,” Grano said.
Grano and the STEP pro-
gram also operate volunteer
programs with the Siuslaw
School District.
“We go up to the trap with
third-grade classes. They get to
touch the fish and lately, they
have even been kissing the
fish,” Grano said with a laugh.
“We combine the trip with
U.S. Forest Service personnel
to teach the students about the
forest and water quality.”
Similar STEP educational
outings are offered for sev-
enth-grade and high school
students. Other grades partici-
pate in modified versions of
the program.
STEP has been in existence
for more than 30 years. Grano
has operated the educational
programs in the Florence area
since 2007 and has funded the
programs through grants.
Hotel
Her
husband,
Gary
Hoagland, said, “We’re just so
very grateful. This award sort
of validates everything Loretta
and I have tried to do for 24
years on the coast. We really
do appreciate it.”
Gary has worked in hotels
internationally. The Hoaglands
began working together in the
hotel business in 1991.
“But I’ve been working him
since 1960,” Loretta said with
a laugh. “We’re the founders
and owners, but we’re retiring
on April 1. We’ll still be the
owners and be on in an adviso-
ry basis.”
Gary said, “We’ve come a
long way.”
In 2013, the Hoaglands
invested nearly $750,000 in
makeovers for the Old Town
Inn and River House Inn. Old
Town Inn received new beds,
bedding, televisions, lounge
chairs and wall art, as well as
professionally
refurbished
armoires, tables and desks.
Guest rooms at both proper-
ties feature microwaves,
refrigerators, free Wi-Fi, cable
TV, coffee makers, hair dryers
and a “white noise” machine
for light sleepers.
Sanders said, “When I came
to work for the Hoaglands, …
I realized what Gary and
Loretta bring to the table. It’s
their willingness to spend what
it takes and do what it takes to
improve the properties and
keep them up at a level. …
They see the value on the end
product. And we’re seeing an
increase in numbers, so it was
a very wise investment.”
The staff won’t let their new
ranking go to their heads.
“Trying to exceed guest
expectations is going to be
more difficult,” Sanders cau-
tioned. “But having the team,
the mentality and the attitude
that we all have, I think we can
continue exceeding customer
expectations.”
The Old Town Inn staff also
sports a new uniform, proudly
featuring a number 11 on the
front of blue shirts.
One staff member said,
“It’s really nice to work for a
company we can all be proud
of.”
The Old Town Inn is at 170
Highway 101.
spraying will take place.
“We didn’t ask for this. We
don’t want this,” the resident
said.
Oregon Department of
Forestry requires landowners to
file a report before spraying
can take place.
Then, after 15 days, spraying
can occur any time in the next
six months.
According to the resident,
subscribing to the Oregon
Department of Forestry’s
(ODF)
Forest
Activity
Electronic Reporting and
Notification System was the
only way neighbors found out
about the new plans for spray-
ing.
“This is something a lot of
people care about. It affects our
whole lives. I feel that people
should be vocal about it. This is
not OK,” the resident said.
“Our community is as dedicat-
ed as ever to the protection of
our health and our drinking
water.”
Charnock said that with 65
acres of prolific Scotch broom,
he doesn’t have much choice.
“The invasive Scotch broom
is non-native to this area. It
likes disturbed soil and plenty
of sunlight, which we have
right now on the property. We
have a responsibility to the
land. We have a problem and
what we’re doing is absolutely
by the book,” Charnock said.
According to Charnock, the
Department of Agriculture,
Department
of
Forestry,
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration and the
Environmental
Assessment
District have all been out to the
property to monitor the initial
logging, slash burning and now
spraying.
The Charnocks have not
received any citations.
“Yet we still get harassed for
it,” Charnock said. “Before we
even began, we made lots of
choices about how we would
handle managing our property.
We went with the most benign
option we could.”
The
Department
of
Agriculture will be onsite for
the spraying and Heceta Water
PUD will be testing the water.
A representative
from
Heceta Water PUD said, “We
are aware of the spraying and
we are prepared to take sam-
ples at any time.”
Oregon Department of
Forestry requires landowners to
replant 125 to 200 trees per
acre on clear-cut land.
According to the Oregon
Forest
Practices
Act,
“Reforestation means more
than simply planting seedlings.
… The landowner must see to it
that the trees are in ‘free to
grow’ condition six years after
harvesting. ‘Free to grow’
means that a tree has a good
chance of outgrowing compet-
ing grass and brush to become
part of a vigorous, healthy for-
est.”
The act also requires six
years in total to establish an
adequately stocked, free-to-
grow stand.
“Operators are encouraged
to voluntarily use integrated
pest and vegetation manage-
ment processes. The use of pes-
ticides is one of a variety of
integrated pest management
strategies that forest landown-
ers may implement to minimize
the impact of forest pests in an
environmentally and economi-
cally sound manner to meet
site-specific objectives. When
properly used, pesticides and
other chemicals can be effec-
tive tools in the growing and
harvesting of forest tree
species,” the act said.
According
to
“Forest
Herbicide Facts,” available
through ODF, “Many forest
landowners in Oregon …
choose to use herbicides to
control unwanted vegetation
that could prevent tree
seedlings from receiving ade-
quate water, nutrients and sun-
light.
“Other landowners believe
that minimizing or eliminating
the use of pesticides is a more
preferable route to meeting
their goals. Other tools avail-
able to control unwanted vege-
tation include cutting of brush
by hand or with power tools,
grubbing grass sod from
around individual trees, mow-
ing and placing mulch or mulch
mats around individual trees.”
Charnock said that removing
all the Scotch broom and black-
berries by hand would not only
be expensive, it would be
almost impossible once the
weeds grew any larger than
saplings.
“I have an obligation to the
state to make sure the stand
succeeds. If I leave the weeds
in, the trees will die,” he said.
For more information on
herbicide use in Oregon, go to
ODF at www.oregon.gov/ODF
or Oregon Department of
Agriculture at www.oregon
.gov/ODA.
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from 1A
The wait for primary care
is over.
McKenzie Primary Care Associates
welcomes new providers.
John Egar, M.D. (board-certified, internal medicine), and Mildred Rowley, M.D. (board-certified,
family practice), have joined the team at McKenzie Primary Care Associates. Along with
Phillip Taggart, M.D. (board-certified, internal medicine), they welcome new patients at their
Florence location. Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans welcome. Ask us about
preventive care services your health insurance may cover at no cost to you.
Same-day appointments often available.
Call 541-997-1251.
4480 G Highway 101N • Florence
541-997-1251
www.shoppelocal.biz
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