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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2020)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Recreation & Outdoors SOUTH LANE COUNTY SPORTS AND RECREATION • All local school sport- ing activities have been canceled through the remainder of the school year. By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com PHOTO BY NICK SNYDER/CG SENTINEL Sadie Olson, a senior at EHS, not only won last year’s 1A discus state title, but also participates in basketball and volleyball for the Elks. www.dfw.state.or.us/RR CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT 942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM Keeping an open mind despite closures Calendar ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING R EPORT • THURSDAY | APRIL 16, 2020 When things go awry, perspective is key. Businesses have closed — many permanently — public facilities are largely shuttered, millions have either lost their jobs or shifted to working from home and students find themselves home- bound and idle months before summer vacation would typically begin. A change in perspective can’t fully solve any of these issues, but it can certainly help finding light in the chaos. Elkton High School senior Sa- die Olson is but one example of this. Over the last several weeks Olson, like millions of students across America, has seen her school close its doors to day-to-day operations and sus- See OLSON 2B Corps closes Dorena, CG Lake sites ODFW IS PUTTING THE WEEKLY RECREATION RE- PORT ON HIATUS FOR A FEW WEEKS. In the meantime, all fishing and hunting seasons remain open as scheduled Except for the Colum- bia River, which will remain closed to salmon and steelhead fishing through at least May 4. ODFW continues to urge hunt- ers, anglers and others recreating outside to stay close to home, keep your social distance, and travel safely. ODFW will resume its weekly updates when conditions improve. Thank you for your patience, and stay safe! County stresses physical distancing in parks Lane County Parks is urging visitors to do better at physical distancing when they are in coun- ty parks. There has been a marked increase in park visitors as the weather has improved, and sever- al visitors have been observed not maintaining appropriate distance from others. “We know how much people love our parks and love to be out- side here,” said Lane County Park Manager Brett Henry. “But it is just as important to observe phys- ical distancing here as it is in the grocery stores.” A few things to keep in mind if you plan to head to a park: • Keep your distance. Pace your- self so that you can maintain at least 6 feet (ideally more) of phys- ical distance between yourself and other hikers. Be polite and take turns at narrow or busy spots. • Parks are not a place to gather right now. Getting outside to exercise and experience the out- doors is important to our physical and mental health, but it is not okay to meet friends or gather in groups to hike together right now. Stick to members of your own household and keep your distance from everyone else. • Vary your times. Consider visiting or walking/hiking at non- peak times to reduce your likeli- hood of encountering crowds. • Consider keeping your dogs on leashes at all times. Some parks, Howard Buford Recreation Area (Mt. Pisgah) included, have off-leash trails or areas for dogs. Please consider keeping your pet leashed right now to better main- tain physical distance. (Fido may be friendly, but if you have to sep- arate him from another hiker’s dog or from other hikers that means you’re not keeping appropriate physical distance.) • Park safely. Do not park your vehicle alongside roads to access county parks – it creates a safety hazard for you, other drivers and road users. PHOTO BY NICK SNYDER/CG SENTINEL Lakeside Park at Cottage Grove Lake, seen here hosting last summer’s Tri at the Grove triath- lon, is one of several local sites closed late last month by the Army Corps of Engineers. By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com Despite the recent spate of sunny weather, local outdoor enthusiasts are watching their recreation opportunities dwin- dle as COVID-19 concerns con- tinue to shut down many public use areas. Effective March 30, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made the decision to close all Oregon recreation sites, including local favorites Cottage Grove Lake and multiple sites around Dore- na Reservoir. The shutdown comes as previous warnings had gone unheeded and many locations remained busy with visitors. “The health and safety of all visitors, partners, employees and their families is our top pri- ority,” said Melissa Rinehart, the Portland District chief of natu- ral resource management. “We recognize the challenges this may cause our recreation us- ers and local communities, and thank everyone for doing their part to help prevent the spread of the disease so we can return to normal operations as soon as possible.” For local would-be recre- ators in Cottage Grove and the surrounding area, it is indeed a challenge as the Corps manages all of the sites around Cottage Grove Lake as well as Harms Park boat ramp, Bake Stewart Park and Schwarz Park at Dore- na, rendering many of these lo- cal destinations unusable for the time being. “All the recreation areas are closed, including the boat ramps and all the Corps-managed lands around the reservoirs and the Corps of Engineers has post- ed a restriction,” said Christie Johnson, park ranger and out- reach specialist for the Corps’ Willamette Valley Project. “We also have the ability to work with local law enforce- See CORPS 2B Oregon closes recreational hunting and fishing to non-residents ODFW is closing recreational hunting, fishing, crabbing and clamming to non-res- idents due to concerns about travel to Oregon to participate in these outdoor activities. Such travel could spread the virus and put more of a burden on Oregon’s ru- ral communities. As of Friday, Apr. 10 at 11:59 p.m., non-res- idents may no longer participate in these ac- tivities in Oregon. The restriction extends un- til COVID-19 restric- tions are lifted and it is deemed safe to travel into Oregon. This order does not apply to any- one living in Oregon for less than six months who has not yet estab- lished residency. Some states, includ- ing Washington, have closed hunting and fish- ing to limit the spread of the virus. While seasons remain open in Oregon (except for Columbia River salm- on/steelhead fishing), resident hunters and anglers should not be travelling to participate. ODFW is hearing con- cerns from rural com- munities about people visiting to hunt and fish and placing additional burdens on these com- munities’ limited re- sources. “Rural communities are concerned about the potential impact of COVID-19 on medical and emergency ser- vices, search and res- cue and their citizens. Some have asked us to close seasons to reduce travel,” said ODFW Di- rector Curt Melcher. “We would like to keep seasons open to give locals an outlet during this difficult time, but that doesn’t mean it’s B1 OK to travel to these communities. Stick close to home and fish at your local lake, pond or river and do not go crabbing or clamming unless you live on the coast, and then only to places where access is still open.” ODFW monitoring has shown that while Oregonians are still participating in fish- eries, clamming, shed hunting, and wildlife viewing it is in signifi- cantly lower numbers and that the majority See ODFW 2B OSAA cancels all remaining activities The cancellation in- cludes spring sports, practices and state championships Per Governor Kate Brown’s announce- ment earlier today that Oregon schools will be closed to in-person learning for the remain- der of the school year, the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) has canceled all remaining Spring activities and state championships. “Today’s heart wrenching decision is diffi cult for all mem- bers of the OSAA family,” said Peter We- ber, OSAA Executive Director. “We empa- thize with students and school communities, especially our gradu- ating seniors, but rec- ognize that these can- cellations will allow our collective focus to remain where it’s most needed at this time - on the health and safety of all Oregonians.” “We had maintained hope for an abbreviated Spring season to help bring a sense of normal- cy to these uncertain times,” continued We- ber. “Now more than ever we need to apply the lessons learned through participation in education-based activ- ities – teamwork, sac- rifi ce, resilience – and play our role in adher- ing to the public health guidelines. We all look forward to the day when we play again.” Current OSAA pol- icies prohibiting the use of school facilities and coaches from or- ganizing or directing workouts and prac- tices remain in effect until further notice. The OSAA Executive Board will meet in the coming weeks to dis- cuss policies for sum- mer activities, along with academic eligi- bility concerns for Fall 2020 that have been expressed by mem- ber schools and fam- ilies. The OSAA and our member schools are currently awaiting guidance from ODE on credit attainment for 9th-11th grade students through the state’s Dis- tance Learning for All initiative. Visit http://www. osaa.org/coronavirus for OSAA policies, plus health and safety resources, related to COVID-19. Includ- ed on this page are all memos and media releases from OSAA regarding this situa- tion since early March, along with a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) de- signed to answer the most common ques- tions we have been re- ceiving. More information will be communicat- ed via http://www. osaa.org/ as it becomes available.
