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.