Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1996)
41 Page 2 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ H The INDEPENDENT, May 1,1 99 6 ».INDEPENDENT vZ£LL Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice monthly on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Editors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503) 429-9410. Mr HAi Anxiety levels soared along with the water When heavy rains hit again last week, four inches in less than 48 hours, our water-logged soil couldn’t retain it. Springs were spurting and hillsides oozing as the water table and the rivers rose again. This time, the Nehalem Valley wasn’t hit nearly as hard as Clatskanie, where mud slides did major damage; nev ertheless, anxiety levels rose along with the water and the community discovered that it’s not yet over the trauma caused by the flooding in February. This is really quite ordinary, as mental health work ers know, but that doesn’t make it any more comfort able. Many people are not yet in their homes; high school classes are operating out of modulars; every where we look, flood damage is obvious. Unfortunately, stress often shows in negative ways, ways that harm the people you care for, such as child abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism and suicide. Anyone feeling the stress should remember that professionals from the Oregon Flood Support Project are in the community to help others cope with stress and anxiety. Their advice is to start on the road to recovery by acknowledging your feelings and, if you need support, they are there to help you. They can be reached by calling 429-4014 in Vernonia, 755-2303 in Mist, or 325-5754 for Jewell. They are willing to assist you in their offices or in your home so, if you need a little support or a lot of support, don’t hesitate to call. They are here to help. What is the shape of Vernonia’s future? Whether people have lived in a community for one year or 60 years, the future of that community is important to them and Vernonia citizens now have the opportunity to be involved in planning their town’s future. The city will host a visioning meeting Thursday night from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Fire District meeting room. The process they have adopted doesn’t keep people out, either. Instead of appointing a few citizens to determine the direction for tomorrow, city govern ment has invited everyone who’s interested to join in the process. There will be opportunity to offer suggestions anchor ideas on the city’s future. This is one meeting that should be interesting; try not to miss it. Watch for electrical fires Another hazard of flooding is becoming apparent in Vernonia - electrical fires. These tend to break out in cir cuit breaker boxes, electrical outlets or other electric connections that were under water. Now that they are dry, the possibility of a fire-causing short circuit is very real. If possible, replace all electric connections that were under water, try to avoid the problem of fire. * A R ô U tJ Ù V kA«* 2 f e « j ef fittw oeb 6o?J 3y Dale Webb, member zaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter banks and a big flood that leaves its banks and enters the flood plain. When floods stay within the streambanks, all the sediments are Many people asked me during the big flood confined so, when it settles, it is still in-stream. “How do you think the fish are doing?” My an Our big flood actually scoured out twenty- swer was “not good, but I’m not worrying some years of sediment build-up and deposit about that now.’ The fish were on their own, ed it in the flood plain. It seem s to have just like the rest of us. cleaned the stream while raising havoc with Now. with more information, the answer to the (human) inhabitants of the flood plain. that question is not pretty. The tremendous Lots of stream-bank trees slid off the bank run of Chinook salmon that we had last fall and are now providing a major resource for took a real beating. Either the eggs were still fish in the stream. PLEASE DO NOT RE in the gravel or had just recently hatched. Ei MOVE TREES IN THE RIVER UNLESS IT IS ther way the scenario would look a lot like a A DANGER TO YOUR PROPERTY. People blender of huckleberries turned on puree. The who are taking these trees from the river for big flood actually moved gravel bars hundreds fire wood are hastening the listing of the coho of feet down stream. Eggs or fish in the gravel salmon as a threatened species. If you have would have been ground to bits. Even if the trees on your property that you feel are a fish had reached the fry stage, it would have threat, please call the Oregon Department of been like placing a human baby in the middle Fish and Wildlife at 503-738-7066 and they of the Sahara desert in a sandstorm, unpro will assist you in decision making. Removing tected. The bright spot with chinook is that not trees from a river for commercial use is a vio all the fish from a brood year return in the lation of the Forest Practices Act, this includes same year so, over time, this year’s class of selling them for firewood. Large woody debris fish should get some help in rebuilding from is vital to a healthy fishery as it provides food broods of the year before and the year after. and shelter for the fish. If you doubt this just Coho salmon, already in serious trouble, pick up a large chunk of wood from the river were not helped by this flood. Coho eggs and look closely on the bottom side, you will would have been in the gravel — blender time find many macroinvertebrates (bugs); this is again Additionally, much of the coho habitat fish food. got hammered by new slides and torrents of My opinion of forest related slides has not mud. changed much, although the slide that com Steelhead may be the only species that pletely blocked Clear Creek just upstream fared somewhat well. Early steelhead (De from the gate is a clear example of how a cember and January) fared like the coho. slide can benefit a fishery. This slide, although Steelhead that returned after the flood proba it dumped tons of mud into the creek, also bly will do extremely well. contributed tons of rock and woody debris. The big flood was not all bad though. While The slide also formed a pond on its upstream planting trees in the riparian area along the side which will provide trem endous coho river. I started noticing how pretty the water salmon habitat. Other land slides totally oblit looked. I have never seen the water look so erated coho spawning areas with mud, or bluetsb-green before. It looked somewhat like stripped the stream bed down to bedrock. distant glacial water. The gravel bars were These streams will not produce fish for at clean of mud and looked fresh and revitalized. least a decade. There were large amounts of large woody de The Isaac Walton League Nehalem Valley bris that had entered the river and rermained Chapter has completed its second year of tree in the channel. The evidence shows that large planting along the rivers, with about 2,800 floods are not all bad. trees being planted. Despite the flood, the Most of us view floods as bad for streams trees that we planted last year seem to be do and fisheries; I know I did. But there is a differ ing quite well and people will start seeing a ence between high water that stays within its Please see page 3 • . Hr t
