| Upper and Middle Willamette |
 |
|
 |
| Confederated Tribes |
|
(Right) The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community developed a water treatment plant and water service system to meet its needs while reducing demands on the community water system and providing an emergency back-up supply for the community.
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, Grand Ronde
OWRD Stewardship and Conservation Award 2005
Highlight: Implementing a new water treatment plant and service system that reduce demands on the Grand Ronde community water system.
The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon have been involved in numerous habitat restoration and fish passage improvements on the South Yamhill Basin and are also one of the first Oregon tribes to secure approval of an endangered species management plan. In 1999, the Tribes began planning a new water treatment plant and water service system to meet its immediate water needs while reducing demands on the Grand Ronde Water Association system. The goal was to take the tribal development off the Grand Ronde community water system and perhaps provide an emergency backup supply for the community. Through a combination of water right transfers, application for an off-season water right, and a comprehensive mitigation plan, the Tribes were able to secure a dependable supply of water. The Tribe's water system came online in March 2004.
The Tribes also have completed a number of fish-passage and aquatic-habitat improvement projects on the South Yamhill River and other area streams. Nine culverts have been replaced, improving over 25 miles of stream channel. Enhancements have included placement of woody debris and boulders in Agency Creek, improving fish spawning areas on 2.5 miles of creek habitat.
|
| Ken Hale |
|
Ken Hale, Natural Resource Conservation Service, McMinnville
OWEB Spirit of the Oregon Plan Award 2004
Highlight: Bringing unique knowledge and enthusiasm to resource conservation practices
Ken brings a level of enthusiasm to conservation that is refreshing. Ken has been employed by the Natural Resource Conservation Service for the last 21 years, 16 of which he has spent in the Willamette Valley, in both Polk and Yamhill counties. Ken has been actively involved with resource conservation practices for the duration of his employment, enrolling more than 5,000 acres into the Conservation Reserve Program, 800-1000 acres into the Wetland Reserve Program, and more recently about 150 acres into the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Throughout his career, Ken has worked with landowners, local governments and other state and federal agencies promoting his resource conservation ethics and practices. Ken has been a member of OWEB’s Willamette Basin Regional Review Team for the last 2½ years, providing critical review and evaluation for watershed enhancement and restoration projects. Ken’s knowledge of resource issues, enthusiasm and contribution to this process has been invaluable.
|
| Nick Kamlade |
|
|
|
Melissa Fery, ODA, with Cory and Nick Kamlade
|
Cory and Nick Kamlade of the Morning Mist Dairy in Jefferson are honored by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Inspector Melissa Fery (left) for promoting environmental stewardship through their cooperative spirit and innovative solutions.
Nick Kamlade, Morning Mist Dairy, Jefferson
ODA Environmental Stewardship Award 2005
Highlight: Installing a pipeline to carry manure to area crop farms
Too much phosphorus in the soil can negatively impact water quality. The Morning Mist Dairy in Jefferson had a concern about the phosphorous levels at their facility but reduced the problem by working cooperatively with other area farms. The Kamlade family dairy has installed more than a mile of pipeline to carry manure to area crop farms. Distributing the manure over a large area addresses the dairy’s phosphorus problems while the nutrient-rich manure benefits other area farms. The cooperative spirit and unique solution to improving watershed health makes the Morning Mist Dairy a model of environmental stewardship.
|
| Bill and Karla Chambers |
|
(Right) Bill and Karla Chambers of Stahlbush Island Farms near Corvallis worked with the Oregon Department of Energy to replace a produce blancher with an energy-efficient model, saving $16,000 in energy costs per year.
Bill and Karla Chambers, Stahlbush Island Farms, Corvallis
ODOE Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Award 2005
Highlight: Making innovative changes to operations and using sustainable farming practices
Bill and Karla Chambers operate an environmentally friendly farm and food processing operation near Corvallis. During their 20-year ownership, they have increased their acreage from 500 to 2,200 acres and expanded from two crops to fifteen. Adding a food processing plant for fruits and vegetables increased their success but also requires large volumes of water and energy resources, especially for blanching. Their solution was to use a state Business Energy Tax Credit to help finance a new blancher. The blancher not only improves product quality and nutrition, it uses only half the natural gas previously required, saving $16,000 per year in energy costs.
To protect soil and groundwater health, the Chambers use a variety of methods, including annual crop rotation, cover crops, pesticide reduction and elimination, low tilling, water-saving irrigation systems, and composting. These practices have earned endorsement from groups that approve sustainable agriculture producers. Many of the Chambers’ products are organic and supply an increasing consumer demand for foods free from pesticide residues. The Chambers have demonstrated leadership and commitment in Oregon and nationally to the wise use of resources to protect watersheds and people.
|
| Paul Chapman |
|
(Right) Paul Chapman and his corporations provided more than the 25 percent match necessary to receive an OWEB grant for restoration work in Leitel Creek, along with all the large wood necessary for in-stream placement.
Paul Chapman, Pacific West Timber Company and The Campbell Group, Eugene
ODFW/ODF Fish and Wildlife Steward Award for Forest Lands 2004
Highlight: Working with the Siuslaw Watershed Council to restore Leitel Creek
Leitel Creek is a better place for salmon thanks to Paul Chapman of Eugene. Chapman and his corporations, Pacific West Timber Company and The Campbell Group, did extensive restoration work along Leitel Creek, a tributary to Tahkenitch Lake. The creek contains some of the most important coho salmon spawning habitat in the Tahkenitch Basin. Before restoration treatments, the upper portion of the 4.2-mile road paralleling Leitel Creek was a chronic source of sediment to the stream. Culverts on this road blocked fish passage into two small tributaries containing a quarter mile of coho habitat. Working with the Siuslaw Watershed Council and ODFW’s Watershed Council Liaison, Chapman decommissioned two-and-a-half miles of road, placed large wood structures in the creek, and removed barriers to fish passage. He and his corporations provided more than the 25 percent match necessary to receive an Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board grant, along with all the large wood necessary for in-stream placement.
|
| Dave and Charlotte Bontrager |
|
(Right) Dave and Charlotte Bontrager restored more than five acres of wetlands and riparian habitat on their property in the Lost Creek watershed.
Dave and Charlotte Bontrager, Dexter
ODFW/ODF Fish and Wildlife Steward Award for Forest Lands 2004
Highlight: Restoring more than 5 acres of wetland/riparian land
Restoring more than five acres of wetlands and riparian habitat has been a decade-long pursuit for Dave and Charlotte Bontrager of Dexter. The area is part of their 40-acre property in the Lost Creek watershed of the Middle Fork Willamette River Basin. Their activities included removing invasive plants, planting native trees and shrubs, monitoring a migratory hoop trap for spawning cutthroat trout, and securing funding and in-kind donations of trees and labor for a large wood placement project.
|
| Steve Woodard |
|
(Right) Steve Woodard, Oregon’s Tree Farmer of the Year for 2004, single-handedly plants 6,000 to 7,000 trees each year on his tree farm.
Steve Woodard, Cottage Grove
ODF Tree Farmer of the Year 2004
Highlight: Planting 6,000 to 7,000 trees per year and creating wildlife habitat on his property
Steve Woodard, a Lane County tree farmer who retired from Oregon State University as an Extension Forester, keeps wildlife in mind while performing forest management activities. He has created ponds on his property in wetland areas to improve habitat for duck, deer and other species. Three of his 11 ponds also act as a resource for fire protection. A number of trails have been constructed to improve fire protection access, as well as to provide recreation opportunities.
Once a paid tree farm certifier, Woodard now participates on a volunteer basis. He actively promotes tree farming by hosting tours for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute and forestland owners and foresters from other countries. He has shown off Oregon’s mills, tree nurseries, old growth forests and tree farms to folks from South and Central America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.
Woodard also participated in a collaborative effort to supply logs for the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Lied Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. He donated a truckload of logs from his property for the project and worked with Weyerhaeuser, the Lane County Small Woodlands Association, and the Society of American Foresters to secure six additional truckloads.
|
|
| |
|
|
