Everything changes, constantly moving. Rivers continuously flow downstream, across landscapes, and through channels carved by their own persistent forces. Our lives are equally dynamic, as we follow our own course through time. When I started writing this blog over 10 years ago, it was from a very different place in the course of my life, and a very different landscape. I was raising young ...
Sustainability
The South Fork McKenzie River
The South Fork McKenzie River in the Oregon Cascade Range is a historically important spawning ground for native salmon and currently the site of a large scale floodplain restoration project to restore their habitat and the river ecosystem. For the first time in over 50 years, hundreds of Chinook salmon are returning to spawn in the waters where their ancestors returned year after year. The ...
World Water Day
World Water Day is a good time to take a moment and reflect on the water that sustains us and where it comes from. One of the things I appreciate the most about my home in the McKenzie River valley is that we have some of the cleanest, purest water in the world. When a vacancy opened up this last year on the McKenzie Watershed Council, I was glad to take the opportunity to become a Resident ...
About the Birds and the Mason Bees
When you have all the chickens you can handle taking care of and are busy working, but you want to add more critters your homestead, the struggle is real. I would really love to get more chickens, some ducks, maybe a turkey or goose, but now is definitely not the right time. The cool thing about living out on the edge of the wilds is that you can always make friends with the local wildlife and ...
An Elwha Without A Dam is Like a Fish Without a Bicycle
Growing up on the North Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, I spent a lot of time around the Elwha River. Whether it was hiking in the Olympic National Park on the Elwha River Trail, fishing on Lake Mills, collecting rocks on gravel bars at the various river access points, or stopping on the way up to Olympic Hot Springs, it was always a special place to visit. As a result, I think of the Elwha ...
Being a Good Butterfly Neighbor
The swallowtail butterflies have been showing up in our yard over the last week. These pollinators are always a welcome sight around the homestead, and their courtship dance is quite beautiful to see when I'm out working in the garden. Apparently I'm not the only one who appreciates having them around. Oregon decided to make the Oregon Swallowtail (Papilio oregonius) our state insect in ...
Who are the Stewards in Your Watershed?: An Interview with Kurt Cox of the McKenzie Watershed Council
When Kurt Cox arrived in Oregon to teach, he saw that Salmon defined the Northwest and wanted to bring that into his classroom. In 1998, at the suggestion of the McKenzie Schools administrator, he joined the newly forming McKenzie Watershed Council in 1998, jumping in with both feet to restore salmon habitat through education. In the last 13 years of serving as a partner in the council ...
Changing Course is Possible
Yesterday marked a new chapter for the Elwha River and for river restoration efforts all over the world. With the final blast and demolition of the Glines Canyon Dam, the Elwha now flows unimpeded from its headwaters in the Olympic Mountains down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As the largest dam removal project in the United States, this is an especially significant event. There is a wonderful ...
Hiking the Elwha with Experience Olympic Tours
On my spring vacation back home to the Olympic Peninsula, I had the pleasure of going on a hike up the Elwha River with my friend and outdoor guide, Carolyn Wilcox of Experience Olympic Tours. I had many good childhood memories of hiking the Elwha with family and friends, and was excited to share it with my partner who grew up in the Midwest. Hiking an old familiar trail with a knowledgeable ...
World Water Day and A Few Thoughts on News and Stewardship
Today is international World Water Day, and all over the world there are celebrations and people raising awareness for the appreciation and care of one of our most important natural resources. Wherever you are and whatever your day holds, I encourage you to think about water and your relationship to water. What does it mean to you? Is there a favorite river, beach or lake that you ...