Wildlife, Hiking, New Forest & More!

Wow, there was a lot of major news crammed into this 4 day work week! So here it is;

The positive news:

Story #1

Courtesy of Oregon Forestry Dept

“Oregon Lottery – It does good things” - Oregon created a new state forest for the first time since 1948, 43,000 acres of young pine trees in central Oregon. The state purchased the land from Fidelity National Timber Resources Inc., of Whitefish, Mont., with $15 million in lottery-backed bonds.

The land was owned for much of the 20th century by the founders of the town of Gilchrist. The department said Gilchrist Timber Co. sold it to Crown Pacific Partners, which logged the timber in the 1990s and replanted before going broke. Fidelity National Timber Resources bought 293,000 acres from Crown Pacific in 2006. It is the real estate subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial Inc., a title insurance company based in Florida.

The sale was part of a strategy of finding buyers who would maintain conservation benefits of the land, said Greg Lane, executive vice president of Fidelity National Timber Resources. – Source: Registered Guard

Story #2

Oregon Dept of Fish & Wildlife announced Rocky Mountain Goat reintroduction. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are about to move 30 to 40 Rocky Mountain goats from their home in the Elkhorn Mountains onto the slopes of Oregon’s second-tallest peak.

He said the goats will be trapped with a drop-net in northeast Oregon’s Elkhorn Mountains, home of the state’s 400-strong parent herd.

They will be taken to the upper headwaters of the Whitewater River, which is on the Warm Springs Reservation.

Assuming all goes well, he said, additional transplant sites in the future might include the slopes of Three Sisters, Three Fingered Jack and, eventually, the Columbia River Gorge.

A few introductions were attempted in the gorge a few decades ago, but only a few goats at a time were transplanted, not enough to establish breeding herds. – Source: Oregon Live

Story #3

Courtesy of NAU

Project Wilderness is up for a $10,000 grant which you can help us win! NAU.Com a Portland, Oregon based clothing company is awarding $10,000 to support one non-profit who instigates lasting, positive change in their communities.

You ask, what will Project Wilderness do with the $10,000 if they win? Well, here’s your answer:

Project Wilderness is working to break the mold of standard non-profit funding by developing a Portland based for-profit subsidiary.

“The Green House”, a wilderness themed ale house will donate 100% of proceeds above and beyond standard operating expenses for Project Wilderness to improve & expand public land in the Pacific Northwest. In addition The Green House will serve as a conduit to further engage the community in stewardship education and volunteerism.

Click the link to vote for Project Wilderness!

http://www.nau.com/collective/grant-for-change/project-wilderness-1375.html.share

Tragic news:

Courtesy of Terry Richard

News reports said a hiker fell to his death on Saddle Mountain this past weekend. Reports said the accident occurred after a group of hikers reached the mountain’s 3,283-foot summit Sunday. One of the hikers in his 20s apparently went out on a ledge to take some pictures, lost his footing and fell more than 100 feet down a steep slope. Rescuers said the hiker died shortly after a rescue climber was able to reach him. – Source: KATU

This is not the first death at saddle mountain and recently a hiker died at Silver Falls State Park.

Remember while hiking obey signs warning of danger & do not climb over any fence. The photo is not worth your life.

Dominic Aiello

Founder & President

www.projectwilderness.org

www.facebook.com/projectwilderness

www.twitter.com/prowilderness

What’s your reason?

“What’s Your Reason?” – Well? What is your reason? Why do you want to help improve & expand public land? Is it to ensure you have beautiful natural areas to enjoy, is it solitude you strive for, to ensure you have healthy populations of animals to hunt, or maybe to ensure your children and grandchildren get to enjoy the beautiful Pacific Northwest?

Whatever your reason is, we understand it and we understand how important this cause is. It’s an unfortunate reality of today that with the more populated the pacific northwest becomes the more trafficked and trashed our land becomes.

This is the message we talked about at the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen show in Portland over the past 5 days. Speaking with nearly 500 individuals we learned that most of the land users do what they can to “Leave No Trace” by packing out what they packed in! Many times the first question was “are you pro-hunting?”. Our answer to this is exactly as it’s written in our position statements – “Project Wilderness is not opposed to any lawful, ethical, responsible and safe recreational activity on public land…” This quailed fears that we might be a political advocacy group trying to lock groups out of the forest. Many even asked, and signed up, to volunteer at future events!
Oh and I can’t forget to mention that the Jerky Hut was on our left and kept feeding me “free samples” which of course suckered me into buying the double habanero explosion of fire in your mouth. Wow, that stuff is HOT!! On Sunday we walked around to check out all the goodness and I even picked up a few items for myself.

It was a long but great 5 days. We look forward to working with everyone in future cleanup events. Speaking of trash on public land; we’re currently looking for input on public access areas that are in need of assistance.

To recap the project we’d been working on over the past couple months; we’ve completed the restoration site along the Wilson River. After cutting down Himalayan Blackberries and cutting 6 & 7 inch thick rooted English Ivy off mature trees. In replace of those invasive species we planted:

Big Leaf Maple
Black Cottonwood
Western Red Cedar
Sitka Spruce
Vine Maple
Indian Plum
Cascara
Crabapple

Also, a trail was added allowing easier access to the Wilson River.

Make sure to email us your suggestions or request for cleanup location(s) in Oregon or Washington and then stay tuned to see the schedule coming for spring!! Until then, enjoy our beautiful Pacific Northwest! Here’s a couple photos from planting;

Asha Planting

Dominic Planting

Trees Planted

Green Night Out – Music for Conservation

Green Night Out – Music for Conservation
A night of live music, 2 bands, (Pilar French / Jackson Jackson and the Citizens), door prizes, raffle prizes, dinner & drinks and silent auction to benefit Project Wilderness habitat restoration & public land expansion programs in Oregon for 2010.

$5 suggested donation at the door.
A portion of all food and drink proceeds will be donated by The Agency Ultra Sports Lounge.

Auction Preview:
Date Night – One night stay for two in “Portland’s ‘Most Romantic Hotel” (City Search) / 1 of the world’s top 500 hotels (Travel & Leisure Magazine). Including romance package, vip parking, food & alcohol!
Gardeners Package – One pair of Felco pruners, leather pouch, gift certificate to Portland Nursery, certificate for thirty 4″ pansies from Al’s Garden center & 2 passes to the Japanese Garden in Portland!
U4E.com -Two “Buffer Zone” jackets of any size or color which utilizes Rose City Textiles Pacific Tech Micro Weave fabric, 59% of which is composed of yarns made from recycled plastic beverage containers. The Fill is made by Thermore and is made of 50% virgin polyester and 50% high performance recycled fibers.
AND MUCH MORE!

When: Thur, Jan 14th 2010 at 7pm.

Where: The Agency Ultra Sports Lounge
1939 Southwest Morrison Street
Portland, OR 97205

Sponsors: U4E.com, The Vintage Plaza Hotel, Pacifica Perfume, Portland Nursery, The Agency Ultra Sports Lounge, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Al’s garden Center, Portland Timbers, Portland Beavers, Portland Art Museum, Portland Spirit, Rogue Brewery, Pyramid Brewery, Japanese Gardens, and more!

Contact: Dominic Aiello (503)484-6292 / ProjectWilderness@gmail.com

Sponsor logo’s not included yet.

Fisher – Martes Pennanti – Nice to meet you!

October 10th approximately 8pm, I was leaving the woods after an unsuccessful night of hunting in Hood County. I had to make a decision; spend another night at camp or pack-up and drive home to make sure I made my soccer game on Sunday (we lost). I decided to pack up and go surprise the girlfriend back home, and allow myself some more sleep in the morning, but don’t let her know!

I arrived home around 1am after a long drive, which I always enjoy.

Getting side tracked, I must say I am a big fan of the Columbia River Gorge & Hood River County commissioners for there efforts and protections to keep both the Gorge & Hood River County such a beautiful and recreation filled place. Oregon & the rest of our country could take a page from there book on Urban Growth Boundaries.

Ok, sorry, getting back to the story!

I’m not one bit tired and lucky for me she wakes up the same. So I hopped into bed and grabbed Oregon Dept of Fish & Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Project Wilderness had already began plans to submit habitat restoration/biodiversity improvement in Hood River County, so I figured it would be a good chance to review the guide and see what animal and plant species we could assist with the project. The first page of the species table the fisher catches my eye. At that point I held no knowledge of the animal (oh how that has changed), but something about it stuck with me. I made notation to do further research at another time, it’s listed outside the area we’re working. As I turn the page, there is a short description and history of the fisher in Oregon. This only further intrigues me.

Image courtesy of extirpated.org

Historically the fisher inhabited from British Columbia to California. Preferred resting and den areas generally coincide with late-successional coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forest. High forest canopy closure or multiple canopies and shrubs. Areas supporting diverse prey base are most used. Dens & rest sites are generally used in large diameter trees, large snags, tree cavities, and logs. To sum it up, they prefer forest which have the characteristics similar to old growth forest.

Terry Farrell, Oregon Fish & Wildlife assistant wildlife biologist in Roseburg is quoted stating he estimates there are less than 100 fishers total in Oregon. Those are in thanks to reintroductions in 1961, 1977 and 1981, when fishers were taken from British Columbia and Minnesota and released in Oregon forests to help control porcupine damage to timber. However very little to no tracking was done to track population growth or success of reintroduction.

In 2003 Keith Aubrey & Jeffery Lewis wrote an article; “Extirpation and reintroduction of fishers in Oregon”. In this article they researched sightings of fishers throughout Oregon. Categorizing the reliability of sightings with a number value of 1 to 6, one being the highest reliability (photographic data or trapped fisher) and 6 being the lowest (visual sighting only, no tangible evidence). Rankings 1 through 4 are then mapped. The highest volume of reliable reports came from the two populations in Southern Oregon. However reliable sightings are also mapped in or around Joseph, Tillamook and Mount Hood. Then research was done on any previous surveys, which, is greatly limited. The largest areas in Oregon surveyed included those where the 2 known populations call home. Which of course received positive identification of fishers habiting the area. No real data has ever been taken from other parts of the state. Leaving these couple questions open;

Are the populations in Southern Oregon growing, declining or stagnant?

Have fishers from Southern Oregon expanded to new areas?

Are their unknown populations of fishers in other parts of the state?

These and many other questions Project Wilderness would like to answer. We have submitted our initial proposal to receive authorization to formally assess the status of the fisher within Oregon.

Dominic Aiello

Founder & President

www.projectwilderness.org

www.facebook.com/projectwilderness

www.twitter.com/prowilderness

A machete, handsaw and large pruning shears

A machete, handsaw and large pruning shears, those are  our battle weapons of choice this weekend!  Asha, secretary of Project Wilderness and I went to Tillamook to meet with Michele Long, ODFW Biologist, and begin working on one of several co-operative projects.

It was a beautiful Oregon winter day in the coastal town of Tillamook. Going through the Tillamook State Forest it was snowing fairly heavily mixed with rain. However, once on the down slope of the coastal range it began to clear up. Standing along the Wilson River looking towards the forest you’d see patches of fog rising from the canopy. The Wilson was moving very fast, and seemed to be rising. The north fork water was a striking green, while the Wilson was a dirty brown. Michele noted that the North Fork has very little timber harvest or roads along it, which accounts for the clearer water.

Our goal for today was to remove as much of the blackberries & ivy as possible in the 3 hours available. Asha was on ivy duty to begin & I was on blackberry duty…thanks Asha, give me the pokey crap! Not to worry, I was wielding the machete and leather gloves! The Himalayan berries, however, will not be defeated so easily. They laughed at my leather gloves! Who would have thought thorns easily go through leather workmen gloves .

After about 30 minutes I hear Asha walking up the river bank. I look over in the direction I hear her, as she peeks over the ridge I can tell she’s having a problem. “I can’t tell what’s the tree and what is the ivy”, Asha says. No problem, I say, I’ll come help. I make my way back down the bank with her, dodging rogue blackberry branches that forgot I called timeout to help Asha. Damn blackberries not following the rules of a war timeout!

Overview of the three trees with the Ivy removed.

When removing ivy from a tree, especially when the ivy is strongly established, it’s not required to completely remove all the leaves, roots, and stems. What is critical is to completely disconnect the roots that are established at the base of the tree from the roots that climb. Let’s review the picture below:

It may look like we cut the tree, however that's Ivy!

As the caption says it may look like we cut the tree, but what you see cut is actually the base of the ivy roots.  Do you see the foot to two foot gap we cut?

Notice the gap cut out?

The reason we cut the gap on the ivy roots is this will kill the ivy that is growing on the tree & ensure they don’t reconnect. By cutting the roots that enter the soil you’ll severely limit the amount of nutrients the ivy receives. It will receive some water and nutrients from the tree; however it will not be enough. It’s critical to ensure you’ve cut all the root systems connected to the soil. If you leave one, it’s possible it will be enough to support all ivy above it.

Ok, battle on! After assisting Asha, with what turned out to be a huge handsaw task, we double-teamed the unsuspecting berries! Haha, I brought backup this time!

We successfully cut down about 1/4 of the Blackberry patches needed to be removed. So there is plenty of work left to be done. If you’re not already, become a follower on Twitter or Facebook and come give us a hand. We’ve won the battle, but the war has no declared winner, YET!

Dominic Aiello

Founder & President

www.projectwilderness.org

www.facebook.com/projectwilderness

www.twitter.com/prowilderness

The Invasion: Are you Fighting Back? Part II

Ever have some sort of small nagging health issue? Perhaps a rash, blister or acne that just won’t quit? In the wild, that’s Japanese Knotweed!

Japanese Knotweed, Source - Wikipedia

I heard a story of a biologist that took a very small portion of the root, placed it on a windowsill, left it for a year and then replaced it in water. The damn thing sprouted roots! Sprouted roots after a year, every day in the sun!

This stubborn plant can be found along the shores of most the major rivers in Oregon. While working with the Tualatin River Keepers on the Munger Lane property this past weekend (Nov 7th) one of the TRK employees, Bob, informed me a good couple mile stretch of the Sandy River has been overrun on both sides of the river with nothing but Knotweed.

Speaking of Munger Lane, let’s side track for a bit. The property, which I estimate at around 70 acres, was purchased by Metro from voter-approved bond money. Following the purchase, the Tualatin River Keepers have been managing the restoration project. NineBark, Snowberries, Indian Plum, trailing black berry, native grasses, Oregon grape, Spirea, and various native trees have been planted at this location to aid in improved water quality of the Tualatin River, providing connecting forage along the river for wildlife and improve fish habitat. Okay-now getting back to our regularly scheduled program.

Munger Lane, Washington County

Well as you probably guessed, Knotweed is native to Japan. What you probably don’t know it’s listed in the top 100 of the worlds worst invasive species. Getting rid of it is no easy task. The method utilized by the Oregon agencies is to inject a herbicide into the stem of each plant. How tedious is that? However, it’s the most effect one time treatment. Other methods are effective but take several treatments over the course of 3 weeks.

If you recall in my last blog, I talked about working with Michele from ODFW in Tillamook. I’ve adopted one of the sites along the Wilson River I visited with Michele and I’ll begin working on invasive removal this Saturday (Nov 14th). Over the next couple weekends I’ll be removing English Ivy & Himalayan Blackberry in preparation of planting natives in their place. Provided that in late spring & late summer the ivy and berries will be suppressed, the natives will thrive & the invasive species will be forced to die back. I only hope I’m in time to save the mature trees fully encapsulated by ivy.

Feel free to come help out, click here for more information! Be sure to check out the next blog. I’ll post some pictures of work from this coming weekend.

Dominic Aiello

Founder & President

www.projectwilderness.org

www.facebook.com/projectwilderness

www.twitter.com/prowilderness

The Invasion: Are You Fighting Back? Part I

This past week was crazy by Friday I was so out of whack I’d started calling friends confirming their attendance  for tomorrow morning to the November 7th event with the Tualatin River Keepers habitat restoration. After a few seriously confused friends I finally figured out I was planning tomorrow for the wrong event!

Saturday October 31st, Yet another early morning. Waking at 5:45am to head from the Portland area through the beautiful Tillamook State Forest I arrived at the Tillamook office for Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife at 8:02 am. Today’s mission holds several elements. Lets cover the easy stuff first. Michele Long, ODFW Biologist, reached out for assistance with a couple ODFW managed riparian zones that have become overrun with invasive plant species;

Japanese Knotweed

English Ivy

Himalaya Blackberry

After some normal morning chit chat we loaded up into the ODFW vehicle and headed into the field. Our destination, riparian zones along the Wilson & Trask River. Lets look below at the picture taken at one of the spots along the Wilson River.

There is two major problems with this picture. Ivy & Blackberries: Ivy’s root system grows into the bark of trees, climbing until it essentially chokes each tree causing death from lack of nutrients, bugs or disease. When mature trees die, a younger tree should have already been growing for years ready to take it’s place. Such is a normal healthy cycle. This is where the problem with the Blackberries comes into play. They grow much faster then trees, overtake the soil, grow over the immature tree, killing it. These two invasive species together can destroy a riparian & forest ecosystem.

This poses serious risk to healthy habitat & ecosystems for wild fish, amphibians, reptiles and  mammals.

Join me next week as I talk about Knotweed & begin talking about what Project Wilderness will be doing in conjunction with Michele from the Tillamook ODFW to help solve this growing problem.

Dominic Aiello

Founder & President

www.projectwilderness.org

www.facebook.com/projectwilderness

www.twitter.com/prowilderness