Park Kitchen

Even though the sun hasn't been out for what seems like forever here in Portland, at least there's some good food around to make up for it. Park Kitchen is a terrific example of how great local cuisine can be, and it once again makes me thankful to live here (though this recent run of cloudy weather is doing its best to make me wish the sun would make an appearance once in a while).

Our server was incredibly knowledgeable and had even MET the actual pig being served for the braised pork plate (which - by the way - was terrific; a forager on staff gathers the nettles served alongside the pork, which really holds the flavor of the broth). Most of the food served at the restaurant comes from within 45 minutes of Portland (Sauvie Island, Square Peg Farm, etc.). However, they periodically serve Spanish fish rather than Northwestern; this may have been part of the problem with the poached halibut's lack of flavor, in that neither the halibut, cuttlefish, nor olive oil were local. Rogue River Blue Cheese turned the flank steak salad into something incredible (and I would expect nothing less from an award winning cheese). The chickpea fries with squash ketchup are certainly the healthiest version of french fries out there. If only mom had forced me to eat vegetables like that growing up, it may have been a different story at the dinner table!

Awareness of what we do

As restoration professionals, we spend a lot of time thinking about how our actions can impact the future of our world. In light of the amazing disaster that is underway in the Gulf, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the immensity of the problems we face as a species. It is equally challenging to determine a meaningful way as individuals to improve the world around us. Ultimately we all want to make an impact, usually in a positive way.

For my own part I am striving to focus on the things around me, to give them care and consideration, and to treat all living things with care and compassion. Although we spend a great of time professionally collecting and analyzing data, the sentence above could form the basis for almost all restoration and conservation plans: treat your world and those in it with respect.

Public access & private rivers

Senate Bill 1060 was defeated in February of this year in the Oregon State Senate. It would have allowed recreationists using waterways that are either floatable or tidally influenced to access private property adjacent to the water for the purposes of portage or medical emergency. As professional researchers of streams and waterways, we deal with streamside landowners on a regular basis. Over the course of many years we have learned that the issue of gaining public access to privately owned streams and streambanks is complex and challenging.

Conflicts between recreation, land management, and private landowners are unavoidable given the complex overlap of interests which takes place within a stream network. A first step should be to clarify the law surrounding public access to privately owned waterways. This bill would have done this by sanctioning access to all of the ground around the stream channel for the purposes of recreation. From a certain perspective, this might potentially have simplified our professional work by increasing access to the stream corridor. Despite this I feel it would have been inconsiderate to owners to allow access their property. If recreational use is sufficient to allow legal access to private property, it opens the door to other future public uses.

We suggest that some ways to address the issue of public use of privately owned waterways are to clarify the wording and implementation of existing law, to make it easier to identify the location of property boundaries, and to develop ways for property owners and potential users of the stream to communicate with one another. In our own work surveying streams throughout Oregon, we contact each individual landowner directly to obtain permission to collect data. This can be a time consuming and difficult process. Clarifying where streams can be accessed, and simplifying the granting of permission would be a major step in the right direction. A registry where landowners indicate their willingness to grant access for various activities such as fishing, hunting, and environmental research is one idea to streamline the process. The state would then provide the basics information (maps, phone numbers, etc.) needed to identify appropriate areas to access.

Currently those waterways designated as navigable are publicly owned, and generally have some limited public access. Logs and other debris are commonly removed from these waterways to ease boat passage, thus impacting stream health. It is concerning to think that expanded recreational usage of privately owner waterways might interfere with stream restoration and recovery. It is critical that any modification of existing laws consider the potential impacts to important stream and riparian habitat. The health and function of our streams and estuaries should be the first priority.

Summer in the Columbia Slough Watershed

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council is hosting plenty of activities this summer, providing an excellent chance to get involved for those in the Portland area. A few I'm looking forward to are:

June 19 - Explorando el Columbia Slough
July 25 - Columbia Slough Regatta
August 20 - Mystery Moonlight Paddle (especially excited about this one!)

Of course, there are always opportunities to volunteer as well:

Stewardship Saturdays (Meet at the CSWC on the second Saturday of the month to work on invasive species removal and trail maintenance)

Eyes on the Slough (individual volunteers who each paddle a section of the slough once a month to report on wildlife, habitat, and water quality)

These are terrific opportunities to get to know an integral part of Portland's backyard and enjoy a local watershed!

BP Oil Spill in Gulf

There are too many issues to discuss at this point and many reporters have already provided the info, here are some links to the LA Times which has some of the best reporting on the topic.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-na-oil-spill-20100510,0,251714.story - BP trying to fix it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-20100509,0,1038312.story - BP unable to fix it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-051010-na-oil_fix-i,0,2873419.htmlstory - How containment might work, if BP could manage it. Which I doubt they can since they could even manage to drill safely.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-rig-20100423-pictures,0,5444277.photogallery - Photo gallery, birds, sea turtles, sharks dead.

Tragedy is overused but it really is a tragedy. What is there left to do when this hasn't paused the movement to drill drill drill? Wait for more drilling? Even if only one in 10,000 or 1 in 1,000,000 drilling operations (I don't know the actual statistic) ends like this, the consequences are too great and the reward is too small.

Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests Land Management Plan Meeting

The Forest Service held a series of public meetings to discuss the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests Land Management Plans throughout the month of April. Most of the meetings were held on the eastern portion of the state, though there was one meeting held in Northeast Portland on April 28th.

The first part of the meeting utilized an open house format where individuals could tour different displays which outlined particular functions of the management plan (fish, timber, recreation, wilderness areas, riparian impact, etc.). The second half brought all the interested parties together for a PowerPoint presentation that covered the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. We are currently at the beginning of a two-year long process of assessing the plan, with an anticipated implementation of the new forest plan to take place in the spring of 2012. One individual raised a question regarding the costs associated with doing such a review, and we learned that the review process costs approximately $2,000,000 (or $1,000,000 per year).

Several other individuals posed questions as well - some resulting in fairly spirited debates. In particular, the point was raised that though the Forest Service often takes existing land and designates it as a wilderness area, the opposite never happens (once land is designated wilderness, that designation will not be removed). The regional director of the Forest Service was available for explanation, and indicated that the mandate from Congress solely deals with recommending wilderness areas rather than the reverse. Additionally, there was a smaller discussion regarding riparian management. One individual had spent a fair amount of time surveying in the Malheur NF and consistently saw extreme riparian area degradation. Despite all recommendations and assessments urging fencing or other barriers to be put in place, little progress appeared to have been made.

These management plans are revised every fifteen years,so it will be interesting to see how final product utilizes scientific knowledge gained since the mid 1990s. It's reassuring to know that we can all help guide the management of our forests.

Agriculture in Peril

News from the world of farming. Two big hits to agriculture productivity have recently blossomed: fruit fly feeds on ripe fruit, devastating peach, cherry, apple, pear crop; glyphosate resistant weeds force farmers to till weeds with herbicide increasing pollution and erosion.

The fruit fly is distinguishable from the common fruit fly by a spot on the tip of its wing and it will feed on ripe fruit rather than rotten fruit. I have seen traps out here on the Pacific Coast and I know they are already in the Willamette Valley. One recommendation for small orchardists and home owners is to cover the already pollinated fruit with a fine mesh. This will keep out the birds too.

For more information about glyphosate resistant weeds check out this article in the times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html?pagewanted=2&ref=science

Urban Farm

I took a walk around my northeast Portland neighborhood this afternoon, and turned down a street that I hadn't been on for a few months. I came across three chickens making their way across the street (I had to hold my Labrador back from chasing them - unfortunately, he doesn't quite get the idea of peaceful coexistence yet), and also passed a goat in a fenced yard. I feel like most of Portland is an urban farm; everyone quietly wishing they lived in the country and doing what they can to make that a reality on their standard 50' x 100' lots. If I have to live in a city, this is one I'm happy to call home.