New AmeriCorps Service Member
Hello, Umpqua Watersheds community. My name is Jessica Saxton, and I am the new Environmental Education and Outreach Leader for Umpqua Watersheds via the United Communities AmeriCorps program.
I am dual enrolled at Umpqua Community College, where I will receive my Associate of Science, and Oregon State University, where I will receive my Bachelor of Science [...]
THE WILDERNESS COMMITTEE NEEDS YOUR HELP!
The Wilderness Committee is in the early stages of developing a new radio show for KQUA, Umpqua Watersheds’ radio station, and we need your help.
Besides news about wilderness and conservation efforts in our communities, a core feature of each program will be what we’re calling “Tales from the Trail.”
Have you ever had an [...]
CONSERVATION UPDATE
By Janice Reid
DIFFICULTIES IN ACCESSING OUR PUBLIC LANDS ARE ON the rise. Public land management agencies invite the public to comment on their management actions, but in many cases, especially in the landscape of checkerboard ownership patterns on the O&C lands, access to these lands takes quite a bit of effort and time.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
As we close another year, we are in awe of how fortunate we are here in our corner of the world. Umpqua Watersheds continues to celebrate, protect, and restore our environment and community. We face many challenges regularly. Ongoing efforts advocating for the Crater Lake Wilderness protection, The River Democracy Act, [...]
OUTREACH UPDATE
By Kasey Hovik
Looking back on 2022 we are very happy to be able to meet again in person. The 11th Umpqua Brew Fest was a great success. It was a lot of work to put together after not having one since 2019 but we couldn’t be more grateful to the support we had [...]
Umpqua Watersheds joins the Combined Federal Campaign
Federal employees and retirees can now give through the workplace.
Hikes in the Archie Creek Fire area of the North Umpqua River
With the trails reopening Diana and Connie went on post fire hike to Fall Creek Falls and Susan Creek Falls. Fall Creek Trail bridge is replaced. The view is of the charred remains of the high intensity fire. There is lush undergrowth and seedlings sprouting with the falls as lovely as ever.
At Susan Creek [...]
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT: AMERICORPS SUPERHEREOS
By Kasey Hovik
Fall is always an exciting time for Umpqua Watersheds and me personally because it starts another term for our AmeriCorps program. We are very proud of all the AmeriCorps who have served with us over the last 12 years. Each year our AmeriCorps members continue our environmental education programs which provide so [...]
WHATS NEW IN OUTREACH
While we continue to face challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are progressing to a new normal in which we are all doing what we can to return to the favorite things we enjoyed prior to the pandemic. Students have returned to the classroom after two years of [...]
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: STATE OF THE UMPQUA
On a recent trip to Minnesota via Canada, we visited the west side of the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We had heard about forest harvest practices there and so we were not surprised that very little primary forest remains in this area. Of course, in the Olympic National [...]
Education Update
Exciting New Radio Show Coming Soon!
We will be partnering with Stone Soup Leadership Institute and Green Teacher to produce a podcast featuring the inspiring stories of young change-makers from around the world. Stay tuned for more information! If you would like to offer financial support for this collaboration, please contact our Executive Director [...]
UMPQUA WATERSHEDS PETITION FOR THE LISTING OF SPRING CHINOOK SALMON
Well, here we go again! As most of our faithful members know, Umpqua Watersheds – and a handful of sincerely committed members in particular – has been working for years to preserve the Spring Chinook population of the Pacific Northwest. Because we are passionate about this keystone species, especially the [...]
KQUA UPDATE
So many great things are happening at KQUA. We are set to reach large parts of the county, we are expanding our programming, and we have more great things in the works.
We are making some progress on getting KQUA up to full power. When KQUA reaches full power, it will [...]
THE KEYSTONE ROLE OF OAKS IN PNW ECOSYSTEMS
By Ken Carloni
A couple of decades ago, a timber company clearcut all the conifers in a forest adjacent to a historic property in Yoncalla. While this was a shocking event for the stewards of that land, they were relieved to see that at least the centuries-old oaks on the property had been left [...]
CONSERVATION ON A SMALLER SCALE
I often write about what our Conservation Committee is doing, the challenges we face in our efforts, and inevitably, the ongoing uphill battle of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Writing to you in this way keeps you apprised of our efforts and ongoing struggles. But it has occurred to me that [...]
Guest Article: ANNUAL MOONLIGHT TREK AROUND MT. THIELSEN
Over thirty years ago I began an annual trek encircling Mt. Thielsen in the Winema and Umpqua National Forests. The inspiration was Holly Jones, who was the head social science librarian at the University of Oregon. He served on the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors in the 70s and was [...]
Learning in the Umpqua
LEARNING IN THE UMPQUA WATERSHED
By Ryan Kincaid
Thank you to everyone who helped make our second annual Learning in the Umpqua Watershed (training for local educators) a success. Fourteen teachers and homeschooling parents participated in this year’s training, and we had presenters from various communities in Oregon, as well as a couple from California [...]
Big Tom Right-of-Way Update
By Janice Reid
I spent 33 years studying the federally listed northern spotted owl (NSO) for the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station in the Roseburg Bureau of Land Management (RBLM) office. I took my position as a research scientist seriously and did not participate in the management side of federal employment. Over the [...]
Applegates At Crater Lake
By Susan Applegate
I wrote this article with the hope that the National Park Conservation Association would print it in their magazine, but they had already planned to publish articles focused on William Gladstone Steel, a man who devoted a great portion of his life to making this a National Park. They declined to accept [...]
Outreach Update
It was wonderful to see nearly 100 people at the Umpqua Watersheds 26th Annual Membership Banquet on Sunday, May 1st—our first in-person banquet in two years and our first outdoor banquet ever. It felt so good to talk to people that we’ve missed seeing over the pandemic. Widespread Haze provided [...]