Fall 2018
Stanley Petrowski
A River Dying?
It’s been a difficult summer for the anadromous fish of the Umpqua Rivers. The river was so hot that the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, to their credit, shut down much of the angling of the basin. Even the notoriously beautiful cooler waters of the North Umpqua were restricted [...]
Summer 2018
Stanley Petrowski
Restoration in the Age of Ecological Chaos
I am often challenged during agency and non-agency interactions regarding the efficacy of restoration work. Anyone even remotely aware of what it costs to conduct ecological restoration knows that the costs are exorbitant. The questioning of restoration efforts has caused me to take pause for evaluation. [...]
Spring 2018
Stanley Petrowski
No Water – No Life
It is obvious that water is one of the most critically important elements of creation. It is not so obvious that it is one of the most threatened elements that restoration ecologists and enthusiasts see on the horizon. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, the challenges facing our culture [...]
Winter 2017
Stanley Petrowski
Something Fishy Going on Here
This is the first time I have written two restoration committee articles in one of the 100 Valleys newsletters. This topic is so critically important that I felt it necessitated special attention.
Recently Umpqua Watersheds held its annual strategic planning session for the Board of Directors. During [...]
Winter 2017
Stanley Petrowski
Regaining Some of What Has Been Lost
Beginning in 2012 (I know, that seems like a long time ago), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) began its process of developing the latest version of the Oregon Coastal Multi-species Conservation and Management Plan. It took two years to come to the [...]
Fall 2017
Stanley Petrowski
Restoring Vital Signs
As a young man newly 20 years of age and just home from the war in Vietnam, I hit bottom. It wasn’t a pleasant experience because it was full of terror and lifelessness. From that bleak place, a slow but steady emergence began – and a healing, though gradual, [...]
Fall 2017
Stanley Petrowski
Restoring Vital Signs
As a young man newly 20 years of age and just home from the war in Vietnam, I hit bottom. It wasn’t a pleasant experience because it was full of terror and lifelessness. From that bleak place, a slow but steady emergence began – and a healing, though gradual, [...]
Spring 2017
Stanley Petrowski
SUCTION DREDGE MINING BILL PASSED!
Thank you to everyone who spoke out to stop environmentally damaging suction dredge mining! After receiving bipartisan support, Senate Bill 3A was recently signed by Gov. Brown, providing immediate protection to some of Oregon’s most sensitive waterways.
Suction dredge mining is a form of recreational gold mining that [...]
Spring 2017
Stan Petrowski
The Burden of Healing
From its very beginnings Umpqua Watersheds has had restoration ecology as a critical component of its agenda. The first decade or so was mainly devoted to the immediate and most important task. Slowing down of the level of damage to the habitat that was being reeked on the public [...]
Fall 2017
Stanley Petrowski
The Upper South Umpqua Spring Chinook by Stan Petrowski
The month of August has been a banner month for the harassed remnant of Spring Chinook on the upper South Umpqua river. As most of you know, this unique fish run is hanging on by a biological thread to survive. Although the USFS has [...]
