Mountain Talk

Clackamas River

by Brian Eberhardt

I have grown up and lived in Oregon for my entire life. As one of the few locals in the NWSA branch of AmeriCorps, I didn’t expect to be surprised by new area – but I have been!

My only previous connection to the Clackamas River Basin had been Bagby Hot Springs, a wonderful bubbling sanctuary on the south-east side of my district, equipped with private cedar tubs and plenty of eccentric regulars.

So when I was offered a tour down the Clackamas River Canyon, I jumped at the opportunity. As I drove southeast along HWY 224, I was quickly

100 ft Pup Creek Falls

impressed by the powerful majesty of the Clackamas River. Who knew that the little town of Estacada, Oregon – a community that had flourished as a timber town before the Spotted Owl legislation – was the gateway to such a gem? From the overhanging basalt cliffs to the Clackamas River Narrows (frequented by kayakers and campers), from stands of old-growth red cedar and hemlock to the 100-foot Pup Creek Falls – this lightly-used area invites exploration!

Since that first day driving along the teal, white-capped Clackamas River, my respect for the area and the people that manage it has continued to grow. I feel privileged to be an AmeriCorps intern in my district and look forward to continuing to promote connections between the local community and the natural environment.

by Amy Hulstein

After I graduated I wanted to do something with AmeriCorps that was totally different and new to me and that would help to make something better.  Coming from a social sciences background with a Bachelor in Criminal Justice and a Spanish Minor, I thought that working for Mt. Hood National Forest would be about as different an experience as I could get.  I knew going from living in a city of 850,000 people in the flat land of Nebraska to living in a town of 300 people with a view of Mount Hood outside my door would be quite a change, but I don’t think I could have predicted all of the amazing events and programs with which I would have the opportunity to get involved.

In March I will help youths from the Washington School for the Blind to cross-country ski.  That’s an experience I never thought I would have.  It’s been really interesting to learn more about the needs of the blind and vision-impaired, and I am looking forward to putting my new found knowledge to use on the ski trails and in my interpretation station about birds and animals.  I feel privileged to be able to play a role in this event and to help these youths to learn to cross-country ski and to develop an interest in the natural world.

I am also preparing for the Better Living Show event at the Portland Expo Center from March 26^th to March 28^th.  It is a show that aims to educate people about conservation and living green.  Mt. Hood National Forest will have a big, salmon-shaped tent set up for kids.  Inside the tent there will be a storyteller, games, and other fun activities.  I am really excited to help educate the kids and make learning fun for them as well as to walk around and explore all the other displays and tables so that I can also educate myself.  Plus, it’s just really cool that the tent is shaped like a salmon.

So far my experience working with Mt. Hood National Forest has been everything and more that I hoped for when I accepted the position.  I am looking forward to all of the events and programs in which I will get to participate.  I feel as though I am helping to make something better, and by doing that also improving myself.  I’ve always believed that when you engage yourself in volunteerism and in your community, you get back much more than you can ever give, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying to give more.

Office View

by Karly Hedrick

I had already identified my most urgent objective for my internship in Sisters last November: sneak my way into the Smokey Bear costume. Those of you who know me are familiar with my penchant for animal costumes. I have been known to rock a kangaroo outfit on a Friday night.

 Unfortunately, friends, my schedule has allowed for little time to air out this magnificent garment and due to a certain hygienically challenged individual, ample air-out time is necessary before I can begin my Smokey journey.

Instead I have been busy setting up the Sisters Volunteer Bank, a new project created by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, the National Forest Foundation and the Deschutes National Forest’s Sisters Ranger District. There is no business plan, no board of directors, no website, no idea of which services we will provide as a volunteer center. There is instead enthusiasm, determination, and a vision statement I wrote on my first day: “the Sisters Volunteer Bank envisions the creation of a more cohesive

Sisters Country

community striving towards the conservation and restoration of our shared public lands, and an enhanced community spirit nourished by active and engaged volunteers and collaborations.”

My first step is to interview key nonprofits and organizations in Sisters Country to assess their volunteer related needs. So far I have met with representatives of Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, Sisters Folk Festival, Friends of the Metolius, Sisters Kiwanis Club, Sisters School District, Redmond Sisters Hospice, Wolftree, and Upper Deschutes Watershed Council.

I have been interviewed by our community bastion of truth, the Nugget News, by a man named Jim Cornelius whose rumbling bass voice vibrated through my sternum, rendering me incapable of coherently answering his questions.  

Karly in the news!

I am also beginning to plan the first of many volunteer events I will host here in Sisters. My first Friends of the Forest Day will be on Earth Day and I am meeting with the Sisters Schools to integrate a service learning element to this project. It will include volunteer projects on both the Metolius and Whychus watersheds.

I also had the pleasure of attending the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce annual event: the Black and White Gala. While I do enjoy dusting off the old black stilettos and bedecking myself in all black and white, I have high hopes for my outfit next year. Next year I want to wear head to toe brown… fuzzy brown… Smokey Bear brown.

by Stacie Powell

By day, we are primarily cubicle-dwelling AmeriCorps members of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge’s Environmental Education team. We ensure that the visiting public, school groups, volunteer Naturalists and science educators discover the Refuge’s mission of Connecting People with Nature. From early morning until late afternoon, we come to the federal government administration building and reply to emails, answer phones, plan projects and execute our mission. But by night……we lead the unaware into a place of crazed coyote calls, banishment by beavers, frog frenzies, and waterfowl wildness. This, my friends, is a new Refuge ritual referred to as the Owl Prowl. 

You may be asking why we would want to go walking in the woods at night, in February, in Oregon. It’s not just a yearning desire to be cold and wet……it’s owl mating season, of course. There is no better time to invite the public for a unique after-hours tour of the Refuge.

Advertising was minimal at best, yet there was a waiting list of ecology clubs, young couples, families with children, serious birders and local companies looking for exciting employee outings. Four sessions later, over 50 community members discovered the nocturnal world of our Wildlife Refuge. After preparing slide shows, skulls, pellets and downloading owl calls onto a cell phone, my AmeriCorps cohort, with I as her assistant, opened the doors. The evenings began with a slideshow and discussion of which owls reside in the Willamette Valley, what amazing adaptations these feathered friends have that make them such skilled night time predators, and the most important information of all…..how to find them.

Once the group was fully prepared to use there deer ears, owl eyes and fox walk (sensory awareness skills), our Owl Prowl began. The 1.8 mile hike starts at the wetland ponds, where breeding season produces a deafening chorus of frog calls. Until we get within 10ft. of the water…..and then there is silence. My partner in prowling uses this opportunity to call for the Western Screech Owl common on the property, but with no luck so far. The walk continues through the Oak Savannah and on to the River Overlook, where we encounter very distraught beavers, appalled that we would enter their house uninvited. On the edge of the Riparian Forest the Great-Horned Owl finally responds to us; only to be outdone by a pack of coyotes howling and screaming from not-far-enough away. One woman and a few children think we should definitely turn around at that point, but we persevere. The hike culminates, not with a raptor sighting, but with some very good duck luck. As we reach the wetland observation deck, our night vision is stronger, but when roughly 1,000 ducks take flight at once from 50ft. away, your eyes are completely unnecessary. You can feel the power and grace of the flock as the air around you vibrates until it’s suddenly over and your world perspective is just a little different than before take-off. Finally, the hike back is filled with quiet, yet encouraging comments from the kids, the couples and the professionals. Many had no idea such an amazing place was within their city limits. To respond to the excited inquisitions of “when can we come back?” we simply end our night by saying “stay tuned for next month…….when the owlets arrive”.