BLUE RIVER CURRENTSBlue River Ranger District

Willamette National ForestSummer 1991

Announcing...

The Cascade Center for Ecosystem ManagementThe Blue River District has ahistory of being a focal point forboth research and research applica-tions. Last year we conducted over40 tours for our "customers," per-sons involved in industry, peoplefrom other agencies, forest serviceemployees from other forests andregions, persons involved withenvironmental groups, the media,and non-affiliated persons interestedin what we do here at Blue River andon the Andrews Forest.In addition, last year the programsand projects of the District and theAndrews were featured in newspapersas diverse as the Portland Oregonian,New York Times, Statesman Journaland Worldwatch. In line with ourhistory as a center for "new forestry"discussions, and consistent with thenew perspectives philosophy thatthe Forest Service continues to

follow, the Willamette National Forest is joining forces with thePacific Northwest Research Station (PNW) and Oregon State Univer-sity (OSU) to establish the Cascade Center for Ecosystem Manage-ment.

Focusing on the unique relationship between Blue River and the H.J.Andrews Experimental Forest, the Center will:

promote collaboration and information exchange between appliedand research foresters

oversee demonstration areas

study the human aspects of forest issues

feature public involvement in all phases of its operation.Did you know that The Andrews Experimental Forest conductedmuch of the ecological research that precipitated the recent changesin management of national forest land in the region? The CascadeCenter is an expansion of our historical relationship with the An-drews. Its purpose will be to address the growing interest in forestresearch, to expand research agendas, and to develop, test, and applynew information in forest management. The aim will be to provide

New Perspectivesat Blue River by John Cissel and

Cynthia Orlando

better information, new approaches, and more agreement in forest practices in the Northwest.

Adaptive Management

"Adaptive Management" is a mode of operation with which you may already be familiar. It is an active,information-seeking strategy, guiding the design of management, research, and monitoring projects at theCenter.

The first premise of adaptive management is:

We do not — and may never — know all that we would like to about the operation of forest systemsand their relationship to social systems, i.e. people, but we must proceed to manage them in the face ofthis incomplete knowledge.

The second premise of adaptive management:

New information will be shared, and forest management modified accordingly.

( Partnerships

Partnerships will also play an important role in the CascadeCenter for Ecosystem Management. Some examples:

Lookout Creek Old-Growth TrailFish Habitat ImprovementsCougar Hot Springs

More information about the Cascade Center for EcosystemManagement will be forthcoming at District Meetings and infuture issues of Blue River Currents. If you have questions orsuggestions about the Cascade Center, please feel free to talkto John Cissel, Lynn Burditt, or Cynthia Orlando.

Research Info Shared at "Field Daze"The H.J. Andrews held their second annual "Field Daze" in early June. The intent of the 2-day event whichtook place at the Andrews and other parts of the District was to provide a forum for researchers to sharetheir latest findings with students and with one another.

Cascade Center - cont.

Landscape Level BiodiversityCCook-Quentin Minimum FragmentationUpper Fall Creek Landscape Analysis*Augusta Creek Landscape Analysis(planning stage)

About the Newsletter:Are there subjects of interest you wouldlike to see more about in future issues ofBlue River Currents? All feedback iswelcomed.

Submissions: Black & White photos re-produce best although clear color pho-tos are also acceptable. Articles may beedited in the interest of space.

To those who submitted articles for thenewsletter, many thanks for yourcontributions...and to those who didn't,there's always next time!Cynthia Orlando, Editor

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Summer 1991 Summer 1991

Projects developed under adaptive management are designed to rapidly gain and apply information.

The Center will share information through tours, formal and informal presentations and publications, semi-nars, and possibly even videos. Our objective is to develop an information cycle in which new information isintegrated with existing knowledge, evaluated, and used to modify or realign forest management. The Centerwill involve citizens in all stages of the adaptive management process.

Three Phases of Operation

Three overlapping phases will be featured in the Center's operation. In Phase I, management questions,public questions, and research questions are identified, focused, and prioritized. Some prioritization of issueshas occurred via the Andrews/District Staff meeting held at the Unitarian church in Eugene last Fall, and viathe Augusta Steering committee here on the District. High priority questions will drive project designs.

In Phase II, projects are carried out. Projects may take the shape of demonstrations, monitoring, or research.Demonstrations will test operational feasibility, answer questions that can be answered with minimal datacollection and analysis, exchange information, and provide a forum for dialogue.

Research projects will produce scientifically reliable, statistically valid answers to difficult, long-term ques-tions. Monitoring projects will examine the effectiveness of management plans and actions and providevaluable data for research projects.

Phase II Demonstration Areas on the Blue River District

Demonstration Areas are places on the district that provide examples of things like monitoring, research, andcurrent management practices, such as:

Stand Level Silviculturp

- Ennis #3- Sinne #5- Cougar #1, 2, 3(planning stage)Paws #1 & 3Stockstill #2 & 4Slim Scout #2, 3, & 4Wildwood #1 & 2Englemann Box #1, 2, & 3O'Leary #1 & 3Tweenum Annie (planning stage)

C Monitoring: DSnag use in new harvest units*Green tree use in new harvest units*Fish habitat improvement:effectivenessRetrospective streamflow / land use historyand relationshipQuartz Creek down wood in streams

Fred Swanson (Forest Science and Geology), Art McKee (Plant Com-munity Ecology), Stan Gregory (Fisheries and Wildlife,), Mark Harmon(Forest Science), and Gordon Smith (Hydrology) were among the re-searchers who shared ongoing research information with a group ofstudents at "Field Daze."

Fred welcomed the diverse group - which included students fromUniversity of Washington, Yale, and 6 visitors from Japan - to theAndrews, and provided them with an overview of the history and pur-pose of the H.J. For some of the attendees, "Field Daze" provided anopportunity for their first-ever visit to a Pacific Northwest forest.

At a streamside stop, the group learned from Stan Gregory the impor-tance of stream ecosystem processes. Streamside canopy gap dynamicswere discussed and students learned that flooding, not fire, causes thelargest and most frequent disturbence to the landscape.

With Mona Creek basin as a backdrop, the group listened intently to anafternoon discussion on landscape management led by Fred Swansonand John Cissel. The group also visited the "Gap" timber sale area anddiscussed management practices at the Slim Scout sale area.

Research:

Long-Term Site Productivity*Young Stand ManagementAlternative Silviculture *Basin-Level Hydrology Modeling *Landscape Scenario EvaluationLog DecompositonInvertebrate Taxonomy and FunctionLandscape and Regional Biodiversity *Fish HabitatStream Ecosystem FunctionOld Growth CharacteristicsSpotted Owl Demography and Life History

- Forest Stand Dynamics and Ecology

* activities that are also occuringon other Ranger Districts

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I tlse.xarrie rittsisage!

What's News in the

by Lowell Nelson

1984 Commemorative Envelope

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Summer 1991

Summer 1991

Through the Eyes of theDelta Hosts, Summer '90by Paul & Melodie Pettyjohn

Coming back home after 20 yearsto Blue River and being at DeltaCampground seen through theeyes of adults brings forth the realworld that always surrounded usas kids. Both Paul and I experi-enced "country living" as kids,learning the sought-after secrets ofthe forest and feeling at homeeverywhere in the wild places.

As we walk through the park witha peaceful easy feeling, we gazeabout us to the vine maples, oaks,cedar, fir and big leaf maple thatbring back our childhood days.Paul is from Morton, Washington,45 miles from Mt. Rainier. I amfrom Yoncalla, Oregon, known asYellow Creek. Memories for theboth of us can often be relived bybeing here.

I always refer to Delta as "God'sPark." No proof is needed whenone can look around and be ableto see and hear and feel the beau-tiful area. People are attracted toalcove sites where they can go andbe alone, canopied by vast treebranches that reach out in kin-dered friendship. Lush ferns,thick soft moss that we love toexamine (for each looks like a tinyminiature fern), sweet sounds andsunlight...for this, perhaps, weeach dream of such a place.

We enjoy campers that come fromall over America and foreigncountries, finding joy in the swim-ming hole in #4's backyard,basking in it, or cooling off fromthe sun with their feet in the waterwhile sitting in foldingchairs...laughing merrily and

having a wonderful time. Squealsand precious noises can be heardthroughout the campground byjoyful children carried on the airas it echoes, bouncing off thebanks and tree branches, whichseem to sway with the merry tune.

I often join in with happy campersand sit under a canopy of stars.Fire light dances, producingghostly shadows, but spiritedmusic warms joyful hearts as westrike up a note...soon we have achorus of sweet sounds.

"Firelight dances,producing ghostlyshadows..."Ah yes, those charming old redcountry hand pumps that havedrawn many visitors and com-ments. They add a rustic scenethat is a part of Delta.

Paul and 1, like visitors, enter intoDelta Nature Trails' solitude. Apleasant peace soothes and ca-resses our senses unlike anythingwe've ever felt, like being in lovefor the first time. Just to stand onthe bridge in the heart of the traillooking out over a watery space ofblue and green, clouded whisps ofpuffed scenes from some place wethought we'de been...but then, notreally!

Even though we've been raised inthe forest, we never knew what anurse log was till we were intro-duced to our new surroundings.Interesting to learn that a rottingtree is a feeding station. "Lifefeeding on life"...mmm, a catchyphrase.

We have immensely enjoyedknowing our Recreational Man-ager Roberto. Gabe and us haveawarded him several names:"Prince of the forest," "Yogi-Barra," "Imperial Green Leader"(Gabe). We have come to lovehim not only as hosts under hiscommand...but friends that share,that can openly have fun that turnsinto laughter. His brown eyeshold a special feeling that a lot ofpeople miss, except for those wholook deep into his "heartedbeing." He will always be specialto us...and the day he leaves BlueRiver Ranger District will be a sadday for the hosts.

We thank Lynn Burditt and RickLey for the 'first ever' winter hostexperience and challenge we havebeen allowed to experience ashosts. Though we found it re-warding, Mr. Winter did give usquite a surprise! Staving throughwith iced pillows and walls, thegenerator saved us, and the fullmoon on the forest in snow wasbreathtaking.

Here at Delta, visitors are wel-comed and hot coffee and lunchare offered with warmth andsharing. We have enjoyed beinginstrumental in several projectssuch as painting and puttingtogether picnic tables with theLyons Club. Roberto and Paulput up Aufderheide scenic signsalong roads 19 and 126. Roberto,John Morehead, ourselves and ourdaughter Rebecca took part inrestructuring the Terwilliger HotSprings sign, putting in the foun-dation, then painting and putting itup. We undertook the chore ofsweeping by hand Delta parkroads. We had fun becausecampers joined in, in trade for abig chili dog feed...visitors gener-ally are glad to work with us in

Hosts, cont.trade for hot meals, and we gainfriends and an attitude of caring.We've met wonderful life-timefriends.

We had a great time at the Neigh-borhood Watch Picnic whereuponwe ate and chit-chatted withNancy Simpson, Dave Burch andhis wife.

We will always love Delta, and aslong as time permits we will beher caretakers with the greatestcare and love we can give. Wecherish our experiences andfriendships with folks from Cou-gar Maintenence, the RangerStation, the other hosts, LowellNelson, who is charming and fullof life, and of course, Roberto.

Of course Gene Flint would notbe Gene without his beard andhat, that make up his handsomelooks, with his twinkling blueeyes and ready smile. Charleneand Kat, the ladies we hardly seebut rely on, are always ready torender services to a voice on theother end...their helping hand andsmiles help to make for a goodday. Warm smiles of Bill Reppyand Bennie Moore seem to ease aday's burdens.

The willingness to share and tomake someone laugh and smile isworth the effort. We thank all ofyou who have befriended us.

Delta Hosts Paul & Melodie

Editor's Note: Hosts Paul & Melodie areno longer with us...Our new Delta Hosts are Curtis &Dorothy Rutledge of Springfield.Welcome aboard, we're glad to have youhere!

There were enough people between Blue River andMcKenzie to merit holding our own Guard School (Fire 101) this year.So, instead of our people having to travel to Detroit or Rigdon, Lowelland Rigdon and the SO sent their people to us.

Unlike last year when the graduates didn't even get to take the finalexam (because they were shipped to a fire), this year's graduating classdid not even get to smell any smoke: the game was called on account ofrain. Not only did folks not get to dig line, they didn't get to find thewell-hidden contingency hose (just in case the graduates didn't catchthe fire in time).

Blue River's class of 1991 included: Ann Reed (Silviculture), PamelaWright (Plans), Aaron Pernela (Trails), Melissa Hiddleston (STEP), andMarty Patrick, Misty Skinner, Deb Stone and Kipchoge Ivan CodyGladstone Spencer (Fire and Fuels). And yes, that really is Kipchoge'sname...all of it.

Just to make a point of it all, the lightning storm that came through onJune 27th left a holdover strike on Hi-Yu ridge that finally came todiscernable life in the heat of July 1st. Summer is maybe finally here.

I know it felt like June was still winter... besides enjoying the sunshineof July, please be fire-ready when going to the field.

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C RREN 131,ati R.HV7R CURRENSummer1991 Summer 1991

Letters We Like to Receive

The following letter of thanks was received by the Ranger lastmonth:

Dear District Ranger Burditt:

This is a long overdue letter to express my appreciation andcommend two members of your staff, Theresa Legris andKathy Hiddleston, for their special efforts on my behalf.Approximately six weeks ago, I was hiking on the French Petetrail south of Cougar Reservoir. While changing in the[railhead parking lot following the hike, I apparently set myprescription glasses on top of my vehicle and left them thereupon switching to my sunglasses for the drive home.

It wasn't until I had returned to Eugene that I noticed myglasses were missing. Immediately suspecting what probablyhad happened (it isn't the first time I have performed such alame brain action), I called your office first thing on Mondaymorning with a rather long shot hope that perhaps someonemight find the glasses on the road before they were crushed,and turn them over to a Forest Service employee.

Kat was very pleasant and helpful in taking my phonecall andassuring me she would put the field staff on alert for myglasses. She even resisted the temptation to laugh or kid meabout my stupidity, something I'm not sure I could have done.A few days later Theresa called me to report she had found theclasses on the side of the road where someone had thought-fully probbed them on a stick supported by a pile of rocks.Theres not only called to deliver the good news, but went tothe extra trouble of delivering them personally to my home inEugene on her day off. I couldn't believe it!

I realize that it probably is seldom that someone calls or writesyou to compliment your staff or other aspects of NationalForest Service operations. I only regret that it has taken me solong to do just that. I was duly impressed with the personalattention I received for my little dilemma of stupidity and Itrust that you will pass that message on with my thanks to bothTheresa and Kat, and anyone else whom you'de care to shareit with. Of course I am also thankful to the anonymous soulwho went to the effort of removing my glasses from the roadand mounting them in a conspicuous location to be found. It'sa good feeling to know that I share the Forest with people likethem!

Sincerely,

Bill BrakkenEugene

Reservoir DiscolorationBrought About by NaturalCausesAn algae bloom at Blue River Reservoir createdsome interesting challenges for Blue River employeesjust prior to the Memorial Day weekend. On Thurs-day, May 23, a bluish-green fluorescent substance wasspotted floating within the reservoir along the westside of Saddle Dam.The material was not immediately identifiable as anatural substance, so the decision was made to investi-gate further. Spencer, Inc., a private environmentallab, was contacted and arrived at the reservoir fridaymorning just after midnight. Preliminary informationindicated an unnatural substance so the decision wasmade to advise the public against ingesting fish caughtin the area. Subsequent testing indicated that there wasno chemical contamination.Both Mike Gibson of Spencer, Inc., and Stan Gregoryof OSU and the Andrews agree that the funny discol-oration was brought about by natural causes, specifi-cally, a blue-green algae known as anabaena.So what did this stuff actually look like? Ward de-scribed it as flourescent turquoise in color, dilutedwithin the top 1 - 2 feet of water. Along the shorelineit took on a different appearance with thick accumula-tions of 1/8 - 1/4" in depth, and a sort of "dryingpaint" appearance that looked very unnatural. "Thisalgae type can grow explosively and deplete oxygen inthe water, but it also dies off very quickly," addedWard.

A Fine Day for Fishingby Jim CapursoThe Blue River and McKenzie Ranger Districts spon-sored a Fishing Derby for Free Fishing Day this year atBlue River Reservoir. The Fishing Derby, put on in co-operation with The Emerald Empire Northwest Steel-headers, was held from 8:00 to noon at Lookout BoatRamp on Blue River Reservoir. The derby includedlongest fish caught and distance casting contests forkids. There were interpretive displays, boat rides, andfishing instructions for the kids. Area merchantscontributed lots of prizes and gifts! The activities weregeared toward children age 14 and under, and morethan 50 young people attended!

cont. next page

Roberto & Gracie Ybarra:Roberto and Gracie moved on thissummer to the Tonto BasinRanger District. Roberto isstaying as busy as ever as Recrea-tion Manager while Grace enjoysthe challenges of being both aninformation receptionist andworking in timber.

Adieu to:We've bid farewell to several em-ployees this past year. They'regone but not forgotten! We heargood things from:

John Fish: John was promoted toGS-802-11 on the WenatcheeNational Forest. He's enjoyinghis new job which deals with thereclamation of mine tailings.

Hal Stadel: Hal's enjoying hisnew job as Administrative Officeron the Oakridge Ranger District.

The Blue River District workforcehas gone through a number ofchanges this past year. Amongthem:

Happy Trails

Norm Barrett just received apermanent full-time position aswildlife biologist in Kemmering,Colorado.

Laura Sammy has moved on tothe sunny environs of Florida.

Andy Miller has moved on to theH.J. Andrews Experimental Forestwhere he continues to work inwildlife.

Aimee Walker was offerred andaccepted an NTE-2 year promo-tion to GS-11 with the BLM.

Moves On-District:Tere de Silva (HJ.A. / G.I.S.)Elaine Peterson (Information

Receptionist)Charlene Mikkelsen (Recreation

Technician)

"NTE" Employees:

Ranger Lynn measures a fish caught bysome lucky youngster at "Free FishingDay"

Fishing Day, cont.

At 1:00 p.m. a ribbon cuttingceremony was held at the newbarrier-free access fishing site atTrail Bridge Reservoir on theMcKenzie Ranger District. Rep-resentatives from Oregon Depart-ment of Fish and Wildlife, EugeneWater and Electric Board, McK-enzie Ranger District, and thephysically challenged communitywere on hand to celebrate theircooperative accomplishment andto look toward future challengesin providing barrier-free recrea-tional opportunities.

Resigned:David Sakota andMary Gautreaux

Pat Greenlee took a lateral to theSupervisor's Office and is reallyenjoying the challenges of herposition in wildlife.

Sam Smith recently received apromotion to wage supervisor GS-9 on the Prineville District of theOchoco NF, while Dona Harbickwas recently promoted to Admin-istrative Officer GS-9 on theSilver Lake Ranger District of theFreemont.

Other News:Larry Bates was recently pro-moted to GS-9, and has passed histests for Engineering Representa-tive, while Mike Mattarese hasbeen receiving top scores in hisTFM class.

Congratulations, one and all! ! !

Smokey & company checking out afishing reel at Free Fishing Day

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CURRESummer 1991

Promotions and Awards

Pat-on-the-Back Awards:

Karen GearyMike MatarreseGene FlintLowell NelsonSam SwetlandGracie YbarraBarb CrawfordMichele VidalSteve GabrielCharlene MikkelsenDebbie ClausonElaine PetersonNorm Barrett

Employee of the Quarter:

* * Tere Desilva * * *

One Day in June...

The whole district turned out for "One Day in June" recently. Thanks go to KarenGeary for taking the lead role in organizing the day. 11ere, district employees pose fora group shot that will be included in our 10-year time capsule which will be opened inthe year 2001.

Charlene Mikkelsen is enjoying the many challenges of hernew job as Recreation Technician.

Congratulations, one and all!

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