Dear Readers of The Dirt!
[Editor's Note: Last week's introduction on the topic of water obviously sparked some thought! And really, that speaks of a dream coming true - where The Dirt! serves as an active forum for participation, thought, input, discussion, and consciousness-raising. Thanks go out to Tricia Knoll, longtime reader of The Dirt!, Public Relations for the Portland Water Bureau, and Yone Akagi, Regulatory Compliance Manager of the Portland Water Bureau, for their thoughtful response that helped to deepen the discussion from our intro last week. LBN]
Cheyenne writes:
Let's continue with last week's topic of drinking water.
Most of us (most of the time) do not take the time to consider the source of our water. Especially when we live in a city where the water is so satisfactory, even delicious on a good day. But water is the centerpiece of a healthy society. The destruction of water ecology is swiftly and silently becoming the flashpoint of global environmental and cultural devastation. The story of water is always changing.
From building the first little cabin on the banks of the Willamette, in the spot that would one day become Portland, it took European settlers about sixteen years to foul the ground water. After the wells were abandoned, early Portlanders drank water from Caruthers Creek (now OHSU), Balch Creek (which still runs above ground through Forest Park), and of course the Willamette. But as the city developed, and the surrounding hillsides were deforested, our watersheds degraded. As Portland grew (and it grew quickly) the local water became foul and dangerous to drink (imagine taking a drink out of your local watershed today). It was clear that if Portland was going to have a drinkable water supply, it would have to come from some place away from the realm of human settlement. The forest would have to remain intact; the livestock would have to be kept out.
Bull Run is forty miles away from Portland as the crow flies. We city dwellers, who are so blessed to drink Bull Run water, do not live in the Bull Run Watershed. In fact few of us ever even get to see it. Thanks to early Portland visionaries, the land that drains in to Bull Run is, for the most part, entirely protected from human entry.
I highly recommend taking a water bureau tour of the Bull Run. To find out how, visit the Portland Water Bureau's web site.
Get to know the water. We cannot be human with out water. Enjoy the rain, and this week's edition of The Dirt!
Cheyenne
Spreading Roots, Spring Forth
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Two of the largest unprotected roadless forests on the West Coast, the North and South Kalmiopsis Roadless Areas, are threatened by imminent logging.
Join the Oxygen Collective on their biodiesel-powered bus tour to explore the story of Siskiyou forests, the controversial Biscuit logging project, forest fire ecology and the Bush Administration's assault on roadless forests. Get informed and get inspired at this action-packed multi-media event.
The fate of roadless forests in Oregon's Siskiyou mountains may influence the future of roadless lands across the nation. Come learn how you can help write the final chapter of this epic forest protection struggle.
Join your neighbors every Saturday from 8am - 1pm beginning May 6 until October 28 at the Hollywood Farmers Market! The Hollywood Farmers Market celebrates its tenth year of bringing fresh local produce from area farmers to your neighborhood. Shop for goodies, listen to live music, have your children's face painted, see cooking demonstrations, and enjoy the local harvest. No need to bring cash this year either, a debit/Oregon Trail Card machine is available for use. HFM is run by mostly all volunteers so there are many ways to get involved. Contact the Community Volunteer Coordinator, Caryn Servis at 503-803-7279 or email volunteers@hollywoodfarmersmarket.org to sign up.
Next week, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will decide the fate of the red knot, a unique shorebird whose very survival is threatened. If officials don't act quickly, our country could lose this amazing bird forever. Help save the red knot. Urge the Commission to approve its proposed two-year moratorium on the horseshoe crab commercial bait fishery.
The red knot's moment of truth is fast approaching and we desperately need your help again. This robin-sized shorebird travels from as far south as the tip of South America to the Canadian Arctic each spring to produce and raise its offspring. To make the last leg of its spectacular journey, it depends on the fat-rich eggs of horseshoe crabs laid on the beaches of Delaware Bay . Unfortunately, overfishing of horseshoe crabs has created a shortage in the crab eggs red knot's need to survive their migration. Scientists predict that the red knot could go extinct as soon as 2010!
SMFC has now proposed a solution to address the red knot's alarming situation: a two-year ban on the commercial harvesting of horseshoe crag eggs. This ban will provide a much needed "time out" for the red knot and give scientists and other officials more time to find a solution to the red knot crisis. Help us end a loud, clear message to ASMFC members that they ought to support the two-year ban and give the red know a second chance for survival.
Public comments are due MONDAY, APRIL 17, so please send your message today.
Thanks for your continued support of imperiled critters like the red knot. Without people like you, our nation's great wildlife heritage would be at great risk. With your help, we can prevent this special bird from becoming extinct.
Sincerely,
Claudia Tejada Riley
National E-Advocacy Associate
Defenders of Wildlife
1130 Seventeenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-385-9712
Founded in 1947, Defenders of Wildlife is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 495,000 donors that works to protect endangered species and their habitat.
Learn how to find, dig, transport, clean, and prepare cockle clams during one of the lowest tides in 2006. Learn gathering regulations and limits. Learn how Native Americans gathered these same clams.
What to Bring: : A 2006 Oregon Shellfish Collecting License. A collecting pail and mesh bag to hang on your belt, old wettable tennis shoes, very warm layered wool clothing (you will get wet), a towel, a change of cloths, a garden rake (hard solid metal rake, not a leaf rake), a backpack to carry all your stuff, water, a sac lunch, and plenty to snack on. Prepare for variable coastal weather! Meeting Site: We will meet in Tillamook. There will be no Portland car pooling for this event. If you are leaving from the Portland area, try to start from the intersection of I-5 and Hwy 217 in Beaverton by 6:35am, that should give you enough time to get to our meeting place. Meet us at the dirt lot behind the Dairy Queen: Be there by 8:10am. The Dairy Queen is at 440 Main Ave N, Tillamook, OR 97141 (Same as Hwy 101). Just before that, go to the bathroom at the Shell Station or other nearby store (force yourself - it's the last one you will see for 3 hours). Wait behind the Dairy Queen patiently in case we get delayed, get to know the other participants, read a book, change into your beach cloths. We'll swing by soon to pick you up and proceed on to the workshop site. You must be there when we arrive or you will miss us. We will not be carrying a phone with us.
Use the Registration Form available through the workshop page of our web site. For more information call Wild Food Adventures at (503) 775-3828: Enrollment Limited! - Advanced registration reserves you a place in the class. Walk ons may be turned away if our class limit is reached.
Dr Kallas will lead an expedition to the Pacific coast where participants will learn about, identify, and gather samples of wild sea vegetables and seashore edibles during low tide. Find sea vegetables including nori, kombu, sea lettuce, fucus, alaria, laminaria, stir fry seaweed and more. We'll also find and discuss mussels, coastal strawberry, salal, and other coastal edibles.
What to Bring: An Oregon Shellfish license, "only if you plan to collect mussels" - which we'll see on this trip. Warm layers of clothing, a sack lunch, beverage, collecting bags or buckets that you can hang from your belt, scissors & wet-tolerant footwear (old wettable tennis shoes or gripping aquatic sports shoes). It's not a bad idea to bring a small backpack and a waist pack to carry things so that your hands are free while walking through the potentially slippery inter tidal zone. Whatever you wear, it must protect your knees, shins, and hands. No sandals! Prepare for variable coastal weather!
Meeting Site: We will meet in Lincoln City. There will be no Portland car pooling for this event. If you are leaving from the Portland area, try to start from the intersection of I-5 and 99W in Tigard by 6:30am, that should give you enough time to get to our meeting place. Meet us at the Roads End State Parking Area in Lincoln City. Be there by 8:40am and wait patiently. Directions to the parking area: At the North end of Lincoln City on Hwy 101 is Logan Road. Finding Logan Road: [Logan Road is between Lighthouse Square {Bi-Mart & Good Will} and Lincoln City Plaza {Rite Aid & Safeway}). Logan road is also across from a MacDonalds.] Prepare to go North about 1 mile on Logan Road (Roads End), on the way you'll pass the Chinook Winds Casino on your left. Continue along the winding road. On your left (just after the Dory Cove restaurant, around N 60th Ave) is the State's "Roads End" Parking area. Use the restrooms and be prepared to car pool the rest of the way. Wait there patiently in case we get delayed, get to know the other participants, read a book, change into your workshop cloths. We'll swing by soon to pick you up and proceed on to the workshop site. You must be there when we arrive or you will miss us. We will not be carrying a phone with us.
Use the Registration Form available through the workshop page of our web site. For more information call Wild Food Adventures at (503) 775-3828: Enrollment Limited! - Advanced registration reserves you a place in the class. Walk ons may be turned away if our class limit is reached.