Thank You Volunteers!
by Lucy Applegate

Many thanks to all the energetic volunteers who helped with riparian planting projects this spring. Seventeen volunteers rolled up their sleeves and put on their garden gloves on March 23 to help us get our native plant nursery in working order for the growing season. Brickyard Creek got a boost with a supplemental planting on April 13. Volunteers planted more willows, conifers, and shrubs to shade out the reed canary grass and cool the water for growing numbers of coho salmon. We also placed protective tubes on some trees to help prevent damage from small rodents. Our regular watering season at the nursery gets underway in mid-June, and we are always seeking volunteers to sign up for a weekly watering shift.

A volunteer from Cascades Job Corps plants a shrub on the banks of Aldon Creek
near Concrete on April 20.
A new fencing and planting project is underway at Aldon Creek near Concrete. On April 20 volunteers from Cascades Job Corps and Concrete High School helped us celebrate Earth Day by planting hundreds of trees and shrubs on the banks of Aldon Creek, previously eroded by cattle. A fence will limit the cows' access to the stream, allowing a healthy riparian zone to return. Big thanks go to Cascades Job Corps for consistently providing many hours of volunteer time each spring and fall to help restore riparian vegetation. Along with their dedicated Community Relations Coordinator, Bob Cockburn, these kids always arrive ready to dig in and get muddy! We really appreciate your help!