News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Steelhead and Chinook salmon may swim in Squaw Creek again - and not too long from now.
According to Forest Service fish biologist Mike Riehle, experiments will be conducted this winter to introduce fish above Pelton and Round Butte dams to see how well they swim through the reservoir.
A two-year stream monitoring program with the help of Sisters students has been integral to creating a restoration plan for the Squaw Creek watershed, which includes Indian Ford Creek.
Students monitored the health of the streams and their work was good enough to be used as evidence in a restoration plan being drafted by the Forest Service and watershed stewardship groups.
"We found a lot of exciting things out," Riehle said the Sisters School Board Monday, October 11. "We probably couldn't have done it without the school."
Barbara Lee of the stewardship organization Upper Deschutes Watershed Council noted that a $24,000 Governor's Watershed Enhancement Grant became available for the project because the students were donating their time and efforts to the project.
Science teacher Cheryl Butler led the project, where elementary and middle school students took readings from the stream that included oxygen and pH levels, the presence of macro-invertebrates and stream flows.
High school students helped conduct the tests and also led the younger students in their efforts.
Sisters High School student Matt Adams noted that the project had some real and immediate impacts on how Indian Ford creek is treated.
"We were able to change some of the grazing (regulations) that had an impact on the creek," he told the board.
Bessy Ward started with the project as a 7th grader and became a project leader.
"It was the most valuable experience I've ever received because it applied everything I've been learning in school," from leadership to math and science, she said.
According to Butler, who now teaches in Bend, and Barbara Lee, the monitoring of the creek by students will likely continue on some level, even though the grant money has run out.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)