Metolius headwaters get a cleanup

The headwaters of the Metolius has been getting a haircut that has been missing for some time, said Scott Blau, of Friends of the Metolius (FOM).

The cleanup along the Metolius is part of a long-term project by the Forest Service and the Johnson family, owners of the land surrounding the headwaters, to restore the living, breathing landscape cherished by visitors and residents alike.

Maret Pajutee, of Sisters Ranger District, discussed the importance of the work the Forest Service is doing on the Metolius.

"The Head of the Metolius is sometimes the only place visitors to the area see. People bring their families. It's an iconic place and it needs some refreshing," Pajutee said. "We had a Youth Conservation Corps crew out to get rid of the graffiti. The Johnsons did some riparian thinning."

Last week, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council students, under the guidance of Randy Morris, joined the Forest Service and a FOM volunteer at the site to plant trees and shrubs along the banks near the headwaters.

"This is the perfect time for planting," Morris said. "The trees are going dormant now, so they don't need maintenance. They'll get moisture this winter."

Senior Thomas Hargett caught an air pocket around one of the newly planted trees.

"Mike Riehle (district fish biologist) taught us about planting. When you plant trees in the ground they are in shock and you really have to pack them down so there are no air pockets, or they could die," Hargett said.

State Senator Betsy Johnson, owner of the land surrounding the headwaters feels responsible for the river.

Before their death, her parents, Sam and Elizabeth Johnson, ceded the land to her with special instructions: to be a steward of the river.

"I took up what had been Mother's charge to me, and that was, first, the partnership with the Forest Service - let's make the headwaters look good," Johnson stated. "I met with Bill Anthony (Sisters District Ranger) and we laid out a plan to get the headwaters fleeced up. That included removing an actual snag that had fallen across the spring." The clean up has just begun.

"We did a lot of pruning back of vegetation which had grown up and made it harder to see the water. Many people, because they couldn't exactly see the headwaters, invited themselves to jump over the fence and go down into the water," Johnson said.

The Johnson family provided the government a scenic easement in the mid-1960s, always keeping in mind, how do we protect this fragile precious place.

"It's important to consider the topography of the river," Johnson said. "It's not just one spring. It's multiple springs all over the banks. When people go in there trampling on it, they are doing a great deal of damage. The whole point is to discourage people from doing that because they are actually stomping on some of the little side springs that continue to feed - historically thought of as the main spring of the Metolius. There are little springs all along in there."