Volunteers keep vigil over forests

SISTERS —Less than a week after they scrubbed graffiti from rocks and cleaned up paths winding alongside Whychus Creek, Terry and Keith Mischke found new cans, bottles and other trash Monday on the banks of the federally designated Wild and Scenic River.

And just recently, they spotted a freshly cut tree stump perched on a cliff.

“I just simply couldn’t believe this big, beautiful tree was gone,” Terry Mischke said.

The paths, caves and ecosystems along Whychus Creek south of Sisters could use some attention from trail crews and volunteer stewards like the Mischkes — work the U.S. Forest Service often doesn’t have the budget to cover, said Mary Vasse, with the National Forest Foundation.

And the National Forest Foundation, a grant-giving and grant-seeking nonprofit that focuses on U.S. Forest Service lands, will be directing a lot of attention toward Whychus Creek and the Metolius River for the next three years, Vasse said.

Its goal is to raise $700,000 for 18 local projects designed to improve recreation opportunities and wildlife habitat in the areas near both waterways. Vasse is working to match the projects with funds raised from private foundations and companies — trying to pair an outdoor outfitter that awards wildlife habitat grants with a restoration project in the Metolius River Basin, for example.

“We wanted to be proactive and really restore landscapes and restore people’s connection to the lands,” she said.

The Central Oregon forest is one of five — representing different types of forests across America — that will be a part of the National Forest Foundation’s “Treasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences” program, she said.

The Whychus and Metolius made the list because they are areas where nonprofits can help improve habitat for returning steelhead and salmon and fix up trails, Vasse said, but also because the foundation has good relationships with the Central Oregon groups that would be spearheading the projects.

And the restoration efforts should provide a chance for individual Central Oregonians to get involved with their neighborhood forests as well.

“There’s a lot of energy for volunteerism here, and we’re hoping to channel that,” she said.

The National Forest Foundation also has at least one unusual potential fundraising method. It has teamed up with a California winery, which is holding a contest on its Web site to award $50,000 for a restoration project.

Establishing a trail system along Whychus Creek is one of five candidates for the funds. Redwood Creek Winery will award the money to the project that gets the most votes online and via text message, and Vasse said she encourages people to vote often. The winery’s Web site, however, says it is only open to people of legal drinking age.

If Whychus Creek wins the contest, the money would go to a local nonprofit that would use trail crews to establish the trail system, she said.

Later projects over the next three years could include restoring nine miles of trails along the Metolius River, fixing up the Head of the Metolius site, removing invasive plants along Whychus Creek, supporting the Whychus Creek restoration project at Camp Polk and creating a program to match community volunteers with stewardship projects.

The Forest Service would be happy to have more people keeping an eye on Whychus Creek, said Maret Pajutee, Sisters Ranger District ecologist. Standing at the mouth of a cave overlooking the creek, she pointed out .22-caliber shells on the ground and a young, deformed tree.

“That funny-shaped little tree, it’s that shape because somebody shot its top off,” she said.

At another site, she pointed to ax marks in tree trunks and new stumps surrounding a trash-filled fire pit.

“It’s depressing that every time we come out here there’s another tree that’s gotten whacked,” she said.

The National Forest Foundation’s focus on the Whychus Creek and Metolius River areas could bring a broader base of funding to the area, said Brad Nye, conservation director with the Deschutes Land Trust. And that could mean more money for projects to help recreation sites or protect cultural resources.

“They bring another funding source and partner to the mix, and I think they’ll help get some neat stuff done on forestland,” Nye said.

Kate Ramsayer can be reached at 541-617-7811 or kramsayer@bendbulletin.com.