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Monthly
Dispatch
Hey
people,
I
think things are finally winding down a little bit around here, after a wildly
busy field season. I’m still trying to get our new guy, Josh, out to see all
our projects before the snow starts piling up (Think positive, dang it. It will
pile up this winter!). We’ve been out to all of them but one, and that one
we’re going to see tomorrow if it’s not too nasty.
It’s
a pretty great project, actually, and I’m overjoyed at the prospect of making
more consistent progress on it now that we’re better staffed. The project is
in a relatively small watershed on the west side of
The ranch is about as old as they come around here. Originally it was mostly open water and emergent wetlands, which moved back and forth across the flats in response to annual precipitation and lake elevation. A small spring-fed stream ran down out of the trees and met the open water wherever the edge of the lake happened to be at the time. It was a very dynamic situation from year to year, as well as over longer spans of time, with channel morphology, wetland boundaries, and fish and wildlife usage in a fairly constant state of flux.
Sometime
during the last century we tried to get handle on all that unpredictability by
diking off the lake, berming the stream channel over to the edge of the bottom
ground, and digging a network of drains through the wet spots.
Since
those days, the times have changed somewhat, and so have the needs of the
landowner. He’s interested in trying to make the creek and the wetlands work
something like they used to, while at the same time trying to keep cattle on the
place. From what we’ve been able to find out, it appears that the changes that
were made early on have kept fish from hanging out in places that they really
liked, so we’re also trying to make it so they can go back to these places.
So
the idea is to put the creek back where it used to be, out in the middle of the
bottom ground. We’re also trying to find out if we can punch a hole in the
dike at the lake, so we can get some of the wetlands back. One of the troubles
with this idea is that quite a while ago they built a state highway right
through the middle of this place, thinking that dike was going to be there
forever. Now that we’re talking about taking it out we have the thorny issue
of all those cars that use the road (almost none of which have amphibious
capabilities).
Anyhow,
it’s a big giant project with direct benefits to just about everyone with an
iron in this fire. We’re tickled to be a part of it, and we look forward to
letting you know how things shake out.
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Before
I go, I feel it’s only right to give you fair warning: We here at KBEF are
aiming at having our first annual fundraising drive this year. Over the last
three years we’ve had great success turning this organization into a
reasonably well-oiled machine, making all kinds of good things happen, and
working with closely with the communities of the Upper Klamath Basin. What we
really want to do now is to make sure anyone who wants to can play a direct role
in getting this work done. So look for a letter, call or an email from us, with
an invitation to support us in any way you can. And we’ll try our best not to
be too annoying about it . . .
That’s
enough.
Salud,
Mike
“Money
is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.” --
J.
Paul Getty
Posted here with the permission of Mike Connelly - Executive Director of KBEF