Upcoming volunteer opporunities

We have several work parties planned for this Fall. The first will be Saturday, October 13th. We will be helping with the construction of the new Off Channel Wetland being added to the existing complex at the Thompson property on the Necanicum. We will be gathering Burreed wilding plugs, cutting bulrush thatch and helping to limb up conifers for placement in the complex. Bring waders,Gloves, Lunch and rain gear. This is a project that is being funded in part with TVTU dollars so come help out and see what we are spending our money on!

(see post below)

For carpooling, we will meet at the Imbrie road Fred Meyer, (22075 NW Imbrie Dr., Hillsboro, OR.), by the can return station at 8 AM. We will leave for the project at 8:15 AM. We can meet up at Klootchy Creek Park around 9:30 and go to Herb's from there. 

Our next work party will be Saturday, November 17th. We will be working at the North Coast Land Conservancies Thompson Creek property preparing for new beaver dams. For carpooling, we will meet at the Imbrie road Fred Meyer, (22075 NW Imbrie Dr., Hillsboro, OR.), by the can return station at 8 AM. We will leave for the project at 8:15 AM. We can meet up at Klootchy Creek Park around 9:30 and go to Thompson creek form there. Bring waders,Gloves, Lunch and rain gear.

Our final project for the year (actually our first of the new year) is an expanded tree collection effort. This year we have two sites to collect trees at. One is Northwest Flyfishing Outfitters at 10910 NE Halsey. The second is Royal Treatment Fly Fishing at 21570 Willamette Dr. in West Linn, Oregon.

We will be collecting trees on January 5th, 12th, and 19th, from 9 AM til 4 PM. We are looking for volunteers to take a shift of 2 to 3 hours each day. This was a pretty fun project last year and we all need an excuse to hang around a fly shop anyway, right? Let me know what days and hours you would like to come and help out.

Looking ahead to next Spring, We will be involved in placing all the trees we will collect. We intend to put more trees in more areas this time and will need more help to do that. I'll let you know when I have more info.

Be sure to let me know if you are interested in attending any of these fine events at TVTURestoration@gmail.com. 

Thanks for all your help.

Sincerely,

Michael Ellis

Conservation Director

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

Progress report on the Thompson off channel wetland project

 Photos and text by Douglas Ray

August 23rd, 2012:

Please find attached a number of photos from today.

Herb is now in his OCWC “Yoda mode “where he more or less levitates and is in deep zen mode while digging, digging, digging and more digging! Kind of a habitat restoration karma aura field where nothing else matters to him except creating the highest function salmonid habitat possible!

It is accurate to say that with him thinking about this for multiple years and using all he/we have learned with the other 2 OCWC he has there ( this as you know has the ultimate goal to expand improve and connect the two not separated OCWC habitats) and Neitzel in the logistics/ sequencing for construction to maximize efficiencies and make the most diverse highest function habitat humanly possible.

 The proximity of the laminar ground water was as close or closer than I had expected, for those who came down for the Course woody material mass placement and walked the proposed expansion site on the tour.

We have significant lateral ground water flow having ONLY removed the upper silts and alluvial cobble to the now as you see in the attached photos the grade of pure alluvial cobble rocks and wood that Herb can now have the excavator walk and sit on without generating turbidity  then begin to excavate a diversity of depths, slopes, contours, and terraces to completely max out the potential micro elevations and establish the very best balance of deep to medium to shallow aquatic habitat depths to help separate by space and depth fry and presmolts in the late spring when there is predation interactions, and allow the greatest possible diversity of elevations for aquatic emergent algae and bio film assemblages for primary production.

Diversity does matter fry and parr use shallow habitats presmolts as they mature and prepare to leave for the ocean concentrate in the deepest areas ( that makes sense after all they are preparing to live in the ocean!) This project provides for all stages of fresh water life history requirements and considers predation interactions between age classes in time and space.

Thank you again for the generous support to provide funding for the diesel, we just today pumped in another 81 gallons of fuel that gives Herb 3 long days of excavating and some for the dump truck as well.

We have immediate need for a restoration work party to collect nearby bulrush seed heads and thatch to use as Best management practices erosion control and to initiate the fringing wetland cells throughout the new OCWC.

Within the week Herb will have completed all the final excavation to create deep pools and diverse depths and place wood and finish the edge of the area in the attached pictures.

I am asking with appreciation in advance, for any TU or Rainlander volunteers to come out for half a day to help collect transport and spread wetland seed and thatch as the final finish to this part of the complex as he moves south as far as he can get until the fall rains begin.

Attached are two pictures of how it was used  @ Neitzel farm project

The other pictures are from today but this area will be fully built out and need treatment as soon as next weekend.

Thank you all advance please share as you see fit with TU chapter and Rainlander club members to see the progress of their incredible generous but fantastic use of their conservation investment to support salmonids and habitat in the Necanicum watershed!

August 31, 2012:

 FYI this is yesterday the nearly complete dig out of the 1st of 3 large

OCWC cells Herb is building on to number 2 this weekend!!7' to 12" with

super diversity of depths all over intentional to max depth diversity for

habitat diversity. The laminar water input is cold enough to give you a

headache if you jumped I will get temps this weekend but likely the classic

49 F ground water temp cold enough to get your attention and so important to

have manifested to provide summer thermal refugia when the mainstem is going

to the mid 60's...

Cheers,

Doug