Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Kent Connaughton, Regional Forester: Thanks for joining me for Regional Forester
TV or what I think it's going to become Region 6 Television.
I'm standing here on the Deschutes National Forest and behind me, you may be able to hear
the Metolius River running. I've spent a day and
a half on the Deschutes looking at all kinds of interesting things.
I couldn't be more impressed, as I have been across Region 6 with the work being done on
this National Forest and wished that all of you could have joined
me for this trip. I want to highlight one of the experiences that I've just had today.
To see the Tale of Two Rivers: the Whychus and Metolius River restoration. That is a
story of remarkable dedication by a group of people inside and
outside the Forest Service. Bringing together their knowledge, their
dedication, their view of the future in restoring these two watersheds and rivers. They're both
iconic. Some of the most beautiful places on the earth.
The people working on this are looking at issues of restoration,
issues of education, and issues surrounding monitoring of the restoration activities they've
got going.
Maret Pajutee, District Ecologist: This campaign is called the Tale of Two Rivers
because it's the story of two Wild and Scenic Rivers: the Metolius and Whychus. Whychus
we call the lost river. It lost it's water, it lost
it's name and it lost it's fish. People pretty much stopped caring about it. Through the
work of many people dedicated people and the re-introduction
of fish through Pelton-Round Butte Dam, Whychus is getting it's fish back, it's water
back, and it's name back. People are really excited
about this wonderful wild river we have in our backyard.
The other river, the Metolius, everyone has heard of. It's the river that is an old friend.
It's the river that's been loved to death from, showing a
lot of wear and tear from years and years of many
happy families recreating here. It has many facilities that need updating, lots of riparian
areas that are popular for fishing that have become
de-vegetated and need restoration. So these two
rivers share the story of a great loss and a great re-birth.
Kathleen Dowd-Gailey: National Forest Foundation has a variety of
ways in which we operate. We look for creative opportunties and ways
to engage new audiences in the enjoyment of national forest lands. At the Whychus and
Metolius Treasured Landscape site, we've had the pleasure of
working with a wide variety of partners. This has included
everything from the artists community to the local brewery to non-profit groups like Trout
Unlimited, and the watershed council to the Sisters Chamber of
Commerce. We like to help bring new ways and new people
together to partner and to find creative opportunities to benefit the national forest lands.
Kent Connaughton, Regional Forester: I'm wearing a hat right now. It's the Children's
Forest for the Deschutes National Forest. That's a gateway
for students all over Central Oregon to their riches of their natural environment. Many
of those places that serve as sites for the Children's Forest are on the Deschutes.
We have them here on the Metolius and the Whychus River. There was a time
when there was no water in the Whychus River at certain times of the year. That's been
restored and along with that should this year be the first steelhead returning
from their journey to the ocean. These are triumphs of public interest
and public policy simultaneously. They're also triumphs of community interests. People
working together to make things happen in their environment. I couldn't be
more proud to work inside the Forest Service and be part of this.
I wish all of you could be here, and I'm hoping with the film taken here is that you can get
a feel for what's been achieved. It's happening elsewhere, It's
an inspiration, and I hope you're as equally inspired as have been I.
Thank you.