Posted: Monday, June 2, 2008 12:00 am
Local groups tour Dixon Creek's urban watershed - all of it
By Nancy Raskauskas
Gazette-Times Reporter
A tour sponsored by Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District along Dixon Creek on Sunday showcased numerous grassroots restoration projects along the stream's length.
The Dixon Creek watershed originates in the northwest hills and flows through Corvallis before reaching the Willamette River via a culvert that passes under Highway 20 near the Corvallis wastewater treatment plant. It flows through backyards, commercial properties and public spaces and is crossed by more than 30 bridges.
The tour included stops at Timberhill Green Space, Hoover Elementary, Northwest Hills Community Church, Jefferson Elementary, Porter Park, Corvallis High School, The Sleep Center on Ninth Street and the wastewater treatment plant.
More than 60 people participated in the event, including a large contingent of about 30 bicyclists who rode together from one location to the next.
Volunteers from Oregon Trout, Oregon State University, AmeriCorps, Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Public Works staffed the tour stops and answered questions.
In addition, several student groups, including the Hoover Habitat Heroes, Jefferson Keepers of the Creek, Cleaning Crawdads (a home-schooled group) and Corvallis High School's horticulture and leadership classes discussed their restoration projects along the creek.
For Corvallis resident Andrea Piccinin, who rode bikes along the tour route with her husband Scott and elementary-school aged daughters Katherine and Emma, an interesting realization from tour was that the creek has been severely channelized, which leads to faster waters and quick erosion.
"What you've got to realize is that we've treated these creeks like an inconvenience for most of the last century," said Piccinin.
Piccinin was impressed with restoration projects at Hoover Elementary and Northwest Hills Community Church that are trying to reduce erosion by slowing the creek and sloping the banks so the creek has space to spread out during high flows.
At CHS, Joe Percival, a Portland architect who was responsible for planning out the landscape of the new school grounds, discussed the challenges of building near waterways.
"The dynamic quality of the creek gives you some restrictions and some opportunities," he said.
"Dixon Creek gave us the opportunity to create a finger into the campus. So we could have sports fields and natural areas," said Percival as he discussed a bioswale area that collects and purifies runoff from the student parking lot.
CHS senior Tomas Merlin and AmeriCorps volunteer Sally Boyer were also on hand to talk about student projects along the banks of Dixon Creek, and they pointed out newly planted native plants along the banks.
Much of the recent work in the CHS area of Dixon Creek was completed by Brian Wake's horticulture class and Stephanie Lassetter's leadership class; they removed Himalayan blackberries and planted native plants.
"All of these these things we are talking about have to do with the local environment and the local ecosystem, but it also flows out into the Willamette," said Merlin. "What I want to stress is that the small things we do have global effects."
CHS students Miguel Camacho, John McDonnell and Bryant Beck presented student projects on mapping, water-quality monitoring and wildlife at another site a few blocks downstream, where a fish trap has been placed in the stream and bank reinforcements have been added.
The three were optimistic about how the stream might look in the coming years.
"Nature is much tougher than we give it credit (for being)," said Beck.
Those who wish to embark on a self-guided tour of Dixon Creek or to purchase "Friends of the Dixon Creek Watershed" t-shirts designed by Elizabeth Allen can visit the Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District office where tour brochures are available at 305 S.W. C Ave., in downtown Corvallis.Get involved
Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District
www.bentonswcd.org or 541-753-7208
City of Corvallis Parks and Recreation
http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=74
or 754-1739
City of Corvallis Public Works Stormwater Specialist
766-6454
Corvallis Sustainability Coalition Soil and Water Task Force:
www.sustainablecorvallis.org/committeesandtaskgroups
ODFW Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program:
www.dfw.state.or.us/STEP or 757-4186 ext. 251
Oregon State University Extension, 4H Wildlife Stewards Program:
wildlifestewards.4h.oregonstate.edu
SOLV Adopt a River:
www.solv.org/programs/oregon_adopt_a_river.asp
Willamette Riverkeeper: