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City streams, wetlands will be catalogued By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings While the importance of wetlands and riparian areas is often talked up by city officials and environmentally conscious residents, there is no inventory of such areas in the city. That is about to change, but the quality of the information gathered depends on the cooperation of residents. "If we don't get permission, then we can not go on their land (to perform the inventory), and the inventory will be conducted with off-site methods," senior planner Bill Molnar said. "The accuracy just won't be as good." The City of Ashland is preparing to conduct an inventory of wetlands and riparian areas, required by the state under Oregon's Statewide Planning Goal 5. Starting within the next two weeks, the city will start identifying and evaluating wetlands and streams within the city's urban growth boundary. "It's primarily because of the important functions they provide for the community and the state," Molnar said. "They provide wildlife and fish habitat, minimize flooding and have a water quality function." The areas also reduce erosion and moderate stream water temperature and flood flows. Many area waterways - especially Bear Creek and Ashland Creek- have recurring problems with water quality in the summer when levels drop and water heats up. A healthy riparian area with its distinct vegetation can help. "Riparian areas often have trees which shade creek and maintain water temperatures," Molnar said. The City has mailed notices to many property owners within the city's urban growth boundary requesting participation and assistance with the inventory. The notice includes an access request form, asking the landowner's permission for a consultant to walk their property to conduct necessary fieldwork. Replies have been trickling in, according to Molnar, but the more people who participate, the better the inventory will be - and the more useful the information. Most of the remaining wetlands areas in the city are in open, undeveloped sections - such as the Billings Pond area - and are relatively well-known and easy to access. The riparian areas are a little harder to get to as small Ashland creeks such as Clay Creek, Roca Creek and Hamilton Creek are piped underground and pop up to run through residents' back yards in densely populated, fenced-off neighborhoods. While some people may be hesitant to allow strangers come in to their yards, Molnar suggested it may be easier to get the work done now rather than wait for a property sale or a land-use change - such as a proposal to build on the land. "Often the question of whether there's a wetland on a site or not tends to come up if there's real estate transaction or land-use actions such as subdivisions," Molnar said. "Participating in the inventory now gives residents some certainty so it's not a surprise during the planning process. Generally the wetlands tend to turn up (later in the planning process)." A recent proposal to build a large subdivision on North Mountain Avenue was held up for two months as opponents and developers haggled about a previously undocumented wetland area. "I'd walked that property before and never even saw it," Molnar said. While aerial photography, soil maps and other information will also be used to locate, map and evaluate the wetland and riparian areas, the best accuracy is achieved by walking on the property and studying the vegetation and soils. A few small test holes may be dug to help identify wetland soils. This sampling technique is non-invasive and the consultants will avoid damage to landscaping, shrubs, and trees, according to Molnar. The inventory will be performed at a cost of about $50,000 with the assistance of Fishman Environmental Services LLC, a consulting firm which specializes in natural resource ecology and science. There will be a public forum on the inventory work at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday June 4 in the Ashland Civic Center council chambers, 1175 E. Main St. For information, call Molnar at 552-2042 or e-mail [email protected] . LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -