Document text
Getting dirty to help the river photos by Drew Fleming Local folks grabbed shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows Saturday to build a trail and plant 1,000 trees at Fish Hatchery Park on the Applegate River. From left are Lois Vaughn of Grants Pass; Sarah Piazza, a student at South Medford High School; Alvie Staten of the Bureau of Land Management; Nancy Fruitman of Trail; and Joanne Simpson of Medford. Volunteers plant thousands of trees, create trail at park along Applegate By Paul Fattig of the Mail Tribune MURPHY -- Nearly 100 people rolled up their sleeves, grabbed shovels and marched off to work Saturday -- at a local park. They were part of a public-private volunteer effort to plant trees in Fish Hatchery Park, which borders the Applegate River. They were also building a 1 1/2-mile interpretive trail. Sandra Brown of Grants planted dozens of trees on Saturday. Before the work was done, two volunteers stopped to give their perspective. "The goal is to try to get a good species of trees out here to keep the water temperatures down, provide more habitat for wildlife and screw up your back cast when you're fishing," said Grants Pass attorney Dick Adams, a member of Southern Oregon Fly Fishers. But Matthew Sandgren, 5, who was accompanied by his grandmother, Williams resident Valerie Sherier, had another reason to be out planting trees. "I like to get my hands dirty and wash them in the creek," he concluded. The volunteers planted nearly 1,000 trees, including some 17 different species before the day was done, said Mary Maier, project leader for the Applegate River Watershed Council. They came from as far as Medford and Merlin as well as Grants Pass and from throughout the Applegate River watershed. In addition to local residents and the Fly Fishers, volunteers included employees of the Bureau of Land Management, the county parks department, the Eddie Bauer company, Applegate 4-H Club and others. Located about five miles west of Murphy, the park covers 177 acres, including 142 acres on the north bank where the volunteers were working. In addition to protecting the riparian zone along the river, the goal is to improve the county-owned park by building the interpretive trail, said George Keller, superintendent of the Josephine County Parks Department. The trail loops about a mile and a half in and around the park, loosely following paths used by animals or people, he said. "But we're making improvements and highlighting the points of interests," he said. "We're establishing a lower level and an upper level trail. We want the lower level to someday be wheelchair friendly." The lower level will be graveled while the upper level likely will be left in its natural state since it runs through an area of serpentine rock, he said. A kiosk being installed Saturday will include information about the trail. A park host is expected to watch over the area during the busy summer months. Grants Pass resident Rachel Winters, a horticulturist who teaches at Rogue Community College, helped design the trail. "It goes through about six different kinds of habitat," she said. "It goes through an oak savanna which is so typical of where native Americans lived before." The work at Fish Hatchery Park mirrors that done by community members at Cantrall Buckley Park upstream in Ruch, observed Applegate Valley resident Jack Shipley, one of the founders of the Applegate Partnership, which launched the watershed effort in 1992. "We've been real successful over there," he said of the county-owned park now managed by the community. "This is exciting to see this happening in both counties." Many of the trees came from the BLM's Sprague Seed Orchard in Merlin and its Provolt Seed Orchard, the Forest Service Stone Nursery in Central Point and others from local private nurseries. "This is a perfect time of year to plant the trees," said volunteer Harv Koester, a forester who manages both BLM nurseries. Money for the trees being planted comes from a $12,500 grant that the Applegate River Watershed Council and the BLM has received from the American Forests' Global Releaf program. For the past three years, the council and the BLM have received $10,000. This year's grant will pay for a total 35,000 trees in the Applegate Valley this year, Koester said. In the past four years, volunteers have planted nearly 100,000 trees in the Applegate River watershed, largely on private land, he said. About $3,000 more is needed to complete the project at the park, Keller said. Donations earmarked for Fish Hatchery Park can be sent to the Josephine County Parks Foundation, 125 Ringuette St., Grants Pass, OR 97527. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA