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Add-on complete at Trail center Photo by Bob Pennell Children explore the boardwalk at McGregor Park near Lost Creek Lake, where a new self-guided "streamwalk" will be dedicated today. From left are Joy Surber, 10, Gina Surber, 8, Aimee Lera, 9, and Amanda Matthews, 8. By Mark Freeman TRAIL � The first significant addition to an interpretive nature center along the upper Rogue River has been completed, and organizers hope it will serve as a springboard for turning a little-used park into a major hub for aquatic education. What: "Streamwalk" trail dedication at Spirit of the Rogue Nature Center When: 1 p.m. today (Saturday, June 24, 2000) Where: At the center, a former Army Corps of Engineers visitor center at 580 Takelma Drive, off Highway 62 at Milepost 29. It�s just downstream of Cole Rivers Hatchery and upstream from Casey State Park. Speakers: State Rep. Susan Morgan, R-Myrtle Creek, and actors Tsianina Joelson and Matt Battaglia The Spirit of the Rogue Nature Center now sports a self-guided "streamwalk" along a tributary creek that flows into upper Rogue salmon-spawning grounds off Highway 62 near Lost Creek Lake. The 100-yard walk through the willows and riparian area at McGregor Park includes a series of interpretive signs and graphic displays to go along with the fish, deer, beavers, osprey and other creatures that call the area home. The idea is to provide an intimate look at how fish, other wildlife and people all rely on clean water protected by healthy streambanks, and to convey this message in a setting that shows off the aesthetics of healthy waterways. "It really shows how important proper stream care is to clean water," said David Irving, chairman of the nonprofit center�s board of directors. "Without pure water," Irving said, "we don�t have anything." McGregor Park is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the agency has an agreement with Spirit of the Rogue organizers to use the park�s old visitor center as a interpretive center and headquarters. It encompasses about 28 acres of Corps land along the upper Rogue and is part of the agency�s Lost Creek Lake project. The interpretive walk is the first major outdoor addition to the Spirit of the Rogue, which began as a dream in the early 1990s by Roger Fishman of Trail, who remains the center�s director. So far, securing use of the visitor center as the future nature center and the interpretive trail have been the center�s success stories. Eventually, organizers envision a full-scale center complete with a separate education center, a foot bridge across the Rogue and a series of demonstration exhibits explaining everything from rehabilitating stream banks to otter ponds, an osprey diving pool and an area to view wild salmon spawning. If completed, the center would be akin to a coastal-river version of the High Desert Museum near Bend, said Greg Joelson, a Shady Cove motel owner and a Spirit of the Rogue volunteer. "The setting and location will never be duplicated," Joelson said. "If this thing ever realizes its potential, I think it will be an incredible asset to the Rogue Valley. But right now," he said, "it�s a big if." Organizers had to restore the silted-in creek before building the interpretive walk, Irving said. Project costs of about $200,000 were paid for in part through grants from the Governor�s Watershed Enhancement Board, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Spirit of the Rogue has also received large grants from the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Lottery. The walk will be dedicated in the memory of Marc Prevost, a water-resources advocate who helped create grass-roots efforts to improve stream cleanliness in the Rogue Valley. Prevost, of Medford, died in January at age 46 after battling cancer for nearly a year. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA