Westside Mentoring Day 1: Swiftwater Field Office

Remember how I went to Vale, OR back in the spring to meet and work with my mentee?  Well this week is the second half of that experience where I set up four days of field tours and networking for Chelsie from Vale and another new hydrologist, Michael, from Medford.  Each day featured a different Field Office, different guests, different techniques, and professionals to network with.

For Day 1, we all met in Wilbur, Oregon and drove out to North Bank Ranch in the Swiftwater Field Office.  This used to be the place where staff from the Roseburg District experimented with all sorts of instream, riparian, and upland restoration techniques for fish, wildlife, and vegetation.  Unfortunately, it was not as I remembered it from when I worked there.  No longer is there a Site Manager and staff attention has been redirected.  As a result, little work has been done, systems haven't recovered, and invasive weeds are everywhere.  So it was real depressing to see and I wish I hadn't selected the site to visit!

Fortunately, the afternoon was better.  We drove to Rock Creek which was the site of a devastating wildfire back in late 2020 (the Archie Creek Fire).  Lots and lots of post-fire recovery money had been secured, the watershed council had been brought in, and collaborative stream restoration has resulted in some impressive stream restoration with results already being realized.

It was fantastic to see and chat with some of the watershed council staff and of course the BLM staff that I used to work with.  At the end of the day, we had a really great debriefing at a Day Use Pavilion that hadn't burned and it was great to hear about everyone's optimism and enthusiasm for restoration and partnerships.