flows into submission astoria done in
Lorraine prob’ly wall a pepper in the
sea the sea you slow flows directly into
the ocean airports no matter where you
are you are in a watershed some places
are closed watersheds meaning that the
water does not eventually flow onto the
ocean as it does the most water jets we
have an example of that in Eastern
Oregon with watersheds there is again
information available through state and
federal agencies or nonprofits and all
watersheds for those of you who may live
beyond our local area why does it matter
which you can reach their water Shepherd
we might want to argue that we don’t
have time to bother with this
understanding where we are is just one
more thing in our busy lives I argue
that where we are that where we are
affects their lives on multiple levels
we can’t afford to not understand our
natural world and our surroundings when
we look at ecoregion we can see the
interplay of geography and climate with
human use significant portions of the
historic prairie terraces were in
agriculture to impart to their soils
moisture gradient and other factors
considerable portions of the coast range
or vanish primarily for timber with the
mild climate an extensive rainfall among
other things help me to grow pit crews
quickly on a personal level we need to
know more about our property in order to
make a living or to otherwise feed our
family such as my farming managing
timber
stands for gardening what are our soil
types when I what native predators are
herbivores they consume or affect my
crops or livestock which native plants
flourish here and what does that tell me
about what will likely succeed for me
would you plant a desert lugging joshua
tree here or perhaps to use a more
realistic example if you have a stand of
western red cedar Douglas spirea and
Pacific 9 mark on your poverty are you
likely to succeed it clear that land and
replace those particular wetland natives
with done fur which prefers well-drained
soils listening to the land this way and
learning what Len is telling you can
natali us can help us in many practical
endeavors we need to know where the
water flows what’s upstream and
downstream of you we worry about
pollutants but what about what might be
missing hope historically a returning
salmon and lamprey brought Marine Drive
nutrients upriver contributing to the
rich soils which first grew the large
trees for which we are famous due to
dams and other types of barriers to
migration habitat loss and other factors
we do not see these fish and nutrients
nearly as much now do we know how
streams looked and function here
historically before they were altered do
we understand how that historic stream
type is different from today’s altered
stream condition and what that means for
habitat bloody groundwater recharge and
erosion if I frustrated about the /
frustrated that I keep losing creek bank
on the stream that runs in a straight
across my property it might behoove be
too worried about the historic shape and
location of that Creek we may want to
say or we may hear oh it always looked
like this in reality we are likely that
we are likely to learn that before it
was altered over the past hundred years
the stream meandered across the wider
area and in order to quit losing yards
of stream bank every winter restoring it
back to the neon during stream with some
willows and the banks might be the
answer and now safety we need to know
about where we are to understand
potential threats associated with those
locations are we buying a house on a
floodplain or an event of a river that
might eventually be cut off around the
toe of a historic landslide do we live
work or camp in a tsunami inundation
zone is our host on a fault what
precautions or preparations should we
undertake for where we live work or
recreates and for us as women knowing
and preparing for these potential
natural threats empowers us enabling us
not to have to be dependent on someone
else for our safety or for our rescue
now we’ve been beyond ourselves to the
policy level do we understand what we
are voting for or against when we look
at some of the hot issues in our area
for further fields such as timber land
use and plan a change of you have an
ignorance of the land we can make
informed decisions this goes beyond one
set of political leanings or the other
when I first moved to Oregon more than
one eager would be environmentalist told
me how all lobbying had to be stopped
and one of their examples was that the
whole lemon valley
had once been forested with large
conifers until the logging companies
came in and cut down all the trees in
the valley looking around this could be
a compelling argument until you
understand that the valley wasn’t
carpeted with large conifers but was
instead and make some Prairie wetland
oak savannah and more likewise i’ve been
told by a few folks with a different
take on that issue that the managed
monoculture timbers that managed
monoculture timber stands exactly mimic
the historic vegetation this does not
reflect the historic date above the
diversity of species forming an opinion
on the very complex issue of the
management of our forests must include
an accurate understanding of the current
and historic land cover geology
hydrology and more ultimately we may all
fall on different sides of these issues
but we have to start out with solid data
and information there are many more
practical reasons why you need to know
and understand where you are but there
are deeper there is a deeper value to
truly knowing where we are as well
there’s a joy to understanding where you
spend your time how many of us rejoice
considering spring to be on its way when
we first smell the skunk cabbage in
bloom then we start seeing oh so barrier
Oh malaria flowery or we know in the
fall to look forward to fishing for
Chinook or coho or later in the fall or
early winter we expectedly wait in the
headwater streams over a hundred miles
of river from the estuary watching for
coho to return for spawning we are able
to appreciate these harbingers of the
seasons because we can name them
appreciate them and celebrate their
arrival we feel at home or love a place
in part because we understand aspects of
it
what other elements of it still hold awe
and wonder there’s also this my infant
son is learning about the world he is in
constant wandering basement they have
heard him a moment ago mm-hmm everything
is near to him and everything is
important the play of light on leaves
moving in the breeze is a source of
entertainment the like inaudible entire
branch must be touched and puzzled over
and blades of grass head straight to his
mouth for taste testing well I explained
his surroundings for practical reason
all the practical reasons been listed
earlier i also want him to appreciate
the beauty of the world around him and
not just the aesthetic but also the
beauty of the processes functions and
relationships we meet biology geology
hydrology and more that are part of the
natural world knowing the plants streams
animals platforms and weather where he
lives in spends time will provide him
with context will provide them with
context in which to build an
understanding of other places as well
and I hope it will also provide him with
deeper connection providing him with
deeper connections with his favorite
places which he can draw upon for joy
peace and solace perhaps one day he will
stand in a creek watching the coho build
the Reds in the gravel as colorful big
leaf maple and alder leaves float on by
and feel connected and grounded by the
complex processes resulting in the
stream structure migration patterns and
more which contribute to all the
surrounds him and I wish the same for you