Ecostewardship
Ecostewardship project at Camp Myrtlewood
The Church of the Brethren is dedicated to stewardship of creation. This is the driving principle behind the ecostewardship project at Camp Myrtlewood.
Western Oregon is known for its natural beauty and its economic dependence upon natural resources. Coos County's economy has been hit hard by unsustainable forestry practices that have damaged the natural functions of forest ecosystems faster than they can regenerate. The result is declining water quality and availability, loss of endangered species habitat, soil erosion and infertility, planted monocultures mislabeled as forests, and a dying industry with high unemployment. This ecostewardship project is intended to fill a gap in teaching about sustainable forestry and the value of intact forest ecosystems.
Project components
- Model a series of forest ecosystems — from a “no touch” wilderness forest to a “hands on” process of forest rehabilitation using sustainable forestry practices. We plant seedlings in the “light touch” areas to increase species diversity and riparian function, and do nothing in the "no touch" wilderness areas except study and appreciate important features.
- Stream restoration project — Myrtle Creek above Camp Myrtlewood was splash dammed in the early 1900s. In cooperation with a variety of agencies concerned about environmental quality, Camp has begun a stream restoration project intended to increase salmon spawning beds and habitat for juvenile fish. Cultural, historical, aesthetic, recreational, silvicultural, and terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and ecological considerations are included in the project design.
- Stewardship education and outreach will impact other annual camps interested in environmental education, home-schooled teens, and outdoor school camps from local public schools.
- Sustainable living at Camp Myrtlewood — Highlights are nutritious menus of homemade foods, recycling, slow sand water filters, Tulikivi soapstone heaters, building with cob, composting and gardening, an atmosphere that fosters lifestyles attentive to spirituality, peace, justice, and generosity.
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Camp Myrtlewood Managers:
Margaret &
John Jones
(541) 572-5307
Our address:
49658 Myrtle Creek Road,
Myrtle Point, Oregon 97458
Affiliated with
The Church of the Brethren
Member of the
Outdoor Ministries
Association
Comments
Splash dams
A splash dam was a temporary wooden dam used to raise the water level in streams to float logs downstream to sawmills. By impounding water and allowing it to be released on schedule, these dams allowed many more logs to be brought to market than the natural flow of the creek allowed. Water releases from multiple splash dams on tributaries were also often combined to maximize the number of logs floated throughout a given watershed. Construction work also extended to the stream below the splash dam, which had to be cleared of obstacles and often had its banks cleared for some distance above the waterline. This was an effort to prevent as many logs as possible from becoming stuck on the banks of the creek. Trees and brush were removed from the banks of the streams and boulders and rocks were dynamited. The floods of logs ripped away the surface gravel down to the bedrock. Subsequent Spring runoff flows caused slit to flow down stream to the estuaries.
Splash dams were used as part of the logging industry throughout the United States before the era of mechanization. Splash dams operated across the United States, from about 1860 to 1920. However I found a reference to an Oregon splash dam operating until 1947. While useful to industry, splash dams were destructive of fish life, particularly salmon and other migratory fish. These dams were rarely built with fish ladders, and the flood of water and logs killed fish outright, scoured their spawning beds, and eroded streambanks. The logging of riparian forests and the dynamiting of log jams and river obstructions resulted in additional impacts to fish populations.
Camp Myrtlewood participated in a restoration project on a portion of its Myrtle Creek frontage several years ago. [Date ?] The project placed several large boulders and trees donated by the Camp into the stream bed to reestablish gravel beds. The results are clearly visible. New sand and gravel bars formed naturally around these barriers. The portion of Myrtle Creek that runs through Camp Myrtlewood now provides an environment for aquatic animals including salmon, trout, otters and beavers. Silt runoff has dramatically declined. Water temperature during the summer months has been lowered improving the survivability of fish. Additional restoration may be possible on Myrtle Creek since Camp Myrtlewood recently purchased 33 acres of land upstream from the Camp that includes 1/3 mile of creek frontage.
Adapted from Wikipedia and other sources.
Riparian zones
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a stream. Plant communities along the river margins are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their biodiversity, and the influence they have on aquatic ecosystems.
Riparian zones may be natural or engineered for soil stabilization or restoration. These zones are important natural biofilters, protecting aquatic environments from excessive sedimentation, polluted surface runoff and erosion. They supply shelter and food for many aquatic animals and shade that is an important part of stream temperature regulation. When riparian zones are damaged by construction, agriculture or silviculture, biological restoration can take place, usually by human intervention in erosion control and revegetation. If the area adjacent to a watercourse has standing water or saturated soil for as long as a season, it is normally termed a wetland.
Research shows riparian zones are instrumental in water quality improvement for both surface runoff and water flowing into streams through subsurface or groundwater flow. Particularly the attenuation of nitrate or denitrification of the nitrates from fertilizer in this buffer zone is important. Riparian zones can play a role in lowering nitrate contamination in surface runoff from agricultural fields, which runoff would otherwise damage ecosystems and human health. The use of wetland riparian zones shows a particularly high rate of removal of nitrate entering a stream and thus has a place in agricultural management.
The meandering curves of a stream, combined with vegetation and root systems, dissipate stream energy, which results in less soil erosion and a reduction in flood damage. Sediment is trapped, reducing suspended solids to create less turbid water, replenish soils, and build stream banks. Pollutants are filtered from surface runoff which enhances water quality via biofiltration. The riparian zones also provide wildlife habitat, increase biodiversity, and provide wildlife corridors, enabling aquatic and riparian organisms to move along river systems avoiding isolated communities. The vegetation surrounding the stream helps to shade the water, mitigating water temperature changes. The vegetation also contributes wood debris to streams which is important to maintaining geomorphology.
Excerpted from Wikipedia article.