GET 'EM TO WORK WHILE THEY'RE YOUNG.Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard WILLOW CREEK Willow Creek may refer to: In Christianity:
The delicate tufted hairgrass would stay, but the teens were taking out the teasel - a kind of thistle that has invaded wetland prairie, crowding out the indigenous plants that once thrived there. The youngsters lopped off the spiny spiny sharp spines protrude. spiny amaranth amaranthusspinosum. spiny anteater see echidna. spiny clotburr xanthiumspinosum. spiny emex see emex australis. seed pods and piled them on tarps they dragged to a waiting pickup truck. "It's not too labor-like," said Ali Doll, 15, taking a break with her long-handled blue clippers. "It's just hot." Doll is a member of the Northwest Youth Corps, whose programs link adolescents with jobs that help them develop teamwork and leadership skills. The program Doll participates in, YouthWorks, lasts three weeks and gives youngsters ages 11 to 15 up to a $165 stipend and a variety of outdoor jobs such as building trails in area parks and sending invasive species
Invasive species is a phrase with many definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. packing. The youths work seven-hour days, but Doll doesn't mind the labor. "You get to spend time with kids your own age," she said. "And you get to learn stuff. The educational part is awesome." Working in the Willow Creek area, for example, she saw her first Fender's blue butterfly Fender's Blue (Icaricia icarioides fenderi) is an endangered subspecies of butterfly found only in the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon, United States. The species was first noticed in the 1920s but wasn't scientifically documented and named until 1931 by , an endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. endemic to the Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley (pronounced [wɪˈlæ.mɪt], with the accent on the second syllable) is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its . It's no mere make-work effort. The Northwest Youth Corps really is helping to restore wetland prairie, a habitat all but destroyed in Oregon by contemporary culture, said Matt Benotsch, a stewardship coordinator with The Nature Conservancy Nature Conservancy, nonprofit organization established in 1951 to preserve or aid in the preservation of natural environments. It protects wilderness areas in the United States and Canada and is affiliated with similar groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. , which owns the Willow Creek Natural Area. Corps participants worked this week in a section purchased last fall by The Nature Conservancy. The additional 67 acres brings the total acreage owned by group to 508. The land is part of the broader West Eugene Wetlands, a 3,000-acre swath roughly bordering Willow Creek and Amazon Creek that begins south of 18th Avenue and runs west and north to Greenhill Road. The patchwork of lands are owned by The Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, the city of Eugene, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the McKenzie River For rivers name "Mackenzie", see . The McKenzie River is a tributary of the Willamette River, 86 miles (138 km) long, in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Eugene into the southernmost end of the Willamette Valley. Trust. Clearing invasive species is the first step in restoring native plants such as Willamette daisies and Kincaid lupine lupine or lupin (l  `pĭn), any species of the genus Lupinus, annual or perennial herbs or shrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). , Benotsch said.
Expanding the range of plants such as the Kincaid lupine helps the endangered Fender's blue butterfly, which lays its eggs only on the lupine. Unbroken wetland allows contact between separate populations of the butterfly, which improves the species' overall well-being. "It becomes an important piece of the corridor," Benotsch said of the recently acquired land. But there's more to see on the wetlands than butterflies, Doll said. "We've seen a lot of hawks, too," she said. They've spotted elk tracks, and Benotsch has seen bobcats, heard coyotes and knows at least one person who has seen river otters cavorting in Willow Creek. Cavorting is also in store for youth corps members. When they wrap up their work this week, they'll be rewarded with an overnight camping trip near Cougar cougar: see puma. cougar or puma or mountain lion or panther Species (Puma concolor) of large, graceful cat that lives in a wide variety of habitats in the Americas, from southern Alaska to Patagonia. Reservoir, Doll said. OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES YouthWorks: Has one last three-week summer session, from Aug. 15 to Sept. 2, for children ages 11 to 15. For more information, call Northwest Youth Corps at 349-5055 or visit the Web site at www.nw youthcorps.org. The Nature Conservancy: Work parties to help with wetlands restoration are held the second Saturday of each month. For more information, call Matt Benotsch at 915-7459. CAPTION(S): Crew leader Britney O'Connell helps drag away a load of teasel, a non-native thistle that has invaded the wetland prairie near Willow Creek. Ali Doll, 15, a Northwest Youth Corps participant, removes the invasive species teasel as part of her three-week stint in the program. "You get to spend time with kids your own age. And you get to learn stuff. The educational part is awesome." - ALI DOLL, 15, NORTHWEST YOUTH CORPS |
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