Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 451 - 475 of 1812
Runners made their way uphill to the beat of the Samba Ja drumming group from Eugene as they passed by Sahalie Falls. Participants in the 32nd rendition of the McKenzie River Trail Run also benefitted from some cooler temperatures last Saturday as they passed by scenic wonders like Clear Lake, lava fields, and the aquamarine waters of the Tamolitch Pool. In the Men’s Division Charlie Sikkema of North Vancouver, BC, posted a top time of 3:24:02. Brooke Carmen of Portland's time of 4:24:51 g...
Prescribed fire, the intentional and scientific use of fire on the landscape, reduce risk to communities that dot the wildland landscape. But there are other inhabitants the Forest Service considers when preparing for a prescribed fire — the wildlife that calls those very same wildlands home, that rely on forests for food and shelter. Brandon Dethlefs, a prescribed fire and Fuels specialist on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, recently walked the fire line on Backbone Ridge, overlooking Shasta...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Department (UMRFD) has received a summer firefighter grant for the second year in a row. The grants are offered by the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) mostly to rural fire departments to allow them to enhance on-site firefighters during the fire season and minimize response time. The goal is to catch and control small fires before they get out of control and turn into wildfires. Their motto for the grant program is “Keep Small Fires Small”. The...
Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Troopers discovered fish with embedded hooks, sliced fins, circular scabs, and other evidence of illegal tactics while assisting ODFW hatchery staff during the spring salmon spawning season. Snagging occurs when a person hooks, or attempts to hook, a fish anywhere on its body other than inside the mouth. Although snagging is an unlawful practice with steep consequences, many people still engage in this unethical behavior, according to OSP F&W Trooper Cameron...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: A prescribed burn to reduce fuels in a thinned stand escaped Tuesday afternoon and burned into 120 acres on National Forest land outside of the burn unit’s perimeter. Declared a wildfire that night, the W-470 was located approximately two miles northeast of the McKenzie River Ranger Station and north of Highway 126 where USFS Roads 26-204 and 26-206 split near Frissell Trail. At a community meeting on June 3rd, McKenzie Ranger District assistant fire manager Dirk Rogers e...
Oregon State Police Troopers were dispatched just before 7 a.m. on Friday when a semi ran off the road near Milepost 19 of the McKenzie Highway. According to OSP reports the vehicle drifted over the fog line onto the narrow roadside shoulder and hit the edge of the pavement, which pulled the truck onto a steep embankment. That overturned the Kenworth T680, causing it to strike an ODOT merge sign and approximately 200 ft. of adjacent property fencing - sustaining moderate damage to the passenger...
LEABURG: Motorists this week have encountered an Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) project says will create a smoother ride for drivers and reduce the cost of maintenance on Highway 126. Crews have been busy this week installing signs in the work zone along the corridor. Next week, workers will focus on bridge repair work at Mileposts 22.6, 22.3 and 24. Crews will grind off the existing asphalt, make repairs and install protective surfaces to preserve each bridge. ODOT expects to start...
The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) decided that dry conditions and an escalating fire danger were required an early closure of the 2023 outdoor burning season. In normal years, outdoor burning would be allowed until June 15th. This year it ended on June 2nd. “Given the current conditions, the only way to mitigate fire risk without relying on weather changes is through our actions,” said Travis Knudsen, the Public Affairs Manager for LRAPA. “That’s why the Fire Defense Board and ODF (Oregon Dept. of Forestry) are closing the sea...
FINN ROCK: Dozers, excavators, and dump trucks will be busy in the coming months after breaking ground on the second and final phase of floodplain restoration work at the Finn Rock Reach. Work on the 278-acre conservation area owned by the McKenzie River Trust was launched during the summer of 2021. It is focused on reshaping roughly 120 acres of floodplain forest to return the area to conditions similar to the aquatic habitat that existed along the McKenzie River before the construction of floo...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The earliest possible opening date for the Old McKenzie Pass is the third Monday in June, and officials at the Oregon Dept. of Transportation say they believe they are aiming for that date. “We used to (around 10 years ago and earlier) let people know when we were going to start plowing, but we aren’t doing that anymore for a variety of reasons,” according to Kacey Davey, an ODOT public information officer. “Before the highway is open, and after we have cut through the snow, o...
Firefighters quickly engaged this afternoon when a prescribed burn being conducted on the McKenzie River Ranger District to reduce fuels in a thinned stand moved onto National Forest land outside of the burn unit’s perimeter. Weather was within prescription when gusty winds led to two spot fires adjacent to the 65-acre burn unit. The fire is being declared a wildfire, enabling the deployment of additional personnel and resources to contain the spread as soon as possible – which is our hig...
EUGENE: At their May 23rd meeting, the Lane County Board of Commissioners approved a grant agreement to provide $250,000 to the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District. A compelling reason for the move was cited as, “Not having a completed, functional fire protection station that can respond to calls for assistance creates the possibility of significant financial risk to community members whose property and belongings could be damaged in a fire.” In addition, the board order also noted that not taking action on this item would delay the...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The McKenzie River Ranger District is seeking comments on a variety of upcoming projects ranging from residence improvements at the Big Lake Youth Camp to restoration work at Owl Creek Meadow. Written and electronic comments concerning these proposals will be accepted until June 20th. The largest would be work related to restoring the floodplain near the confluence of the McKenzie and South Fork McKenzie rivers. Some of those activities include the removal of artificial levees, berms, fill, riprap, and other natural sediment wi...
The nomination process is open for a prestigious award handed out to volunteers in Oregon each year. The Andrus Award for Community Service award is named after AARP founder, Doctor Ethel Percy Andrus. AARP Oregon will select a person or couple age 50 or older, who performs services without pay in their communities. AARP State volunteer president for Oregon, Michael Schultz, said he has spent his whole career with nonprofit organizations and that these organizations rely on volunteers. “Our c...
EUGENE: A committee comprised of seven Lane County residents is now in the process of gathering comments that could lead to changes in some of the ways the regional government operates. The county is governed by a Home Rule Charter (HRC) that establishes how the local county government operates. It can only be changed by a countywide vote. Every 10 years, a committee of residents is appointed to review the Lane County Charter and suggest changes to the Board of County Commissioners. This year, the committee reviewing the charter has created a...
Efforts to change Oregon’s voting system are on the move in the state Legislature and among citizen groups trying to write laws at the ballot box. The House last week voted mostly along party lines to approve House Bill 2004, Speaker Dan Rayfield’s proposal to establish ranked-choice voting in statewide elections beginning in 2028. The bill’s prospects in the Senate are unclear as Republicans continue a walkout that prevents the Senate from voting on any bills, but citizen groups have also...
"Hall, Laramie, Bridger, and Boise" are more than names to students at Walterville Elementary who had a chance to show what they learned this year during their "Oregon Trail" presentation last Tuesday. The fourth graders in Sheila Garrelts' class brought to life some of the pioneer activities that went on inside frontier forts associated with those names. Class members had all worked hard creating wagon models filled with supplies that reflected historical accuracy. Each student also created...
LEABURG: "My front door would be about five feet from the highway you folks want to put in," was the way Dane Palmer explained his opposition to the Eugene Water & Electric Board's proposal to use the street he lives on. He wasn't the only Leashore Drive resident to tell the utility they were also opposed to plans to remove a bridge and widen their roadway to access properties on Leaburg Dam Road. During EWEB's May 16th upriver meeting, others like Tammy Felton, also told the utility's...
On Saturday, June 3, as part of Wear Orange Weekend and National Gun Violence Awareness Day, volunteers with the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, in partnership with the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, will host a Wear Orange event to honor the lives of those affected by gun violence and elevate gun violence prevention efforts nationwide. This Eugene/Springfield community event will include a special tribute to the victims and survivors of the Thurston High School shooting, which happened 25 years ago and...
The ecological benefits of forests along a river’s edge benefit fish and wildlife habitats. They also help improve water quality by shading the stream, filtering out excess sediments and nutrients, as well as eventually contributing large wood to build instream habitat complexity in the river. Shade is important because solar radiation can warm the water too much for native cold-water fish such as salmon, trout, and lamprey during critical times in their life cycles. Thanks to a new program p...
A 17-year-old female was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries on May 22nd following an accident at 7:10 p.m. The single-occupant wreck involved a 2005 Ford F250 pickup and occurred at Milepost 1 of Camp Creek Road. Investigators report the truck was traveling westbound when it failed to negotiate a curve. It crossed over the oncoming eastbound lane and struck a concrete barrier. The truck then flipped and came to rest on its roof in the eastbound lane. The day...
Nearly 25 years after, mentions of the Thurston High School shooting bring back painful memories for local residents. For most it was hard to comprehend a mass shooting could happen here, much less in a school. Since then, and Columbine a year later, fatal shootings have become more frequent, while debates on making schools safer, gun control, and sentencing juvenile offenders remain unresolved. Articles from the May 26, 1998 edition of McKenzie River Reflections Thurston High remembers its own By Leah Carlson Two days after a tragic shooting...
