Celebrate Earth Day this year by joining Western Rivers Conservancy for some riverside volunteer work on the John Day! On Saturday, April 22, WRC and a small group of volunteers will be heading out to Cottonwood Canyon State Park in eastern Oregon to plant native shrubs and grasses, do light trail maintenance and help get the park ready for the summer season.
WRC created Cottonwood Canyon State Park in 2013, after purchasing Murtha Ranch and conveying it to Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Our efforts protected 16,132 acres and 16 miles of the John Day River. Since then, we’ve conserved 22,032 acres at Thirtymile Creek and launched a new effort to conserve another 4,097 acres at McDonald’s Ferry Ranch. Combined, the projects protect over 29 miles of the John Day and nearly 15 miles of critical steelhead spawning tributaries.
Almost every year since the state park’s opening, friends of WRC have returned to Cottonwood Canyon to help with habitat improvements and park upkeep. After a three-year hiatus, we’re excited to be picking up the Earth Day volunteer event again this year.
One of the sites volunteers will be helping with is Reflection Point, the new overlook that WRC created for Oregon State Parks in honor of Jon Roush, one of the West’s great conservationists and a former WRC board member. We will be planting native plants around the viewpoint, which happens to be a gorgeous spot to pause and reflect on the importance of rivers like the John Day. We’ll also be doing some trail work on the path that leads up to it.
The day will start at 10am and wrap up around 12:30pm, when we’ll enjoy a barbeque lunch at the park’s Experience Center on the scenic flats above the river. Since the weather will likely be sublime in April (knock on wood), the rest of the day can be spent hiking, fishing or exploring the park. For those who wish to stay overnight, free camping will be available the night of April 22.
If you’d like to join us, sign up by emailing WRC’s stewardship director, Mik McKee, at mmckee@westernrivers.org. RSVPs are required and volunteer spaces are limited to 15, which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Volunteers should wear sturdy boots or shoes, long pants and sun protection. Bring a water bottle and work gloves. All other tools will be provided by WRC.
We hope you’ll come out and join us! We’ll get our hands dirty, have some fun and improve habitat along and above the Wild and Scenic John Day River.
