In case you missed it, there were stimulus funds on display on the Mountain
in mid-July.

Members of Youth Employment Support Services tromped along the side
channels of the Salmon River in Arrah Wanna to ensure a protected breeding
ground for fish and surrounding habitat.

“They are hard workers who seem to enjoy getting dirty to improve habitat in
the Sandy River Basin,” said Marci Krass, conservation crew leader for Project
YESS. “They are interested in learning more about the native plants and
reasons behind the importance of the restoration projects we participate in.”

The workers vary in age from 17 to 23. Some are in high school, in GED
classes at Mt. Hood Community College, and some have graduated with a GED
from high school.

The stimulus funds for the projects are filtered through several agencies, with
the majority coming through the Workforce Investment Act and a Portland
organization called Worksystems Inc., according to Michael Oliver,
conservation crew program director for Project YESS.

The 11-person crew working in Arrah Wanna was one of three crews working
around the region. The program funds 170 area youth on paid work
experiences for 6 to 12 weeks.

YESS is part of a larger model under the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
which provides employment to 1,200 members this summer. This makes the
program one of the largest employers in the state, according to John Asher,
director of OYCC, and a showcase program for the nation.

At the Arrah Wanna site, crew members installed heavy weed barrier fabric to
kill canary grass in key areas along the side channel. Native vegetation will be
planted in these areas during the winter of 2009-10. Cutting grass and
covering the bases of the plants with a weed barrier is an effective alternative
to spraying with herbicides.

Canary grass is an aggressive, persistent invasive plant that has taken over
significant portions of the Arrah Wanna side channel as well as other areas
along the Salmon River, according to Russ Plaeger of the Sandy River Basin
Watershed Council.

Willows have also been planted and cages erected around the willows to
provide shade for the small fish in the stream. The cages prevent deer and
beaver from making snacks of the willows.

The side channels on the Salmon River provide essential habitat for
threatened and endangered species of salmon. The restoration efforts are an
excellent example of what can be accomplished through a partnership
between private landowners, agencies and non-profit organizations, such as
OYCC and YESS.

The work completed to date has made the side channel suitable as nursery
habitat for juvenile coho and spring chinook, spawning habitat for adults and
as a refuge from high river flows during winter storms.

Without the stimulus funds this important environmental work would not be
done, Krass said, sweeping her arm in an arc. “Just look around. It’s
working.”