Partnerships are key to tackling the huge job the McKenzie River faces after the devastating wildfires. Below are excerpts from our recent posts detailing a few of the incredible environmental and community-focused projects our key partners are working on.
Were we don’t actively manage most of these projects, we are very vocal in advocating for these projects and supporting them. In addition we make our resources available to them.
Rebuilding & Reimagining a Community Space
For many months after the fire the Blue River Park Board liaised with multiple agencies to save as many trees as possible while working towards making the park safe again and ensuring we have the best possible setup for building it back better.
When we first started assessing the destruction caused by the Holiday Farm Fire, it looked at times like the park would need to be clear-cut. Yet after much careful consultation with multiple agencies, and assessment by various experts, we were able to save around 30-40 trees, so it is not a total clear cut.
ODOT and Suulutaaq began the clean-up in early May 2021, and all the hazard trees have now been taken down. Due to the extensive fire damage, the old shed, baseball backstop, and fireplace have been removed, but there is also good news in that the park received a FEMA grant to replace the backstop, repair the shelter roof and replace all of the signs in the park. This work is in progress.
Environmental Work
ODOT and Suulutaaq generously agreed to grind the tree stumps for us, as removing those stumps would have disturbed the soil and potentially caused long delays to the whole process and the chips will mulch down and help the soil recover.
Pure Water Partners, through a grant from EWEB, and in conjunction with the McKenzie Watershed Council, have re-planted the riparian area around the park. The replanting took place in the fall, since doing this in the spring (with the prospect of a dry and hot summer) would greatly have jeopardized the survival of the trees, since we don’t have facilities to irrigate the saplings.
All the many stakeholders involved in this extremely challenging and complex project – The McKenzie Community Partnership, ODOT, Suulutaaq, Pure Water Partners, FEMA, Mason, Bruce & Girard, EWEB and others, have all done outstanding work and been extremely helpful in supporting us every step of the way. We are all very grateful not only for their assistance, and financial support, but also for their genuine empathy and commitment to helping our community park recover and rebuild.
The park is definitely going to have a very different look once this process is finished, but we hope that by the time we welcome you back it will also be a much better place for locals and visitors alike. We will share ideas going forward and will give everyone a chance to have a say in what the vision for the new Blue River Park will look like. Watch this space!