Spring... So Soon?

On February 2^nd, the most famous groundhog in the country, Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil, did something slightly unusual. He awoke from his den in Gobbler’s Knob, and took a look around as he does every year. This year however, he didn’t see his shadow which means an early spring.

Sleeping Lady, seen from a snowshoe tour at the
Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery.

Since Groundhog Day record keeping began, Phil and his ancestors have seen their shadow 100 times and have only predicted a quicker coming of spring 16 times. I haven’t figured out how Phil can see into the future, but he’s not the only weather forecasting critter out there. Birmingham Bill, a ground hog residing at the local zoo in my home town, Birmingham Alabama, also failed to see his shadow this year. Numerous other groundhogs throughout the country were in agreement with Bill and Phil and predicted an early spring, although a few did see their shadows.

I have to say that even though I’m not sure if a groundhog is really a better weather predictor than a meteorologist, when I walk outside it does feel like spring is almost here. For the past few weeks I’ve been watching the piles of snow in corners of parking lots grow smaller and smaller. Now, in Wenatchee at least, it seems that all the snow is gone and according to a number of prophetic groundhogs, it may not be coming back till next year.

I’m filled with mixed feelings as I watch the winter melt away.  I’m extremely excited about upcoming spring and summer outings but I was really enjoying some of the newfound winter recreation that I’d been doing and I’m not sure I’m ready stop. I’ve been helping Friends of Northwest Hatcheries and Wenatchee Outdoors lead snowshoe tours in Leavenworth and in Squilchuck State Park. I built a quinzhee and went camping near Icicle creek. On a trip to Jackson Wyoming to visit friends I went sledding, engaged in some snowball combat, and discovered that hiking in deep powdery snow without snowshoes can be very slow going. The one thing on my list I still haven’t tried is skiing! Despite Phil’s warm weather predictions I’m hoping to get up to the ski hill and make a fool of myself soon.

Pick Your Plants

Woods Rose has fragrant pink flowers
in the summer, and rosehips in the fall.

The Native Plant Sale ordering deadline is almost here!  If you’re still deciding which plants are right for you check out our 2013 Plant Brochure. Friday February 15^th is the deadline for this year’s plant sale. We haven’t run out of anything yet, but some things are going faster than others!

There are many benefits to planting native trees and shrubs. Native plants are adapted to the local environment and so they generally require less maintenance than exotic or ornamentals. Because native plants do so well in our area you can expect to spend substantially less time and money worrying about irrigating and fertilizing. Many of the species offered in this year’s sale are both drought and fire tolerant! They also provide more benefits to wildlife. Native plants provide the types of food and shelter that our local critters both need and want.

Plants are available as bare root stock, meaning they do not come in containers or burlap bags. They are harvested in winter when the plants are dormant and arrive ready to be replanted in your landscape. Plants are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and quantities are limited. A minimum 50% deposit is required to hold your order. Fully prepaid orders are appreciated. We are sorry, but we are unable to accept credit cards at this time. Visit our website for more details and an Order Form.

All orders must be received by February 15, 2013.

Plants will be distributed at the Stemilt Growers Warehouse in north Wenatchee on Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 10am-1pm. A map to the pick-up site will be sent to you along with a reminder as the pick-up date approaches. Please be aware that any unclaimed plants will be considered abandoned and used for conservation projects. There are no refunds for plant orders not picked up.

Ponderosa Pine



This young Ponderosa is still relatively small,
but with ideal conditions and plenty of time,
it could grow up to be over 200 feet tall.



Ponderosa Pine, blackjack pine, bull pine, western yellow pine, silver pine, and yellow bellies… The list of common names seems to run on and on.  The Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is one of the most important conifer species to the western United States and one of the most interesting. So why are there so many names?  Perhaps it has to do with its huge range. 

The Ponderosa can be found in Canada, throughout the entire western United States and even in Mexico. Another possibility for its plethora of names could be some of its surprising characteristics. The Ponderosa generally has a dark colored bark for its first 70 some years of growth, deeming in the “Blackjack pine.” However, as it matures, the tree sheds its outer bark revealing an inner yellow bark, hence the “yellow pine” and yellow belly” names.  That’s not the only surprising change the Ponderosa makes as it matures, the inner yellow bark, will begin to release a sweet aroma that often reminds people of vanilla, coconut, butterscotch, and even cinnamon.

This “all-star” tree also has some uses and characteristics that make it extremely important to its native environment. It’s rapid growth makes it a vital species for helping with erosion control, site restoration and rehabilitation and even acts as a wind break. Native Americans have used this pine species for construction, medicine, food, and ceremonial purposes. Did you know that even the roots of the ponderosa can be used to make a blue dye? It’s one of the largest pine species and the largest know pine tree in the world is a Ponderosa found in Oregon measuring just over 268 feet tall!

The Ponderosa is being offered as part of our 2013 Native Plant Sale! It’s fire resistant characteristics as well as the role it plays with providing wildlife with food and shelter make it a wonderful tree for planting at restoration sites or as a beautiful big tree to stand out in your backyard yardscape.  To find out more about our plant sale and how to order, visit our website or check out the 2013 Native Plant Sale Brochure and Order Form. Don’t forget that the Ponderosa Pine is just one of TEN native plant species offered this year so be sure to view them all to find out which ones are best suited for your needs.

Native Planting 101

Once again, we are sponsoring a FREE “Native Planting 101” workshop. This workshop will cover a wide variety of topics including restoration, “yardscaping” - creating pollinator habitat with native plants, and everything you ever wanted to know about weed identification and management. Presentations will be given by local natural resource and planting experts.  

Restoration

Ted Always is a local pear orchardist and the owner of Derby Canyon Natives, a native plant nursery in Peshastin. He sells containerized plants, native grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, trees, and the seeds of many wildflowers and native grasses from Central Washington. He’ll be discussing restoration of degraded habitats, methods to restore habitats, by planting and establishment of bare root plants.

Yardscaping

Connie Mehmel is a WSU Chelan County Master Gardener, a member of the Native Plant Society, and a forester for the Okanogan‐Wenatchee National Forest. She moved from Winthrop to Cashmere in 2009, where she has a large vegetable garden and a small native plant yardscape. Connie will present the advantages of yardscaping with native plants, planning for a naturalized yard, attracting birds, providing wildlife habitat, and how to choose appropriate trees and shrubs for your yard.

Pollinators

Amy Hender shot works for the USDA -Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Chelan County as the Resource Conservationist. The NRCS is the federal agency that assists with natural resource conservation on private lands. She also has worked at the Okanogan Conservation District and for WSU at their organic farm in Puyallup. Currently, she implements conservation programs from the Farm Bill and provides technical assistance to partners and private landowners who seek to acheive their natural resource goals. Her presentation will focus on pollinator species, pollinator decline, why pollinators are important, native bees, and how to deevelop and maintain a pollinator friendly habitat (i.e. a pollinator garden).

Weeds

Julie Sanderson currently works with the Chelan County Noxious Weed Department as the Field Supervisor. The Noxious Weed Department assists residents and agencies in Chelan County with noxious weed identification and control. Julie has also worked with the Bureau of Land Management as a field botanist doing rare plant surveys and restoration projects. She’ll provide us with a better understanding of what invasive weeds are, how to identify invasive species, and how to control them.

The “Native Planting 101” workshop will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2012 from 12:00-4:30pm, in the Confluence Technology Center at 285 Technology Center Way, north Wenatchee.

For more information or to RSVP contact our office at (509) 664-9370 or visit our website at www.Cascadiacd.org. Space is limited, so reserve your spot today!

New Year's Resolutions

It’s the second week of January, the New Year is off and running and I still haven’t picked a New Year’s Resolution!  While browsing ideas on the web, I came across two articles that present an interesting conundrum.

“The Top 10 Commonly Broken New Year’s Resolutions” (TIME Magazine)

1.    Lose Weight and Get Fit

2.    Quit Smoking

3.    Learn Something New

4.    Eat Healthier and Diet

5.    Get Out of Debt and Save Money

6.    Spend more Time with Family

7.    Travel to New Places

8.    Be Less Stressed

9.    Volunteer

10.  Drink Less

“Popular New Year’s Resolutions” (USA.gov)

1.    Drink Less Alcohol

2.    Eat Healthy food

3.    Get a Better Education

4.    Get a Better Job

5.    Get Fit

6.    Lose Weight

7.    Manage Debt

8.    Quit Smoking

9.    Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

10. Save Money

11. Take a Trip

12. Volunteer to Help Others

The bleak similarities between the two lists made my search for an achievable aspiration for the New Year a little more difficult. What should I try and what can I do to make myself stick to whatever resolution I choose? The New Year offers the perfect time to get serious about all the goals you’ve been putting off but, is it really a great idea to commit to the same thing that hasn’t worked for the past few years?  I scoured for tips for how to be successful on whatever resolution I chose and found a few common themes:

 

·         Be Realistic - Instead of choosing broad concepts to pursue, why not aim from smaller more specific challenges that may be easier to achieve? If you do decide to take on a particularly large challenge make sure to break it down into smaller segments that can be worked towards while keeping the big picture in mind.

·         Reward Yourself - Sometimes it only takes a few small incentives to keep you on track and make it to the next step.

·         Work as a Team - Shared goals are easier to achieve, simply telling your friends about your commitment to this year’s resolution might be enough motivation to keep you going.

Then it hit me. Why not try something different this year? Why not do something to help the environment AND myself? I made my decision to take the Picture the Wenatchee pledge! If you’re one of our regular readers you’re probably already familiar with Picture the Wenatchee but for those of you who are not, Picture the Wenatchee is our watershed stewardship campaign designated to improving water quality and stream habitat in the Wenatchee River watershed. The campaign focuses on simple things we can do to help keep our rivers clean and is broken down into four categories.

In Your Home – Use eco-friendly cleaning products, conserve water, and maintain your septic system to make your home life a green one

With Your Vehicles – Maintaining your vehicle properly and cleaning off in commercial car washes help keep unwanted chemicals and vehicle byproducts out of our storm drain system.

In Your Yard – Pull invasive weeds, plant native species, and be water conscious when irrigating to promote a healthy yard and environment

With Your Animals – Don’t forget to clean up after your furry friends!

It seems like the perfect New Year’s Resolution. The four categories provide smaller more manageable goals which are easy to do and will allow me to Be Realistic and not take on too much at once. By telling my friends and co-workers about my resolution I will hopefully be able to find others who will join me and we can Work as a Team. At the very least they’ll know what I’m trying to accomplish this year and will be able to hold me accountable. One of the best things about Picture the Wenatchee is that they provide an incentive for anyone who takes the challenge to keep our river clean.  If you follow the actions outlined by the campaign you can Reward Yourself with a free Watershed Care Package.  The care package provides campaign participants with all kinds of prizes! Coupons for purchasing native plants at local nurseries, free car wash tokens to keep you car clean, and even a doggy cleanup bag dispenser are all found in the Watershed Care Package.

Native Grasses Coming to Wenatchee

 A few weeks ago Cascadia Conservation District, with help from U.S Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Chelan County Public Works, and Intermountain AmeriCorps, worked on a project to restore native grasses right here in Wenatchee. Due to recent road work, an area of land near the local U.S. Forest Service building was missing essential ground cover. We pitched in to do our part by reseeding the area with a native grass blend donated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Establishing ground cover is important for a variety of reasons and is especially beneficial when it is native.

In general, grasses help prevent erosion as well as excess water runoff. However, native grasses provide these same basic conservation benefits as well as a few others. Seeding with a native grass mix prevents non-native (invasive) species from establishing. If this site had been left unseeded it is very likely that the next few growing seasons would have seen quite a few unwanted weeds popping up. Noxious weeds harm wildlife by depriving them of the habitat they need and are accustomed to. Native grasses are also adapted to their environment, which means they generally don’t need additional watering or other maintenance making them not only more environmentally friendly, but economically friendly as well.



Intermountain AmeriCorps members come
out on Saturday to help seed.



The seeding project took place on a Saturday in early December just before the ground froze. AmeriCorps volunteers weren’t shy to get to work by raking the project site, broadcast seeding, and lightly-compacting the newly seeded soil.  The grasses should start to sprout up in the spring and, once established, will look much nicer than the gravely, dusty, barren state that this site was previously in. We’d like to thank everyone who helped out with this project, especially Kay, Jim, Christy, and Maria, who donated their time and energy to make this project happen.

Winter is Here!



Bob Burrows - Misty Mountains View



The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and the official start of the winter season. Throughout history, its significance has varied from culture to culture and place to place. Stonehenge, that strange assortment of giant rocks, may have been a calendar. The winter solstice sunset aligns visually through the British structure and was possibly used to mark the New Year.  For many, the shortening nights and returning sun symbolized rebirth and fresh starts. Although the days will now start to grow longer, we’ll still have a few months of the coldest weather of the year before we really warm up. So what does winter mean to you? Is it time to head up to the slopes and get back to skiing, or will you be cooped up inside hibernating through the season. Maybe the Solstice is a reminder that Christmas is almost here, and you really need to finish up your holiday shopping! Are you fretting over the prospects of the slushy slippery roads, or excited about the possibility of an exponential growth in the population of… snowmen. Whatever your plans are this season it’s important to stay safe.



Jessie Cook - Let it Snow



Around this time last year we talked about winterization and winter safety.  If you’re like me and new to Washington’s winters, I encourage you to go back and take a look at these valuable tips. If not already evident by the power outages caused by recent storms in the Lake Wenatchee/Plain area, winter can be a precarious time and it’s important to be prepared.

High Tunnels: A Great Way to Grow

What if there was a device that could not only extend your crop’s growing season into the colder months, but could also produce more crops and even crops of different varieties? What if someone would help you pay for one of these miraculous growing machines? Now you must be dreaming. Or are you?

If snow load is a concern, it's a good idea
to remove the cover until the spring.
Photo courtesy of Amy Hedershot

High tunnels, also known as hoop houses, hoop tunnels, or poly tunnels, are installations that aid in plant growth and production. They function like greenhouses, with the biggest differences being that hoop houses are cheaper, easier and faster to construct. They work by trapping in moisture and heat and thus extending the growing season of plants into colder months when they usually will have gone dormant.  This creates a kind of artificial environment that can foster not only longer growing seasons for plants traditionally grown in our region, but can allow other species that normally might not be able to cope with colder weather conditions. Hoop houses can vary in size.  Smaller, “back yard garden” hoop houses may only be a few square feet while larger farms might utilize designs that are several feet wide by hundreds of feet long. Aside from sheltering crops from cold weather during the winter, another benefit of their construction is their decreased incidence of crop pests, diseases, and disruptive wildlife tribulations.



This new hoop house will be increase
yield in tomato production.
Photo courtesy of Amy Hendershot.

 Currently, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has funding to help with the cost of purchasing hoop houses for eligible crop growers within our region. For 2013, NRCS is paying growers around $2.55-$3.06 per square foot (up to 2178 ft²) for the cost of purchasing pre-manufactured high tunnel kits. Due to their simple design, the cost of purchasing and installing one of these kits is generally affordable and with the help of the NRCS, producers can expect to pay less than half of that cost out of pocket. The deadline to apply for funding is December 21, 2012.


To learn more about how you can get funding for a hoop house, contact NRCS Chelan County Resource Conservationist, Amy Hendershot, at (509) 664-9370.



Want to Get Involved?

 A great way to get involved in your community is by volunteering! Volunteering with Cascadia Conservation District is not only a rewarding way to give back to your community and the environment; It’s a great way to learn something new while doing something important with others who share your interest! There are a few volunteer opportunities coming up and we would really appreciate your help.

 

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

Sunday, December 9^th 2012, Seeding By the Highway, 10:30am-12:30am, 215 Melody Ln.

-          Help us reseed portions of the ground that were affected by recent road construction with native grass seed.

Wednesday, January 30^th 2013, Newsletter Bundling, 5pm-7pm, CCD office

-          Help us ready our Cascadia Quarterly newsletter for mailing

Saturday, February 2^nd 2013, Native Planting 101 Workshop, Confluence Technology Center, Wenatchee Learn about pollinators, weeds, landscaping, and more at this FREE workshop.

If you would like to learn more about any of these events, contact our office at (509) 664-9370 or email us at cascadiacd@yahoo.com

To sign up for our volunteer events mailing list or to RSVP for future volunteer events, visit our Volunteer Opporunities page.

Other Upcoming Events

Winter Life Snowshoe Tours (Registration now open!)

-          Friends of Northwest Hatcheries is sponsoring FREE guided Snowshoe tours along the Icicle Trail at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery.

-          Tours will begin on Friday January 4^th and will follow this schedule:

o   Fridays – 1pm

o   Saturdays – 10am, 1pm

o   Sundays – 1pm

-          Tours are available for anyone ages 8 and up. No experience is required and snowshoes are provided.

-          For more information or to register visit Friends of Northwest Hatcheries 

Free Community Movie Series

-          Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group (CCFEG) has sponsored a free educational movie series that is open to the public! CCFEG will be partnering with local venues in Leavenworth, Wenatchee, Twisp, and Tonasket to hold these events. The subject matter of the films includes salmon restoration, the Grand Coulee dam, and a controversial mine that is proposed to be built in Bristol Bay, Alaska. All events will include speakers and discussions on topics related to the films, local watershed issues, and projects that CCFEG is conducting in the region.

-          Check out the Movie Schedule (PDF) 

-          For additional information about this free movie series visit http://www.ccfeg.org/events/ or contact Sean Koester

2013 Picture the Wenatchee Watershed Stewardship Calendar

The 2013 Picture the Wenatchee watershed stewardship calendar is almost here!

If you haven’t already heard, the Picture the Wenatchee watershed stewardship campaign has put together a 2013 calendar featuring winning photos from the annual photo contest as well as watershed stewardship tips and resources.  The photos, categorized as landscape, water, plant, wildlife, recreation, or agriculture, act like a “best of the Wenatchee watershed – 2012.” With stunning views of Saddle Rock, Lake Minotaur, Eightmile Creek and more, this calendar will have every outdoor enthusiast smiling and in awe of the beauty found right here in our own back yard.  To view the wining photos featured in this year’s calendar visit www.picturethewenatchee.com

 or click here.

Drew Gaylord - Mission Peak Snowshoe

This $7 calendar makes a wonderful, inexpensive stocking stuffer and will be available for purchase mid-December. You can pre-order by calling our office at (509) 664-9370.

Photographers: Get out there now and start taking pictures for next year’s Picture the Wenatchee photo contest and maybe you’ll make it into the 2014 calendar! The contest is open to anyone and everyone who has an appreciation for the Wenatchee River watershed. Stay tuned for contest details to be released in April 2013!