The Canyon Weekly May 3o, 2012
Volume 3, Issue 22
News and Life - For Our Side of the Mountain! Serving the communities of Lyons, Mehama, Elkhorn, Mill City, Gates, Niagra, Detroit, Breitenbush, Idanha and Marion Forks
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Local agencies partner to open forest stands for harvest
Grady McMahan of the USFS Detroit Ranger District holds a map of potential areas for harvest by wood products job creators.
A few weeks ago, a group of business owners, forest agencies and watershed partners trekked through the woods near Idanha to open the conversation about how to use over 20,000 acres of stagnated timber stands on US Forest Service lands. The tree stands had been planned for timber harvest, but weren’t maintained for various reasons, including slow demand. Now, the USFS is asking local job creators how the stag-
nated stands can be used for harvest of products like log poles, timber, mosses, firewood and mushrooms, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the watersheds. “Pre-commercial thinning never happened at some of these stands,” said Grady McMahan of the USFS. “A lot of trees are competing for resources. We have a system under stress.” The group toured two stands near Hwy (cont’d on page 16)
City of Lyons, SCTC post video of council meetings online
Those who are interested in Lyons City Council happenings, but who are unable to attend the meetings, can now go online and watch a video of the proceedings. Thanks to Stayton Cooperative Telephone Co. (SCTC), local videographer Ken Cartwright is now professionally recording the meetings. Residents or interested parties can find the videos at two websites: www. canyonvideos.com (SCTC) or at the City of Lyons, www.cityoflyons.org, under the “Agenda and Meetings” tab. Funding for the taping is provided by SCTC. The first recorded meeting was on April 24, 2012. Here’s just few topics that were covered, according to the city council meeting minutes: The Lyons City Council Meeting was called to order by Mayor Doug Morgan. Present: City Councilors Mike Lucas, Troy Donohue,
Lon Conner, Dan Burroughs. City Staff in attendance were City Manager Mary Mitchell, Administrative Assistant Tami Owen and Assistant City Manager Audrey McNerney. Also present were Planning Commissioners Steve Baldwin and Darren Cross. Water Rights – Ponds at Freres Park. Morgan referred to the e-mail correspondence from Jim Schuette, the City Engineer and discussed how the beaver dams controlled the flow of water at the ponds and the fact that because the beaver dams were washed out the water level was now very low. This could raise some issues this summer. He said that Schuette and representatives of the Department of Fish & Wildlife had inspected the area to determine how the water flow could be restructured. Schuette said in his e-mail that the City would need to get water rights to these ponds. After discus-
sion Mitchell asked Council for direction as to whether or not she should budget for the expenses which will be incurred in connection with obtaining a permit to store water in the ponds which could be in excess of $2,000. Mitchell stated that she felt it was important to move forward quickly on this issue since it is only during the latter part of the summer when any activity is allowed within the waterways. It was the consensus of Council to authorize Mitchell to move forward with this project. Water District Rate Increase. Morgan stated that at the last City Council meeting a citizen had commented that the City was responsible for the increase in the water rates and that a letter had been sent to Mr. Geddes asking why, since he was present at the meeting, he had not made comment with regard to that issue. (cont’d on page 3)
Canyon Weekly donates cash to local causes for each subscription Our readers cares about what happens in the North Santiam Canyon - and so do we. Dozens of non-profit organizations exist to help make our home a better place to live. In addition to covering the events and fund raisers of these groups, we at The Canyon Weekly want to thank all the individuals that keep the wheels turning. For each new or renewal subscription, from now until Christmas, we’ll donate $5 to the local non-profit of your choice. See Page 15 for more information!
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