wildlife watching

Rewild Portland is hosting a drop in open house for their Young Woman's Nature Skills program, August 30th, 1pm - 3pm

Our year-long mentoring program for girls ages 10-12 focuses on building character, leadership, and healthy feminine relationships through the exploration of nature, story, art, and earth living skills. We will meet twice a month for a full year and the program will culminate with a participant designed camping trip to practice the skills used throughout the year. 

Open House, August 30th, 1pm-3pm, Washington Park Archery Range
Families and girls interested in this program are invited to come to a casual, Drop In, 'open house' at the Washington Park Archery Range to meet program facilitators Sarah Hill and Kymberly Klein, ask questions, and experiment with a few of the skills we will be exploring together throughout the year. This open house is right before the monthly Free Skills Series event, Basketry and Berry picking. Families are welcome to stay after the open house for the Free Skills Series class from 3pm - 6pm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/298018360371018/

Website: http://www.rewildportland.com/roots-of-wisdom-young-womans-program/

Questions? Contact Program Coordinator, Sarah Hill, at Sarah@rewildportland.com for more info.

Birdfest and Bluegrass Nature Festival brings weekend of discovery Oct. 4th & 5th, invitation to explore the beauty of nature and wonders of our ecoregion.
RIDGEFIELD, WA - Again this year, on Saturday and Sunday, October 4th & 5th, 2014, Birdfest and Bluegrass offers the chance to discover nature right in the Portland metro area's own backyard, with a weekend packed with activities for visitors of all ages and interests. The annual festival is a celebration of the fall migration and opportunity to experience wildlife of the region and local history firsthand. Leading names in bluegrass provide musical accompaniment. Ridgefield with its small-town charm is a just a 25-minute drive from Portland. One of the festival's signature events is the opportunity to observe sandhill cranes fly in and out of their night roost in a special sanctuary that is otherwise closed to the public. Admission to the refuge is free during Birdfest and Bluegrass. Activities include guided bird and nature walks, live bird shows, tours of Cathlapotle Plankhouse, demonstrations of Native American life and traditions, and a salmon bake with samplings on Sunday. Children can learn about nature and have fun at the craft stations, storytelling tent and at the Audubon Society's live bird show. Special offerings on both days include guided kayak and canoe tours, Kiwa Trail tour and the spectacular sandhill crane tours at dawn and dusk. These tours are offered on a limited basis and fill quickly, with reservations and fees required. For more information and a schedule of events, go to www.ridgefieldfriends.org.

If you've always wanted to explore the Clackamas Watershed, but haven't been sure where to start, come on a CRBC hike this year!

Spend a day learning about geology, local flora and fauna, and the history of the Clackamas Watershed, while experiencing incredible scenery. This is a great opportunity to visit environments close to home, often pristine ones, that emphasize the natural beauty and biodiversity the Clackamas River Basin has to offer, leaving hikers with a greater sense of appreciation and motivation to protect these valuable resources.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming hikes:

* July 12th - Bull of the Woods Fire Tour

* August 16th - Mount Lowe and Rhododendron Ridge 

All tours are led by CRBC Board Member Bryon Boyce. See hike descriptions below for meeting locations. Bring plenty of water, a camera, bug spray, and a lunch. Be aware that temperatures in the upper watershed are cooler than in town so layer clothing for comfort and wear appropriate footwear. Hikes are free and participants will carpool. RSVP to attend by emailing Morgan Parks at MORGAN@CLACKAMASRIVER.ORG or calling 503-303-4372 x101. 

Next Hike - July 12th Bull of the Woods Fire Tour

Far-ranging views and wildflowers can be seen along the ridge-tops from Bull of the Woods (at 5523 ft.) and its lookout on this moderate to strenuous 10.5 mile hike. High mountain lakes will be visited as well. A car shuttle will exit at a second lower elevation trailhead. The route will involve substantially more downhill than uphill. Overall there will be 1075 feet elevation gain and 3375 feet loss.

This tour will be an excellent opportunity to visit wilderness areas of the Bull of the Woods Fire Complex of 2010 and the Mother Lode Fire of 2011. Learning about fire ecology and fire management in Western Oregon will be a focus of the outing. The fire left a mixture of damage types. Some were burned mostly by ground fire, leaving most of the tree canopy green. Other sections resulted in stand-replacing crown fires with large areas basically charcoal. In moderately and lightly burned areas, only deeply rooted herbaceous plants and shrubs have survived. Some recovery will be evident.

The plant zones we will pass through vary from high elevation forest to open rocky meadows and slopes to dense upper and mid-montane forest. The valleys of the fire area all drain to the Collowash River. Meet at the Clackamas River Ranger District -- 595 NW Industrial Way in Estacada, at 8:30 am. This is a full day hike. Due to the wilderness designation, the hike is limited to 12 participants.

If you've always wanted to explore the Clackamas Watershed, but haven't been sure where to start, come on a CRBC hike this year!

Spend the day learning about geology, local flora and fauna, and the history of the Clackamas Watershed, while experiencing incredible scenery. This is a great opportunity to visit environments close to home, often pristine ones, that emphasize the natural beauty and biodiversity the Clackamas River Basin has to offer, leaving hikers with a greater sense of appreciation and motivation to protect these valuable resources.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming hikes:

* June 28th - Thunder Mountain

* July 12th - Bull of the Woods Fire Tour

* August 16th - Mount Lowe and Rhododendron Ridge 

Read full hike descriptions including meeting locations HERE.

All tours are led by CRBC Board Member Bryon Boyce. See hike descriptions below for meeting locations. Bring plenty of water, a camera, bug spray, and a lunch. Be aware that temperatures in the upper watershed are cooler than in town so layer clothing for comfort and wear appropriate footwear. Hikes are free and participants will carpool. RSVP to attend by emailing Morgan Parks at MORGAN@CLACKAMASRIVER.ORG or calling 503-303-4372 x101. 

Next Hike - June 28th at Thunder Mountain

This diverse route crosses several high elevation passes and hillsides varying from dry rocky huckleberry fields to lush wet meadows, finally reaching the open top of Thunder Mountain at 5185 ft. To the north is Mount Hood, to the east Fish Creek Mountain, to the southeast Olallie Butte and to the south Mount Jefferson. Little remains of the once important lookout tower.

Wildflowers grace portions of the area. Local climate and soil conditions make a contrast between species-poor dry areas and species-rich wetlands. The route includes abandoned and active trails and decommissioned roads. There are several interesting geologic features remaining in this once-volcanic area.

This hike is mostly within the Clackamas drainage and rated as moderate at 8 miles in length with an overall elevation gain over 1000 ft. Meet at the Oregon City Shopping Center at 1900 McLoughlin Blvd. in Oregon City, at 8:30 am. Park in the lot adjacent to the entrance near the bank. We will be stopping along the way at an interesting geological site called the "Molalla Eye" that you won't want to miss! This is a full day hike.

Making sense of "Cathlapottle": How Chinookans made (and said) names on the land
Special Guest Presenter Henry Zenk

May 11th, 2014, 2pm.
Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge:  28908 NW Main Ave; Ridgefield, WA 98642           

Join us as at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse we explore how geographic names are formed in the Chinookan languages. The NW is covered in place names that come from local Chinookan Native American languages, and words like Memaloose, Skookum, Ilahee, and Tilikum continue to dot the landscape of our area. Henry Zenk, consulting linguist with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will summarize what we know about how Chinookans themselves constructed and pronounced the names they bestowed on their lands and on its original inhabitants. He draws especially on records left by linguists who worked with some of the languages' last fluent speakers. Many of these sources remain unpublished to this day.

This event is part of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse's Second Sunday Series of events.  Children's activities will be available from 12-4pm as well as guided Plankhouse tours, and information on International Migratory Bird Day.  For more information contact Sarah Hill at Sarah_Hill@fws.gov or call 360-887-4106.   

The Cathlapotle Plankhouse is located on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, 28908 NW Main Ave, Ridgefield WA 98604.  There is a $3.00 entrance fee per vehicle visiting the Refuge. To arrange wheelchair access to the Plankhouse, please contact Sarah Hill at Sarah_Hill@fws.gov or call (360) 887-4106.