Bobcat sightings were plentifularound Jawbone Flats thiswinter, especially for a seldom

seen animal. This member of thefamily Felidae (Cat) is typically twicethe size of a standard housecat andhunts mainly hares and rodents. Inthe winter they may turn to deer —hunting fawns or scavenging kills

left behind by their larger kin, the cougar. Cat tongues are raspy with tiny hornypapillae, which can clean meat from a bone or hide quite efficiently. Their eyes areadapted to hunt at night, with a reflective layer behind the receptor cells on theretina which redoubles light intensity. Often bobcats leave behind scratchings ontrees that can be 2-5 feet up the trunk. Just like household cats, wild cats like to work out their claws and clawing muscles on tree trunks. To preserve theirsharpness for slashing or gripping prey, cat claws are kept retracted most of thetime and rarely show in cat tracks. The bobcat inhabits much of the Cascaderange. You may surprise one if you travel quietly, but they tend to stay out of sight.

917 SW Oak, Suite 412Portland, OR 97205

Phone: 503-892-2782Fax: 503-227-2596E-mail: opalcreek@opalcreek.orgwww.opalcreek.org

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Non ProfitUS PostagePAIDMailed from 98642Permit No. 94

THEIR OWN WORDS“You guys have this down so well. As staff change over the years, you have kept the good ideas and just keepadding more good stuff from the newfolks.”

— Reynolds High School teacher

“Don’t change a thing – an awesomeexperience in an amazing setting for mykids. Staff did an excellent job – allwere knowledgeable, enthusiastic, fun,and great with the kids.”

— Silvercrest Elementary School teacher

“The food was excellent – nutritious,tasty, wholesome.”

— Cabin rental guest

“As an adult, I learned so much! I amdelighted to see our kids learning thesubject matter.”

— Buckman Elementary parent chaperone

Naturalist SpotlightBobcat (Lynx rufus)

Flowing Through Generations

Thehuman residents of Opal Creekwere not the only ones whohad to adjust to the fierce con-

ditions of this past winter. Our little town wasburied under twelve plus feet of snow, and sowas the surrounding forest. The snow changesthe entire landscape of Opal Creek, and everyspecies that lives here must adapt. As the daysbegan to grow shorter last fall, the forest was aflurry of activity. Squirrels gathered cones andseeds at an impressive rate. The human resi-dents of Opal Creek gathered four monthsworth of food, plenty of warm clothing, and lotsof reading material. Wood sheds were filled,propane tanks topped off, and freezers stuffedwith treats for a later day. We were ready by thetime the snow fell, and were able to watch itcollect. And collect. And collect. Our effortsthen turned to shoveling the roofs of our build-ings to ensure their longevity. The white blanketof snow told us many stories about how the

other residents of the forest were coping withthe change.

Wildlife has to make difficult decisions asthey are faced with the winter season, a time ofdecreased solar, thermal and nutritional energy.They may choose to migrate to lower elevations,and in some cases more southern latitudes,where temperatures are warmer and food moreplentiful. The forests of Opal Creek see manyseasonal visitors that move on before the freez-ing temperatures arrive. The Varied Thrush for-ages on the ground for food, and therefore can’tlast very long in a snow covered environment.We see these brightly colored birds comethrough in the spring and again in the fall,marking both the beginning and end of winter.Most of our seasonal migrants are birds, as it ismuch easier to fly long distances than to crossthem by foot. Regardless, there are still manyrisks associated with traveling these manymiles, as food along the migration route is

uncertain. Our hummingbirds, namely theRufous, Calliope and Anna’s, travel in a clock-wise loop, north along the Pacific, then inland insummer, and south along the Rockies to centralMexico. These tiny birds journey thousands ofmiles every year, following the warm tempera-tures. The Calliope Hummingbird migrates far-ther per gram of flesh than any other warm-blooded creature.

Given the risks that come along with migrat-ing thousands of miles, many animals adapt sothey can stay in the forest year round. Somedeal with the colder temperatures and scarcityof available nutrients by entering hibernation, a survival method that slows the metabolismdown tremendously into an almost coma likestate. These hibernators include chipmunks,amphibians, bears, and some species of squir-rels. The Mourning Cloak butterfly hibernates aswell, but sometimes can be seen flying around

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Flowing Through Generations

Opal Creek Adapts to WinterBy Katie Ryan

SPRING 2008

From the Executive Director 2

The Language of Opal Creek 3

The Winter of 2008 4

Small is Sustainable 5

Jawbone Journal 6

Comings and Goings 6

Naturalist Spotlight 8

The concept of ownership has existed for thousandsof years in many different forms, and every culture,no, every person, has a unique understanding of it.Prior to the settling of the Oregon Territory by white explorers, theindigenous peoples of this area would gather at Opal Creek annuallyfor barter, exchanges, and summer recreation. Their relationship to the land was not one of ownership, certainly not in the Western senseof the word. They considered themselves to be stewards of the land,not owners.

In the mid-1800s hard rock miners staked claims to the land.Later on Grandpa Hewitt, my maternal grandfather, consolidated thosemining claims under a variety of corporations. When he died, we soldthe property for financial reasons. Luckily the buyers, Thurston andDavid Twigg-Smith, were friends and sympathetic to our preservationcause. Under their ownership the mining claims became Shiny RockMining Corp.

Most of you are aware of the legal battles initiated by my cousinGeorge Atiyeh to protect the entire Opal Creek watershed. In 1989,George founded our organization’s first incarnation, Friends of OpalCreek. The Twigg-Smiths donated the Jawbone Flats property to Friends.

On November 12, 1996, landmark legislation creating the Opal CreekWilderness and Scenic Recreation Area became law. All past miningclaims were turned over to public land, except the 15-acre in-holding ofJawbone Flats. This historic mining town stayed in our name.

Twelve years following this historic event, Opal Creek Ancient ForestCenter remains the legal owner of Jawbone Flats. When I was appointedExecutive Director, it dawned on me how many different concepts ofownership (and non-ownership) have applied to Jawbone Flats over the years. Here is a property that was very dear to me and owned bymy family. Then we sold it, and years later I have the responsibility toguide the operation again. Luckily I share this responsibility with a very capable staff and Board. In fact, we recently welcomed two newmembers to the Board, Sean Sullivan and Dave Taylor. Their respectiveexpertise with managing facilities and supervising finances are a greatasset to our team.

However, we can’t possibly “own” this by ourselves. Please help outand let’s all share in the ownership. Here are a few things you can do:

• It’s been awhile since many of you have visited the forest.Schedule a hike to Opal Creek this summer and see what we’vebeen up to.

• This winter was a big drain on our resources. Please considerincreasing your financial contribution to us.

• Word of mouth promotion is a powerful tool. Ask one friend or rela-tive to become a member. They can do this online. Make sure theynote on the payment screen who sent them our way.

• If you belong to a club or organization that hosts outside speakersat meetings, please consider asking me to make a presentation.

• Check out our online wish list under the “Support Us” section.

I thank you for helping steward this amazing forest, and for support-ing our organization.

See you in the woods ---

Tom AtiyehExecutive Director

MISSION

2 • OPAL CREEK ANCIENT FOREST CENTER SPRING 2008

Thor HinckleyBoard Chair

Ted HelprinVice Chair

Craig Jacobson Secretary

Adam Lane Treasurer

Josh Kling

Doug Macy

Rick Schaefer

Peter Schoonmaker

David Seideman

Sean Sullivan

Dave Taylor

Tom AtiyehExecutive Director

Katie ChipkoInstructor

Justin GardinerInstructor

Ali JackiwDevelopment Assistant

Sarah KillionAssistant Cook

Suntara LobaRegistrar

Adam MimsFacilities Director

Joe O'NeillFacilities Assistant

Kathy RiveraOffice Manager

Katie RyanProgram Director

Kaola SwansonLead Instructor

RebekahYglesiasFood Service Director

Meghan YoungInstructor

Promoting ancient forest stewardshipthrough educationalexperiences inspired byOpal Creek’s naturaland cultural history.

STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

From the Executive Director Opal Creek Belongs to Everybody

Tom by the Three Pools area in early January, before the big storm

If you’re receiving this newsletter in themail, then you probably already agreewith me that Opal Creek is a place ofexceptional beauty. Time and spaceseem to take on a whole new meaning in the gentle unfurling of a fern fiddle-head, or the overpowering magnitude of a 1,000-year-old cedar. From themoment I step onto the sunlight-speck-led forest floor, and drink in a deep tasteof that subtly fragranced air, my experi-ence of the world shifts dramatically. Mymovement slows, my breath deepens,and the words and images runningthrough my head begin to transform.Suddenly I’m not thinking about dead-lines, meetings, or what’s for dinnertonight; I become fascinated with theunbroken, steady gait of a caterpillar’sjourney from pebble to twig, the see-sawtrail of a vine maple leaf floating to theground.

When we enter wild places like OpalCreek and tune our focus to the rhythmsof the natural world, we are changed, atleast temporarily. Furthermore, there isa quality inherent to our experience thatdemands to be shared, to be acknowl-edged or recorded in some way that oth-ers may understand it. Some people usecolor and canvas to move their experi-ence into a communicable form; otherstranslate it into music or dance. Still oth-ers find that words best reveal the clear-est truth of what they are feeling.

When we turn to language in thesesituations, however, we cannot approachit from a mechanical perspective. If weuse it as a tool for conveying informa-tion, it will be unable to serve our partic-ular purpose. To express the depth of

this kind of experience, we must use language in an uncommon way, as aninstrument of inspiration and revelation.Only then can we produce work that, asRobert Frost said, “begins in delight andends in wisdom... in a clarification of life— not necessarily a great clarification,such as sects and cults are founded on,but in a momentary stay against confu-sion.” This fleeting state of clarity can betriumphant and often revelatory, but it isstill only a representation of a world thatis beyond representation. As ee cum-mings so eloquently put it, “His mostwise music stole nothing from death.”Neither will our words steal anythingfrom the moving shadows of wilderness,but they can always serve as a humblegesture of gratitude for our admittedparticipation in nature.

Many admirers of Opal Creek havebeen called to impart their love for theforest in a literary way. Please take thefollowing excerpts as testament to theunique power of nature to calm themind, soothe the heart, and inspirepoetry in all of us.

3 • OPAL CREEK ANCIENT FOREST CENTER SPRING 2008

The Language of Opal Creekby Ali Jackiw

Breathe a simple lifeTaste the sound of a bird’s songSee our hearts shine on

— Yoga workshop participant

The trees are tall and are home to so many dif-ferent species. New growth fills the lower levelsand covers the ground as the old towers over thetop. Many different animals, plants, and naturalsurroundings are in the wilderness. Dirt at yourfeet and shades of green above your head.

— Jessie Burlando Junior, Reynolds Natural Resource Academy

Free to let go of ownershipof these mountains.They are returned to mein spirit.

— Tom AtiyehExecutive Director, OCAFC

I think about how every animal has its ownintake. Beavers build dams, birds build nests.That’s where they lay down to rest. Summer daysand warm breeze always makes life feel easy.

— Amanda ClarkeJunior, Reynolds Natural Resource Academy

There’s a secretwhispered only by a very few…The river speaks the forbidden word,as it rushes earnestly and steadfast towards thevast, pulsing magnetism of the oceanIt is woven into the fibrous, explicit skin of themassive cedarsand painted, raw and pink, across the late sky as evening tames the sun…

— Ali JackiwDevelopment Assistant, OCAFC

To protect and preserve, that is our mission.Can we do it correctly? We will find out.

— Vadim Vityuk Senior, Reynolds Natural Resource Academy

Come join acclaimed poet Amy Minato forthe Opal Creek Nature Writing Workshop,October 4-5. Amy is the author of The WiderLens, published in 2004. Her work has beenwidely recognized with both a 2003 OregonLiterary Arts Fellowship and a WaldenFellowship. In this workshop we will discussand practice several techniques for translat-ing into words those “inexpressible” momentsin nature. A broad range of nature writers,including Henry David Thoreau, John Muir,and Annie Dillard, will be sampled.

4 • OPAL CREEK ANCIENT FOREST CENTER SPRING 2008

on rare sunny days. The general strategy for thesehibernators is to enter a seasonal torpor wherethe heart rate and breathing rate are slowed dra-matically, and the body temperatures broughtdown to just above freezing. The purpose of thisis to conserve calories at a time when they arehard to come by. Occasionally these animals mayawaken briefly to excrete, stretch, eat stored

food, or forage. Other species choose to stick it out and for-

age throughout the winter. These are the animalsthat tell their stories by leaving fascinating tracksand signs for us in the snow. This winter we fol-lowed bobcat tracks through camp as theychased raccoons, and caught sight of cougarmarkings that kept us on our toes in the areassurrounding Jawbone Flats. The two canine resi-dents of camp were very curious when a coyoteleft a trail winding through town. The extraordi-nary snow pack meant that deer had a toughertime moving around. As we hiked in and out ofJawbone, we saw many mule deer moving veryslowly in the snow, giving us a chance to observethem closely, and our cougars a chance to catchan easy dinner.

Winter lasted well into April this year, with the last snowflakes falling in Jawbone on April30th. While we are still buried under three feet ofsnow, things are starting to reappear as the snow melts. The informational signs throughoutJawbone are peeking out again, and trees buriedall winter long are coming out of their dormancy.California Tortoiseshell butterflies flitter about,and the Trilliums are beginning to bloom in themelted out areas of the forest, almost twomonths later than normal. The views out of thecabin windows are beginning to show more thanjust a wall of snow, and the water levels are risingin the creeks as the forest and Jawbone Flatscome out of a deep winter freeze. Best of all, theVaried Thrush is back, telling us all that spring ison its way to Jawbone.

Opal Pool bridge at the height of winter

I’ve seen snow and I’ve seen bigsnow – this year we had really bigsnow! Not since 1949 has such amajor low-elevation snow event

hit Opal Creek. A late ’49 snow stormdumped for several days and crushedthe old ore mill. The miners at Jawboneheard on the Stayton AM radio stationthat help was on the way. One weeklater a Caterpillar punched through tocamp. My Aunt Thelma often told methey didn’t want rescuing, but then shewas snowbound with five miners!

As I compose this review of winterspast, please picture this – It is late Apriland I am sitting at the kitchen table inCabin 4 with the snow outside still wellabove the windows. Our new staff mem-bers have moved in for the season andthey are wondering what they’ve gottenthemselves into.

The winter staff is telling them,“This is nothing; you should have beenhere two months ago!” They are right;this was an epic winter.

This winter topped 1968 when weasked our friends from the University of Oregon to help open the road. Thatwas the year all the front porch dorm-ers were pushed off the cabin roofs.

This also beat the snow level record of1970 when George Atiyeh finally cameslogging out on snowshoes to StackCreek in June!

Our staff had to make the tough calland delay our season opening twice. Itfinally took a ten day, eight and a halfmile push from the Henline Bridge(before Three Pools) with two tractorsand one front-end loader to reachJawbone Flats. I will never forget itwhen Aziz Atiyeh rounded the entranceinto camp pushing a wall of snow with aD6 caterpillar. I can tell you that afterbeing snowbound for about fourmonths our staff was ecstatic.

Opening the road has allowed us toresupply camp and bring in our season-al staff. As one of the only opened roadsin the lower Cascades, we have a newthrong of visitors. Quite the shock toour Jawbone friends who only saw a fewintrepid cross country skiers all winter!

I thank Marlene Hirons for loaningus the D6 belonging to Tom Hirons,her late husband. Marlene spent thewinter of 1972-73 in Jawbone and com-pletely understood the situation.Thanks also to my cousin George andhis son Aziz for the tractor work. You’re

right George, Aziz is definitely better at running a D6 than you are. BoardMember Sean Sullivan called RainCountry Construction and they provid-ed the tracked Bobcat that we used indelicate situations like the half-bridges.George and Lead Instructor KaolaSwanson also provided the air supportfor a mid-February air drop of muchneeded supplies.

Let’s swap winter tales. Anyone whohas wintered over in Jawbone pleasesend me your pictures and stories totatiyeh@opalcreek.org. We’ll collectthem in our archive and post to ourwebsite for all to share.

I’d like someone to top my story ofswimming in partially frozen Opal Poolin January. Now that’s a worthy challenge.

by Tom Atiyeh

The Winter of 2008

The Jawbone crew next to a very large cedarwhich snapped sometime this winter

Opal Creek Adapts to Wintercontinued from cover

5 • OPAL CREEK ANCIENT FOREST CENTER SPRING 2008

When standing in front of a group of 4th graders,I often struggle to describe “sustainability.” I askthem to think about sustained notes in music,

and have them hold a note, off-key and wavering by the timeit draws to a close. “Notice how the note persists,” I say, “butyou need to replenish your breath to keep it going for a longtime.” Sustainability is a difficult concept to describe to any-one. In general, we can define sustainability as strivingto meet the needs of the present without compro-mising the ability of future generations to meettheir own needs (Brundtland Report 1987). Itencompasses large scale structural and socialchange and it applies to individual choices.Many changes have been made across theworld in the name of sustainability, withtangible and impressive results. Even verysmall changes to our daily routines can havea large cumulative impact. When we talkabout power generation however, the questionof scale becomes increasingly important.Changes we make on a small, individual scaleto become more sustainable cannot always beapplied to a larger population. Hydro-electricpower is a great example of the relationship betweenscale and sustainability.

At Jawbone Flats we rely almost entirely on our hydro-electric system to generate electricity. The water that powersthis system is captured from a small stream about a mile awayfrom camp. Less than 10% of the water from the stream isused, and even this portion is returned to the watershed afterit generates our electricity. The water flows into a pipe thatnarrows as it moves downhill and into our hydro shed. Insidethe hydro shed, the water is piped out of a small nozzle at apressure of 135 psi (pounds per square inch). This powerfuljet of water fills the cups of our Pelton wheel, causing it tospin 900 times per minute. This in turn causes the attachedturbine to spin very fast. It is attached to the generator wheremagnets spin quickly around coils of copper wire. This iswhere the electricity is actually generated.

At Jawbone Flats, our hydro-electric system can make upto 11 kW, enough electricity to power all of our buildingsand appliances. On average however, we only make 7kW, andduring the summer when the water levels are low, we makeeven less power. Sometimes, water flow is so reduced that weare unable to generate enough power with our hydro-electricsystem. In the past, we depended on propane for back upelectricity, but now we have a “green” back up. Last year,thanks to funding from Portland General Electric CleanWindSM customers, solar panels were installed on ourCommissary building. They collect enough UV rays to powerthe classroom and store excess electricity in two large batter-ies. These batteries can power all of camp for 24 hours. In

the summer, we use them at peak times when the hydro-electric system isn’t making enough electricity to power all of camp.

Our hydro-electric system provides power for 60 people at its maximum capacity. It qualifies as a micro-hydro systembecause it produces less than 100 kW of power. Providing

power to an entire city of people requires a muchlarger, industrial hydro-electric system. The key

ingredient in industrial scale hydro-electricplants is a large body of water. To controlthe volume and pressure of the watermoving through giant hydro-electricsystems, we build dams. Hydro-electricpower has the advantage of being a

renewable source of energy that producesno waste even on a large scale. As good as

it may sound, it’s not that simple. Building alarge dam involves seriously altering the naturallandscape, diverting water courses, floodingnaturally dry land, and forcing resident humansand other species to relocate.

What seems like a perfect solution for smallcommunities or individual homes can become an

environmental and social problem when applied tolarge populations. There are several ways to approachsustainable power. One is to investigate smaller productionsystems in your community. Installing solar panels on yourhome can be very cost effective over the course of just a fewyears, depending on your location and energy needs. Manypower companies are alsoexploring alternative energyproduction, and you canoften choose to buy powerproduced by these systems.

Over the course of eachday, we are provided withan array of options- whereand what to eat, how todispose of our waste, whereto buy our power, how toget from home to work orschool. Although therearen’t any universalsolutions, there are manysmall, individual decisions.In our efforts to becomemore sustainable atJawbone Flats and around the country, it seems clear that the minor improvements made by each of our individualdecisions do have a positive cumulative impact. As newresearch provides us with better and more efficientalternatives, we can each strive to live “sustainably.”

Estimated Power Use at Jawbone

Hydro-Electric 74%Propane 25%

Solar 1%

by Kaola Swanson

Small is Sustainable

Want to learn moreabout SustainableEnergy Systems?Join us for our exciting new workshop August 16-17, 2008. $150 per adult.

We will learn about SustainablePower Systems, Active andPassive Solar Design and EnergyEfficiency. Join Bruce Barney, theprimary designer of our newmicro-hydro generator, for a weekend learning about OpalCreek’s off grid power system.

6 • OPAL CREEK ANCIENT FOREST CENTER SPRING 2008

Our 2008 team is ready and excited for the start of the seasonin Jawbone. You will see some new faces, recognize some oldfaces, and are bound to miss a few of our past staff who havemoved on to new adventures.

This winter was quite the year for our winter caretakers.Program Director Katie Ryan, Facilities Director Adam Mims,and Facilities Assistants Joe O’Neill and Peter Frost composedthe winter 2008 team. We were snowed in without vehicleaccess from Christmas Day to April 13th. Lots of shoveling,snowshoeing, and games of Monopoly made up our winter.

Former OCAFC Lead Instructor Claire Lukens has depart-ed Opal Creek for further graduate level studies in geology.Claire is currently enjoying the winter skiing in Bend, andwill be moving on to graduate school at the University of

Wyoming in the fall. We are excited to welcome back KaolaSwanson as the Lead Instructor for our 2008 season. Kaolahas spent the winter helping us out in the Portland office, fill-ing in as our Interim Registrar while we conducted a searchfor the permanent staff member. Kaola is very excited toreturn to the forest.

We would like to welcome Suntara Loba as our newRegistrar. Suntara is a native Oregonian, and visited OpalCreek many times as a child with her mother who was on theboard of Friends of Opal Creek during the conservation cam-paign. She returns to Oregon after many years in NewMexico and is excited to be back among the tall trees andworking on behalf of the forest that she enjoyed so much as achild. Suntara brings years of administrative experience withnon-profits, and will now serve as the primary contact inPortland for all reservation inquiries.

COMINGS and GOINGS

Jawbone Journal

Winter 2008 will go down in history for therecord amounts of snowfall received in theCascades. Jawbone was no exception, andall told we received over 12 feet of snowthis winter. As we gather to collect ourthoughts for the Jawbone Journal, the snowis still falling and our windows are filling upagain with fresh snow. It is March 26th.

November 18th As seasonal Jawbone staff moveout for the winter, the first snow begins to fall.Winter is here. The forest is quiet.

November 22nd Thanksgiving Peter Frost returnsto Jawbone for his third winter as a caretaker,fresh from a stint working on his family’s island inthe St. Lawrence River. The Jawbone residentsenjoy a fabulous day of friends, food, and laugh-ter. Friends from near and far journey to Jawboneto give thanks among the giant trees.

December 25th–Christmas Day Paul andLeAnne Pace join Peter and Adam for dinner inJawbone as the snow really begins to fall. ThePaces are the last to drive the road out ofJawbone as they leave that evening. By morning,3½ feet of snow are on the ground. This marksthe beginning of Jawbone being snowbound with-out vehicle access for the entire winter, and muchof the spring.

December 31st – New Year’s Eve Katie and Joereturn after a holiday trip back east. They are ableto get to the Three Pools’ turn, thanks to thePaces. From there, they snow shoe the 7.5 milesto Jawbone through deep, untracked snow. Manylarge cougar prints are spotted near Stack Creek.

January 3rd & 4th The snow subsides for a bit,and Facilities Staff resumes work on some of theiroutside projects.

January 16th The first video conference call toever happen in Jawbone occurs. Katie and Adam,unable to travel to Portland due to the snow, useSkype to participate in the board meeting.

January 19th Instructor Kaola Swanson andfriends snow shoe in from Three Pools bearinglots of treats for the snowbound Jawbone resi-dents. Fresh salad, fruit, and chocolate nevertasted so good.

January 21st Katie, Adam, and Pete take a walkto Ruth Mine, lit by the full moon. It is cold inJawbone (in the teens), and even colder up atthe mine.

January 27th The snow begins again, and webrace ourselves for the “big storm.”

January 28th–February 4th Jawbone is ham-mered with a 20-year storm. Ninety-four inchesfall in 8 days and the 4 winter staff shovel all day,every day for 8 days to save our historic buildingsfrom being crushed. Local communities of Detroitand Idana declare a state of emergency and theNational Guard is deployed to help these com-munities deal with this amazing amount of snow.

February 1st We celebrate Adam’s birthday whilereaching the 100-inch mark for snowfall. We diga pit for the grill and enjoy a delicious barbequeas the snow continues to fall outside.

February 9th Former OCAFC Instructor ColleenMcGuire and her dad ski in from Elkhorn for thenight. The snow line is 5 feet above the rails onthe Gold Creek bridge.

February 16th Local pilot and champion of OpalCreek, George Atiyeh, and Instructor Kaola Swansoncomplete an airdrop of food for the Jawbone staff.The drop consists of mainly butter, beef, bacon, andchocolate. There are a few surprises in the drop,including a copy of The History of the Donner Party.

February 22nd With 5 plus feet of snow still onthe ground, the decision is regretfully made topush the season opening back by 3 weeks, fromApril 12th to April 26th.

February 24th Peter and Minute Man flush abobcat out from the small shed behind Cabin 9.Many bobcat tracks had been seen throughout

camp, and now we believe they are hunting theraccoons living under the Battle Ax bridge.

March 5th The Jawbone crew heads up to CedarFlats, cross country so as not to have to cross anybridges. We notice the Upper Opal Creek bridgehas lost its railing on one side. Many large cedartrees are down over what is believed to be thetrail. This is the first trip to Cedar Flats of 2008.

March 16th Joe sees 2 bobcats near theKopetski bridge as he hikes out of Jawbone for afew days.

March 17th Peter discovers our newts havereturned to the pond in lower Jawbone. Perhapsspring is on its way.

March 26th –30th A late season storm slamsJawbone, dropping another 24 inches of snow.Shoveling begins again, and although the rest ofthe world is enjoying spring, it is still winter herein Jawbone.

We have begun to open the buildings and areworking on opening the road to vehicle traffic.Our thoughts have turned to the upcoming sea-son, staff have been hired, and we are lookingforward to a great season. There will be snowpiles in Jawbone long into the summer; it wasjust one of those years! We look forward to see-ing you here in the forest.

– The Residents of Jawbone Flats

Note: Jawbone Journal was written on March 26th.We have now opened the road for vehicle access.

The staff relax in the “hot” tub after a day ofshoveling roofs

O pal Creek Ancient Forest Center recent-ly received a very generous bequestdonation. Our donors have chosen to

remain anonymous, but I’d like to share a littlebit about them and what motivated them to con-tribute to our cause. They were first introduced toOCAFC on a day hike organized by The Nature

Conservancy. The first thing that struck them wasthe clarity of the water. Although they’ve traveledextensively through Colorado and the PacificNorthwest, they have never seen anything asbeautiful as Opal Creek, before or after that fate-ful first meeting. Our generous donors chose towrite OCAFC into their will because they believe

in our mission of education and environmentalprotection, and they know that giving to a small,local organization maximizes on the impact thattheir contribution will have. For more informationon bequest donations, please contactDevelopment Assistant Ali Jackiw atajackiw@opalcreek.org or 503-892-2782.

7 • OPAL CREEK ANCIENT FOREST CENTER SPRING 2008

Forest Patrons ($500+)Richard AtiyehTom and Leslie AtiyehJean BaumannMary Ann David

in honor of “Tommy” AtiyehJohn DeyoeNancy FreemanJim GreenSusan Hay and Michael

BeckerSusan HealyTed and Nicole HelprinKim HeronArthur and Gertrude

HetheringtonThor Hinckley and Alison Wiley Carol KekezJosh and Weezie KlingAdam and Victoria LaneT.E. LindleyDarrell LitvinColleen and Thad McCrackenCindy and Joe MeduriTom Morawski and Elisabeth

PostmaBill NicholsonLeanne and Paul PaceChristopher Rich Erik Richmond and Annette

DemseyBrad and Trina RobertsonBarbara RoessnerSteve and Barbara SandersRick and Sharon SchaeferDavid Seideman and Jennifer

HershFrances SeymourBeth ShelbyDavid TaylorThurston and Sharon Twigg-

SmithDorie and Larry VollumJanet and Sam WilliamsonBrian and Amy Windrope

Forest Benefactors ($250+)Rob Anglemier Aaron ArmbrusterJim and Nancye BallardJohn and Justie BraestrupBert BrehmAaron Courtney and Anne

NicholMichael and Lisa DavisMac Dunbar and Uta CrisafulliLoris EastmanStephen Feldman and Wendy

WilkinsonBarb and Paul GehlarNathan Good and April WatersJeffrey HandleyEileen Hochstein-AltschulRoxanne HoltmanConstance Jackson and Xavier

LeHericyJohn and Robin KatzensteinJames and Luise LaneKathleen LewisDoug MacyRebecca Macy and James

ReynoldsSara and Charles MauritzKaren Leann McKay and

Edward WolfTom Moyer

Richard and Virginia NadeauMarianne OttPete and Kathy RandallTracy RobyEvelyn SchaeferSaga Shoffner and Rick

WaldronHolly Stirnkorb

Forest Stewards ($100+)Linda and Raines AndersonDavid and Darlene AtiyehBruce BarneySusan BatesAllen BatesonAnn and Sarah BattenKaren Belsey and Kevin HilleryGinny BenwareEric BergAndrew BraunBob Britton and Martha NeroDick and Marcia CampbellAnn CarrollSteve ChamberlinKevin CorcoranGail and Robert CordellJanet and Larry CornellDonna Courtney

in honor of Aaron CourtneyBryan DawsonGrace DinsdaleLalena DolbyJohn and Sheryl DronsfieldPaul EhrlichMasa EllisJoern Eriksen and Ilene

McMurrayTed and Cynthia GatyGlenda GoodrichRobert GravesBetty and Robert GriffithsJohn HainesCarl and Peggy HammondFelicia and Steve HolgateRyan HubkaJoe and Judith HuckKarl HughesJeffrey JarviLane JohnsonJohn KassebaumBen Kasubuchi and Kay JuranJane and Peter KendallCharles KerschJohn Klinker, Jr.Jerry and Yvonne LawsonDave and Lee LaymanMichael Lobdell and Ali JackiwSandy and Charles LobdellDave and Sherri LuhrMatthew MartinsenThomas McDermottAdam MimsKenneth and Melissa Moholt-

SiebertMt. St. Helens Club David Mulford and Sheryllyn

DoughertyMichael Nelson and Gwen

LoomisCathie OlcottLeif and Amy OlssonLefty and Frances PageEric Park and Grace Lee-ParkScott Parker and Ellen

Vanderslice

John PaullRoy and Kathie PeelerJared Polesky and Liz FieldMichael and Linda PreiszJoan QuigleyDell Rhodes and Will BlochMelinda RichardsAnne RobertsonMark RockwellShari RoseKatie Ryan and Joe O’NeillMarcia SaumweberDavid SchafferAllen SellersLauren ShaptonAlbert ShumSteven SpindelDorald StoltzCary StrauchKaola SwansonPeggy TalmadgeBilly and Nicole TateRaymond ThomasLouise Tippens and Peter WestTimothy and Maggie Twigg-

SmithKen and Mary UnkelesJ. Richard and Nikki UrrutiaWillem Velsink and Nancy

FormanR. Bastian and Barbara

WagnerDavid and Susan WakiWendy Ware and Dan GleasonMarianne Wilcox and Kathy

Kohlerin memory of Robert ArthurMaguire

Christine and Reed WilsonKaren Wood

Forest Supporters ($50+)Howard and Nancy BalesGary BallouHeather BeusseLinda ‘Bo’ BonottoKen Bronstein and Gayle

BrodySteven Brook and Vanessa

HughesPatsy BruggereAric BuckBarclay BurnsEricka CarlsonDennis and Gretchen CarnabyMicki CarrierJulie ChapmanAlicia CohenSam ColemanHelen ConoverDebbie DavidsonDenise DavisRichard Dulude and Pamela

OlsonBryce EcklesBarry EgenerDeborah EisenbergArt and Charlene EmlenBrock EvansRobert FalconerJohn Femal and Julie FischerDavid and Joan ForkCaitlin GartonDebra Glasser GreenMerle and N.J. GreensteinJudy Guse-Noritake

Candice Guth and David PogelRachel Haig and Stephen

SondermanZoe Edelen HairNathan and Dawndae

HamiltonRobin and Timothy HarrowerJakob Hasslacher

in memory of MargiHasslacher

Ralph and Linda HedbergLupin HillAdele and Michael HilsenJoan HinckleySobin and Alis HiraokaJames HoweKathleen JackiwKaren Kaye Jernstedt and

Anthony James BarkovichIsabel JohnsonDavid KeltnerKurt KimseyDan and Kris KingFergus KinnellWilliam KnessClayton Knight and Pam BeatyKim Knox and Linda TorgesonKurt and Evelyn KristensenLloyd KumleyJane and Michael LambMollie LennarzGerard LesterVicki LindJim and Roberte LipscombKaren LiskaMarvin LittTheresa MarquezPeter McDonaldKathryn Menard and Gary

OxmanSandy Moore Jr.Laura MounceDiane MurphyJim NieuwstratenJohn and Karen OakeyDavid OlsonJay and Deann OrandKen OttoJulynne Pang and John CrownMari PenshurstDonna and D.L. PickensSharon PrangeJ. Chris RasmussenNorma ReichJunita Ries-Brown and

Michael BrownMarylou RitterJames and Carol SannerDavid ShaferKeith and Doris SherryDevin SimmonsDr. Clark SiskWade StoddardGeorge and Sue StonecliffeJohn SvicarovichAnn Kendall TaylorOlivia and Gladys ThomasMitch ThomasHeather UsseryEric von der HaydenFred and Maureen WearnHans and Kathy WestEdward and Dolores WilsonJohn WongNicholas YoungNichola Zaklan

Members ($35+)Barbara AmenLinda AshThomas BerridgeEllyn BiedscheidGail and Warren BishopMaureen Blaha and Joe

Morrisin honor of Ali Jackiw

Jeff BoothSharon BotchwaySteve and Jo Lee BryantJesse CarmineAnne ClarkMarilyn CraigBob and Jan CritesDonna and Robert CynkarGary DahlstromMike DonnerbergT A Dragila and J M MillerKevin Ebel and Colleen WrightJordan EpsteinLouis FernandezPatty FogartySusanne Fork and Stephen

LiermanElizabeth FrugeArlene GarrisonWayne GilbertLinda Frison GlasserCarolyn GoolsbyJeffry and Emily GottfriedReid HansonBarbara and Marvin HawesMargaret and Samuel HazlettSusan HealyGillian HearstDiane HoltCeil and Bob HuntingtonJ. Michael and Leslie KearseyMike Klain and Janet PutnamTerry LambethGeorgia Mason LeeVirginia and Vincent LoweDebb MaccabeeDavid Manfield and Julie

BevanJeannine MarshallCharles and Elouise MattoxPatrick McDowellJames and Lorace MillerCarol and Bill NorthCliff and Cheryl PereivaDavid Peterson and Elizabeth

BerdanAlan Pittman and Beth SteinDana ReganDee and Jim RoyLillian SarlosMaureen and Arthur SevignySue StaehliBarbara StephensAlice SufkaRoger and Carolyn SunKeith and Constance SwensonJennifer ThurmanCarolyn Timberlake Judy ToddJeff Variel and Laurel Switzer

VarielJan and Lesly VerduinJaime and David VogelJohn WadsworthLauren WarnerDarin Wilson

Amy WingJeffrey WinslowJean YatesPaul and Kevin Zenchenko

Other AmountTheresa and William AmerlingGeorge and Hillary AtiyehDr. Joseph and Madeline

CarboneMichael CullertonKay and Peter EilersLinda FelverApril Ann FongPhil HahnFergus KinnellAmity LindsayC.P. and Betty LoveBob and Judy MartinDave MillerDawn OsselmanLarry PrestonJudy and Ted QuackenbushLinda RobinsonAlec and Laurie RowellKay ScogginNoelle Studer

In-kind DonorsDigiCraftLynne Duddy and Lawrence

HowardLes Schwab TiresGreg LiefKaty McFaddenLeanne and Paul PaceOregon Ballet TheatreUnited RentalsWilco Farm StoreAlison Wiley

Grant FundersThe Bridges FoundationEarth Share of OregonJuan Young TrustOregon Community

FoundationRose E. Tucker Charitable TrustSo Hum Foundation

Corporate DonorsBarrs and Genauer

Construction, Inc.D. Pedersen & FriendsDavid Evans and Associates,

IncEcotrustHaertl Development Co.Homestead Stove CompanyOpal Creek NaturalsPacific Security CapitalPortland General Electric

Thank You! (donors between 9/1/07 and 3/28/08)

Thanks to Our Newest Bequest Donors