On October 27, 2009, the Columbia Land Trust honored their volunteers with a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at their headquarters in Vancouver. Russ and Ann Kastberg, co-chairs of the Nelson Creek Restoration committee, attended, representing the chapter.
Ann and Dr. Peter Ritson, presented the program for the evening featuring the Clark County amphibian egg mass survey program. This program has been going on in Clark County for the last two years and utilizes volunteer citizen scientists to survey for amphibian egg masses in the spring. We have extended this same program to Nelson Creek the last two years and currently are planning to start a similar program in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties.
The highlight of the evening was the Golden Lopper Awards, presented to Columbia Land Trust volunteers for exceptional service in 2009. Willapa Hills Audubon received the “Most Complex Volunteer-Led Project Award” for the work we are doing on the Nelson Creek Restoration project. Activities this year include ongoing surveys and monitoring and building maintenance and de-construction. It indeed has been a complex project that has resulted in a comprehensive baseline study on the property. The results of these studies have led to restoration plans that will be coming on-line this next year.
Special note needs to go to all the volunteers that have helped out at Nelson Creek. Volunteer hours are as follows: year 2007=672 hours, 2008=452 hours, and 2009=223 hours so far, for a grand total of 1347 hours reported Andrea Burkley, CLT Nelson Creek coordinator. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone that has participated on the project. This is a truly great example of citizen scientists at work.
If you would like to support the restoration effort at Nelson Creek, please contact