Locus Focus on 07/16/12

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Produced by: 
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Air date: 
Mon, 07/16/2012 - 10:15am to 11:00am
The transformation of Johnson Creek from polluted eyesore to urban nature gem

JOHNSON CREEK: 2012 STATE OF THE WATERSHED REPORT

Johnson Creek flows 26 miles from its headwaters near the Sandy River to its confluence with the Willamette River, passing through five cities (Gresham, Portland, Milwaukie, Damascus, and Happy Valley) and two counties (Clackamas and Multnomah) along the way. Once a favorite camping and fishing spot for Native people, the creek was degraded by decades of abuse when white settlers took over the landscape. For years, Johnson Creek was known primarily as an eyesore that frequently flooded. Over the last few decades a growing number of people have become determined to right past wrongs in the Johnson Creek Watershed and return the creek to something of its former natural glory. In the mid-1980s, a small grassroots group called the Friends of Johnson Creek (also known as the Johnson Creek Marching Band) began leading tours of Johnson Creek, highlighting it as a community asset. It was the first time that any group had portrayed Johnson Creek in a positive light publicly. These days the Johnson Creek Watershed Council is the official body that oversees the restoration, enhancement and protection of the creek.

On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Robin Jenkinson, JCWC Restoration Coordinator and author of the recent State of the Watershed Report for Johnson Creek, that looks at several areas of concern in the Johnson Creek Watershed: fish and wildlife, shade and temperature, streamflow, turbidity, pollution and a 2020 vision for the creek.

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