Mermaid spotted at Fir Street Park page 5
Sisters artist’s book is on the street page 7
Quilts in the Garden to feature raffle chances page 21
The Nugget Vol. XLI No. 26
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Most Milli-damaged trails remain open By Craig F. Eisenbeis Correspondent
In the wake of last year’s 24,000-acre Milli Fire, the good news is that almost all trails within the burn perimeter are open for use. The bad news? Well, that’s pretty obvious: more forest destruction has been added to our ever-growing local inventory of thousands of burned and blackened acres in Sisters Country. The Forest Service is working hard to clear trails of debris and fallen trees. In the meantime, even trails that have not been fully cleared are still passable, albeit with more than a few obstacles to negotiate. The only major closure remaining is the Black Crater Trail, which is very... black. By all accounts, this trail is pretty much completely, and severely, burned over — except for portions near the very summit of Black Crater, where some
Correspondent
Fisheries biologists have found a record number of redband trout redds, or nests, during their 2017-2018 surveys on the Metolius River. This indicates that the river’s trout population remains strong and healthy. “We have found that the primary spawning areas on the Metolius River for redband trout are from the mouth of Spring Creek to the headwaters, and in Lake Creek and Abbot Creek,” said Nate Dachtler, assistant district fisheries biologist for the Deschutes National Forest’s Sisters Ranger District. Surveyors documented
Inside...
Sisters continues to wrestle with short-term rentals By Sue Stafford Correspondent
and emphasized that the closure is seen as temporary.
There was obvious frustration in the room last Thursday when the Sisters Planning Commission again discussed short-term rentals, after having already passed on their recommendation to the City Council. Following directions from the Council at their May 23 workshop, City planning staff is looking at incorporating
See TRAILS on page 31
See RENTALS on page 25
PHOTO BY CRAIG EISENBEIS
The landscape immediately surrounding both Matthieu Lakes was not burned in last year’s Milli Fire. of the old bristlecone pines reportedly survive. Amy Racki, recreation team leader for the Sisters
Record redd counts on Metolius River By Jim Yuskavitch
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
1,947 redds in those stream reaches for the 2017-18 spawning surveys. For 201617 they located 1,244 and 1,174 for 2015-16. These redd surveys were begun with the 1995-96 redband spawning season, which on the Metolius runs from December through May, although most of the fish spawn between January and March, peaking in February. The surveys are cooperatively done by the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Portland General Electric, but volunteers play an important role. According to Dachtler, they typically get about 20 See REDBAND on page 20
Ranger District, said that her agency hopes to have the Black Crater Trail open again before the end of summer
100 years of a country store By Sue Stafford Correspondent
Walking into the Camp Sherman store, a local greets proprietor Roger White with, “How are you, Mr. Mayor?” The Camp Sherman Store and Fly Shop is surely the heart of this small community on the banks of the wild and scenic Metolius River. Roger and Kathy White have been the tenders of that heart for the past 22 years. In honor of its 100th anniversary, the store is holding a barbecue on Saturday, July 7, starting at 5 p.m., with wine tasting from 3 to 6 p.m. The public is invited to celebrate 100 years of continuous operation of the same business in the same location. Roger says Kathy is living her ultimate dream of owning
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
The Camp Sherman Store has been serving the local community for a century. They’re celebrating next weekend. the store. She and her family were regular visitors to Camp Sherman when she was a child, and she worked
in the store in the summer as a teenager. Kathy’s brother See 100 YEARS on page 30
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Sisters Naturalist............. 10 Entertainment ..................13 Obituaries ....................... 18 Classifieds..................26-28 Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements................12 Sisters Saver ....................15 Crossword ....................... 25 Real Estate .................29-32