The Sunriver Music Festival celebrates 40 years of bringing classical music to Central Oregon
INSIDE THIS ISSUE SROA Board News......... 4 Calendar...................... 13 SHARC News................ 22
Public Safety................ 27 Classified..................... 38 Editorial...................... 39
SHARC is hosting a presentation on NASA’s plan for human spaceflight presented by Jon N. Cowart Page 27
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S U N R I V E R
S C E N E A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
AUGUST • 2017
VOLUME XLIII • NUMBER 8
Sunriver’s interpretive signs a community effort
Pandora moth
SUSAN BERGER PHOTO
Pandora moths are back It all began earlier this summer with a handful of moth sightings. Soon the fuzzy, flying insects were congregating in larger gatherings along forest trails and clinging to pine trees. Attracted by bright lights, the moths are also turning up in droves outside businesses and under porch lights around Central Oregon. So, what’s with these giant moths invading our region? The moth in question is the Pandora moth (Coloradia pandora), a native defoliator of pine forests in the western United States. Outbreaks have commonly occurred in Central Oregon throughout the centuries. Why have I not observed this damage before? Outbreak levels of Pandora moth occur intermittently. The first recorded outbreak in Central Oregon was in the 1890s, and many other outbreaks have been documented here since that time. Outbreaks tend to occur in areas with loose, granular volcanic soils, which are needed for the moths to complete their life cycle. Tree ring analyses of old growth ponderosa pine suggest that up to 22 Pandora moth outbreaks have occurred here over the past 600 years. The last big invasion in Sunriver was in the 1990s. What type of forest damage does Pandora moth usually cause? Larvae feed on the foliage of several species of pines, with the primary Turn to Moths, page 14 SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XLIlI • NUMBER 8 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
By Wes Perrin SUNRIVER – If you’ve ever wondered who is responsible for those colorful interpretive signs seen along Sunriver’s pathways, the answer may come as a surprise. They are not the result of work by the resort, or by some government wildlife agency, or even by an anonymous philanthropist. Instead they owe their existence to a community-wide effort initiated and underwritten more than a dozen years ago by the Sunriver Anglers Club. There are 20 signs in all, covering a wide variety of interests pertaining to Mother Nature and local history. Topics include wildflowers and fish to Lake Aspen, the Newberry volcano, Camp Abbot and Sunriver Lodge. Memories are now foggy as exactly how the idea took form, but it is generally agreed that two angler club members played key roles in getting the ball rolling in 2003. Rod Juranek and Sean Cracraft recall kicking the idea around at club board meetings and the concept quickly caught fire. Fueling interest in the project was an earlier signage success for the club at the Fall River Fish Hatchery. There, a large introduction display, and several smaller interpretive signs, had been created and installed by club members. Even though the idea was enthusi-
SUSAN BERGER PHOTO
An interpretive sign near the Sunriver Nature Center features information about noxious weeds and the annual War on Weeds event (held through Aug. 4 this year).
astically endorsed by club members, it was soon recognized that putting up signs in Sunriver doesn’t happen like a walk in the park. Approvals had to be obtained from Sunriver Owners Association committees including public works, environment and design. Informational meetings needed to be held with Sunriver Resort, Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, the Deschutes County Planning Department and Wild & Scenic Rivers supporters. Once the club pinned down the approvals and compiled a list of subjects,
Sunriver prepares for Aug. 21 solar eclipse By Susan Berger, Sunriver Scene With the first total solar eclipse to cross the United States since 1918, people from around the globe are inundating states located in the path of totality – including Oregon – with Redmond as the closest hotspot for totality viewing. Although Sunriver is not in the path of totality, area businesses and residents are preparing for a potential influx of folks staying in the area as hotels, vacation rentals and campgrounds within the eclipse zone have been sold out for months (some even years). The closest we come to totality is about 99 percent of sun coverage, and will occur
between 10:20-10:21 a.m. The eclipse first touches land at 10:15 a.m. in Depoe Bay and exits Oregon near the town of Huntington around 10:24 a.m. before continuing across the U.S. through 13 other states. Due to our location, Sunriver is NOT in the total eclipse path. At no time should anyone look directly at the sun without approved solar eclipse viewing glasses. Starting Aug. 11, the Sunriver Owners Association and SHARC Member Services offices will have solar viewing glasses for owners who show their 2017 Member Preference ID card to receive two pairs of glasses while supplies last. The
three dedicated anglers – Doug Vakoc, Tom Kelly and Jack McDonnell – stepped up to lead critical components of the effort. Vakoc took on the assignment of finding knowledgeable authors to write intelligent and interesting text. Initially, the job called for material for 14 signs but soon expanded and increased to 20 units. “It really was a total community commitment,” said Vakoc. “We discovered we had a number of Sunriver residents who were not only well informed, but Turn to Signs, page 14
Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory and Sunriver Resort’s Merchant Trader have glasses available for purchase. The Sunriver Owners Association, Sunriver Resort, Sunriver Police & Fire departments, The Village at Sunriver and the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory have collaborated to create a one-sheet electronic document with information about the eclipse to share with owners, renters and visitors who will be staying in Sunriver to watch the eclipse. The document, available starting Aug. 10, will be shared by each entity and is available for download on the SROA website at www.sunriverowners.org (go to News & Notices and choose Eclipse Turn to Eclipse, page 11 PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BEND, OR PERMIT NO. 213