Benewah Creek Project- From a Local's Point of View
Submitted by Bobbi Eby on Tue, 2017-06-20 00:00
I am a digital adventure participant, still trying to feel my way around where I fit into all of this. One thing I was very surprised about was that Monday's project was focused on Benewah Creek. My family and I own a house right above Benewah Creek about 5 miles down Benewah Creek Road. Recently, we have moved to Salmon, and are in the process of selling our home, however, we still own it and return frequently. In fact, we were just there this weekend! If I had known that everyone was there, I would have stopped by! (We have just barely returned to Salmon, that is why I am writing this at 12:40am Tuesday, instead of being able to access the blog on Monday)
Anyway, I wanted to add some input from a local’s point of view. I think some of the issues the creek may be facing could stem from the people who live in the area and their management of the waters. For example, I have a neighbor who had built their home out of pallets right above a good size creek that runs right into the Benewah Creek, and they have their outhouse just a few feet from that creek. They are living “off the grid”, so they use that water for their everyday living needs. I am not sure of the exact impact they are having, but I am sure there is some. Also, I know this example of my particular neighbor is not an isolated case.
This is just something that I thought I should add to the discussion. There are other factors out there too!
Comments
This is excerpted from our
This is excerpted from our first reading from David Orr where he proposes 6 myths and 6 new guiding principles of education...
What Is Education For?
Six myths about the foundations of modern education,
and six new principles to replace them
By David Orr
SANE MEANS, MAD ENDS
-ignorance is a solvable problem
-with enough knowledge and technology we can manage planet Earth
-knowledge is increasing and by implication human goodness
-we can adequately restore that which we have dismantled
-the purpose of education is that of giving you the means for upward mobility and success
-our culture represents the pinnacle of human achievement
WHAT EDUCATION MUST BE FOR
-all education is environmental education
-The goal of education is not mastery of subject matter, but of one’s person
-knowledge carries with it the responsibility to see that it is well used in the world
-we cannot say that we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities
-the importance of "minute particulars" and the power of examples over words
-the way learning occurs is as important as the content of particular courses
Silver Valley and "Knowing Something"
Thanks for the posts Bobbi and Brent! The highlight of the Orr reading for me is the piece about how "we cannot say that we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities". Hearing from Stephanie and other CDA tribal members how valuable Benewah Creek once was (and hopefully will be again in the future) as a cutthroat fishery showed our group a first-hand account how "knowing" something can affect an entire community of people. In this case, "knowing" how the stream had become degraded through logging, agriculture runoff, and subsequent incision and down-cutting, caused the tribe and other agencies to pursue restoration of the stream. From what we learned yesterday, knowing this sparked an entire public affairs effort by the tribe to help the surrounding landowners learn that their restorations efforts, although initially a bit of an "eye sore", would eventually resotre the health of the stream for the sake of cutthroat populations. Stephanie informed our group the tribe has used newsletters, scientific reports, and community gatherings at the community hall to inform local landowners how the large woody debris structures work, why they were planting so many alders, and why flooding was in fact a critical component of the restoration effort.
I can only imagine the difficulty in trying to describe and explain long term stream restoration effects to a community that has only known that stream in a particualr way for the last 30+ years; espeically when the short term asthetic impacts of the restoration may appear to the passerby as unpleasing.
Knowing the stream was in critical shape and in need of a particular form of restoration wasn't enough. It was clearly as important to respect all sides of this social-ecological system, and ensure that the effects of the restoration acknowledged and benefited as many aspects of the surrounding community of people as possible. I admire the tribe's efforts with this project and a thankful to know they are working to restore the cutthroat fishery in this stream for sustaining their cultural heritage.
Impact
I think most people don't realize the impact they have on their environment--either a positive or negative impact. Just like the one family Bobbi mentions, we think what we do doesn't really affect anything, but we forget about everyone living downstream.
About 20 years ago, our Pocatello city water engineer told me about a case where they were finding a lot of fecal coliform (bacteria) in one of our small creeks that went into the Portneuf River. They worked their way upstream, and found that a land owner on a very small creek decided that he needed more water on his land. So, he built a dam across the creek using mud and manure! He had no idea that it would affect anyone else, but the effects were measured miles away! (Also, he didn't have rights to all that water, anyway!)
Yet, we can also have a positive impact. It seems that a lot of people are working to help Benewah Creek. The Portneuf River, here in Pocatello, needs a lot more help, but there are people here with big plans, and they are pushing hard to make a difference. Maybe some year, the Portneuf will look natural again.