Did you know that April signifies the start of Earth Month? It’s a time to raise environmental awareness and we have a beautiful corner of the Earth to celebrate here in the Illinois Valley.
This region of southwestern Oregon is a world-renowned hub of biological diversity, supporting hundreds of species of flowers and trees that grow right here and nowhere else in the world. Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside is a popular wildflower observation area and home to the highest concentration of rare plants in Oregon. Soil deposits have led to serpentine soil conditions favoring a unique plant community and a wide variety of plants native to this area have adapted to these soils. The impetus to protect the area began in 1937 with the Illinois Valley Garden Club. In 1994, a total of 1164 acres of BLM land surrounding Rough and Ready Creek were designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) to protect botanical, wildlife/fisheries, hydrologic systems and other natural systems or processes.
There is an extensive list of plants of the Rough & Ready Creek watershed at: https://www.oregonwild.org/sites/default/files/featured-imgs/rough_and_ready_plant_list_2015.pdf. The best times to see wildflowers are April-June.
Springtime also brings more activity in Jubilee Park. The new score board is going up and Little League opening day is this Saturday, April 8. Come out and support our kids. Also happening in the park on Sunday, April 9, is the Lions Club sponsored Easter Egg Hunt for children. There will be lots of eggs for children to find, along with plastic eggs with coupons for free gifts and toys. There are also rumors that the Easter Bunny may show up! Hotdogs and drinks will be available for sale. We are hoping for good weather…. well at least not more snow!
April is a good time for vehicle maintenance in the public works department. Keeping our aging fleet running takes some effort. Nothing particularly exciting is happening on our streets and that is not a bad thing! The Trails convenience store and gas station, at 145 N. Redwood Highway (the old Radio Shack) is continuing with the planning process. That is good news considering the fire that happened there last year.
If you are interested in what is happening in the Oregon Legislature, the League of Oregon Cities provides a weekly update webinar every Friday at 12 pm. You can join the Zoom meeting at: https://orcities.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5ed0e37bfa6cd50a448dff14e&id=f75f9afe04&e=43781d2e4b, Meeting ID: 863 3011 8524, Passcode: 941167.
