Spring into Action
Conservationists work to protect a slice of natural habitat in the middle of the city
Mark Hughes stands in front of a "beaver reliever," a pipe built underneath a beaver dam to facilitate the flow of water. Hughes is a natural resource ecologist for Portland Parks and Recreation and a volunteer land steward for Minthorn Springs.
ellen spitaleri / Clackamas Review
Minthorn Springs, just behind Milwaukie Market Place, is a lovely spot to get away from it all – but the wetlands area is really set up as a natural habitat for plants and animals.
One chunk of Minthorn (pronounced Mint-Horn) Springs is owned by The Wetlands Conservancy, and the one-acre Minthorn North Wetland Area, adjacent to the conservancy property, is owned by the City of Milwaukie.
Mart Hughes, a natural resource ecologist for Portland Parks and Recreation, lives near Minthorn Springs, and has worked as a volunteer on all of the seven-and-a-half acres managed by the Wetlands Conservancy.
In fact, Joann Herrigel, the program services administrator for the City of Milwaukie, described Hughes, and fellow volunteer Donald Hammang, as “the stewards of Minthorn.”
She added, “They are both advocates for the environment. They are what got it to where it is today, they are what keep it where it is today and they maintain it in its natural habitat.”
There are pathways in both Minthorn areas, for humans to walk on, but both Hughes and Herrigel counsel caution when entering the area.
A wetland area “should function on its own – it can’t do that with people interfering,” Herrigel explained.
“This little spot provides habitat for Canada Geese, green herons, a lot of ducks, hawks, swifts and swallows,” Hughes added.
He also noted that there is a beaver colony at work at Minthorn Springs, as evidenced by some abandoned beaver dens and chewed up trees.
Herrigel explained that the beavers have created a “huge controversy with water rights. People east of Minthorn use the water that comes through there, and the beavers created havoc by blocking the water.”
Hughes said that the beavers have raised the water level, and in places drowned the willows, but he thinks that is a “good thing.”
He added, “This creates change. In dynamic places, things are destroyed and then regenerate quickly. Having disturbance is a good thing – it makes it function like a wetland.”
In order to alleviate some of the problems caused by the beaver dam, what Hughes calls a “beaver reliever” was constructed.
“The beavers built a dam, so we put a pipe underneath and built an elaborate fence in here to keep him out,” Hughes explained.
As for the water itself, Hughes said, “Half the water goes to Crystal Springs, by the Ledding Library and the Waldorf School. It comes out half a block from my house, crosses Monroe to Harris and to the library; it is piped out to Johnson Creek. Then, Minthorn Creek flows on down to Blount Industries and comes out at Lake Road and Railroad Avenue, connects with Kellogg Creek and ultimately to the Willamette.”
He cautioned, “It looks shallow, but there is algae on top – it is about six-feet deep.”
In addition to water and animals, Minthorn is principally a green place, chock-a-block with vegetation.
“This was all grassland, originally. Here we’ve got a multi-layer tree canopy – the tall shrubs are elderberry and dogwood, the ground layer is composed of sedges, native impatiens and snowberry. The soil is black, like an organic peat bog with clay mixed in,” he said.
Volunteers have planted red dozier dogwood, native woodland sedge, and red elderberry, among others.
The elderberry is “a good restoration plant – it provides shade and keeps weeds from moving in,” Hughes said.
Not all the greenery is good, however, as invasive plants have infested the area.
Hughes noted that one spot was a 12-foot “wall of blackberry” before it was cut down. He also spotted one purple loosestrife plant that needed to be removed.
“A lot of work needs to be done here – there are still invasive plants,” he added.
Hughes would like to see more volunteers take an interest in the Minthorn area.
“It protects the water in our community, and provides a place for wildlife to reproduce. It brings birds into our community. We also need a place to support the butterfly population – everyone delights in seeing butterflies in their garden. They need a place to exist,” Hughes said.
He added, “For people it is a place of quiet and solitude – even to just sit for half an hour. It is a place for education. All the work here was done by volunteer labor. It is a chance for people to learn about local plants – to learn about the interaction between plants and animals. A functioning native wetland connects us to our past.”