After years of arguing over the fate of natural resources in southwestern Oregon, two former battle-scarred adversaries agreed to put aside their differences and find common ground.
Jack Shipley, a passionate environmentalist, and Jim Neal, a fixture in the logging community, founded the Applegate Partnership in 1992, a community-based forum where resource management issues are discussed openly in the hopes of a resolution outside of court.
The Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council promotes ecosystem health across the 500,000-acre Applegate watershed through stewardship, education, and restoration carried out in partnership with landowners, agencies, and other interested parties while contributing to local economic and community well-being.
The Partnership’s inclusive, cooperative approach to natural resource issues has produced on-the-ground success, such as the Thompson Creek Restoration Project that benefits a variety of aquatic species, including threatened coho salmon.
Volunteers from the Applegate community, Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Middle Rogue Steelheaders, youth from The Job Council, and contractors from Plant Oregon worked with local landowners to plant nearly 9,000 trees on 22 acres along Thompson Creek and in surrounding areas to restore riparian health. Additional salmon habitat was created by placing large woody debris in streams.
Funding for the project was also a cooperative effort and included the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative, Pacific Power’s Blue Sky fund, American Forests, Title II funds, Department of Environmental Quality, the Jubitz Family Foundation, and Middle Rogue Steelheaders.
