Reclaiming the trails

Stephen St. Amand

September 18, 2003

Fall is the busy season for Molalla RiverWatch, Inc.

The campers are gone, as are most of the swimmers and day users of the Molalla River Recreation Corridor.

Unfortunately, they’ve left the fall visitors something to remember them by.

Bags of trash line various roadside areas, while cans, bottles and other trash items collect along the river bank.

But the scenic area is now back in the hands of its rightful caretakers, at least until the weather warms up once again.

For Molalla RiverWatch, Inc., fall marks one of the busier times for the volunteer keepers of the river. In upcoming weeks, there are a number of clean-up and fund raising events planned in the Corridor, including its Horse, Hikers and Mountain Bikers Poker Ride beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.

“We’ve got the poker ride, fields trips at both the high school and middle school and the clean-up,” said Molalla RiverWatch Director Kay Patteson.

Not only is Saturday’s poker ride a major fund raiser for the organization, it is also a promotion to equestrians, bikers and hikers who have discovered the challenge and beauty of a relatively unknown trail system on BLM and state lands.

Patteson said nearly 160 took part in the ride in 2002, and more are expectedthis year.

“We had a great turnout, and we’ve been mentioned in several equestrian and hiking newsletters,” she said.