Willamette River Clean-up Effort Takes Place Oct 6 In Albany OR

Hey, want to go for a boat ride on the Willamette River in early autumn? And be a civically active environmentalist? On October 6 multiple events exist in what is called The Great Willamette River Clean Up. Depending on where you live, participation is available. This is a great way to enjoy fall, experience the river, meet new people, and help keep the Willamette clean.

The event for Corvallis/Albany offers a seat in a canoe and can be arranged at: willametteriverkeeper.org 

The City Of Albany website also has details and links for the boat rides that float from Corvallis down to Bryant Park in Albany. The event organizers are also encouraging anyone who has a boat and wants to, can join in the clean-up effort. There is also a shirt give-away at the picnic afterwards at the park.

The link above is the non-profit Willamette River Keeper, whose sole mission is to "protect and restore" the river. I encourage an in depth look at their website. As well as
SOLV:http://www.solv.org/ and Focus The Nation: http://focusthenation.org/  , both Oregon non-profit super enironmental aware-ists.

I fish our pure and pristine mountain rivers for salmon and steelhead, sturgeon and shad, and others. My core is respect. Back when I smoked tobacco(how stupid!), I never threw my filters on the ground. I cannot count the times another fisherman said "Hey, good idea.", when I put the butt in a ziplock bag. I had, and still have, 3 half-gallon ziplocks in my fishin' pack. One for toilet paper. Stop laughing, one for my phone, camera, and fishing tag- they HAVE to stay dry. And one for the cigarette filters. It holds dog treats these days.

I study the habits of the water. The Hydrology, the science of water flow. The floodwaters and back-eddies are remarkable in the sense that they transport and deposit gear that I use. I hunt these waters for floats mostly, for obvious reasons- they are bright and hardly damaged. But I see mostly litter.Waters rise picking up debris and moving it downstream in a repeated sort of garbage pickup without the diesel and noise. The cycle starts in the headwater streams high in our conifer mountains, picks up steam and rumbles through communities and farmlands, connecting with other rivers,twisting its way, until it enters the Pacific Ocean. There, the plastic gets churned around like laundry in the sea currents, breaking down into food-like particles. The plastic that does not break down floats at the surface, teaming with six-pack containers and grocery bags to strangle wildlife. This cycle is constant and repeated. To help break the cycle, one can volunteer at events like The Great Willamette River Clean-Up or voluntarily be active in everyday life- and bring a garbage sack along your next outing. The help is everlasting...

Some are somewhat sick at the thought of picking up trash, and yeah, it sucks. Bring rubber gloves and leather work gloves and some even bring a "poker", a tool to stab garbage and deposit it away. And if you are floating the river Saturday Oct. 6, bring a lunch and water as well.

River conscience, or critical thought, or whatever it may be- the last place our trash should be is in the waters of our Earth. When we co-inhabit those waters for swimming, fishing, rock-hounding, hunting, cutting wood, camping...stop me when we are not on the river, when we are on the river we should be active in both not littering, and picking up litter. Do you ever ride the bike path and trails along the Willamette in Albany? Exactly. Get involved and volunteer for the clean-up effort. Take a garbage bag the next time you hike the Takena landing Trail(4 miles of heaven...). Help keep Oregon streams and waters free of the trash that some idiot will deposit there without thought. Keep Oregon Green. Just Do It. <Can I be sued?

My dogs, Moose and Elka on the beautiful upper Siletz River, Oregon.

 

The Willamette River at Albany.

 

 

Garett Brennan, of the non-profit Focus The Nation, on stage at The Black Bart Theatre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVEd7UlX11Y

Go help the Willamette River sustain herself and her banks. Have a great day y'all! RLB

Register To Vote: DO IT NOW!

The common thought is "...my vote really does not get counted...", generally that is untrue and somewhat ignorant. Your vote DOES count, and is important. The fact is numbers do not lie. They may get tricky(just ask Florida), but a vote is a vote. Not only does your vote matter in local city and county elections, but your vote has an impact in every aspect of government all the way up to the Supreme Court at the federal level. This is not unknown, as much has been written of voter influence on the choices made at the national stage.

Some even will say that low voter turnout does not affect our policies, and I would agree that an ignorant, "puppet", or bought vote is worse than no vote at all. But I would disagree in theory, the reason being that in my opinion the best approach is to educate and encourage active participation in elections. An educated, objective, and informed voter can only help society, as well as encourage responsible government.

For a moment let's talk about local elections. Obviously the voting process is slimmer and simpler, with a historical tendency to convey a truthful tally and represent the people. An election for mayor or a vote on school bonds is your duty. Get registered and vote- make an impact without frustration but rather, resiliency. Do not be discouraged, your voter preference does not mean satisfaction. Candidates may disappoint or even anger you. Remain objective while listening to the angles. But always vote. Do not ever complain of policy in America if you fail to vote. A vote is in effect, an opinion of policy or policy-makers. Be pro-active, research and communicate with your lawmakers as well. Represent your vote, and your opinions.

Even in the upcoming Presidential Election, your vote is substantial. The Electoral College has, over the years, been scrutinized for its effectiveness and accuracy. It has been blamed for some "oddities", and has been hotly debated since the 2000 election produced a President who had lost the popular vote, in that case the difference was a half-million votes. It seems a substantial arguement, yet I disagree. In my opinion(I don't know much about the theory), the Electoral vote protects small towns and small states from having too little influence. If a popular vote existed, an un-balanced influence would put excessive power in the higher populated area or state. Oregon is a good example of that in regards to the influence the Portland-Metro area has on state elections. But as I famously said here earlier, "A vote is a vote." Of course your vote counts. Do your part and register to vote. And then educate yourself(and my friends) to the virtues of a particular vote.

The consequences of not voting are catastrophic. The powerful and arbitrary shall not rule if the people as a whole tally their opinions and ideologies and minimize the "factions" that the founders were so worried about, in particular Madison, who sought to minimize a certain tyranny with a vested and equal power in the people. That power in your local elections is useless if one does not vote. Local elections provide opportunity to influence taxes, government spending, school issues, and a mountain more of relevant, debatable issues. Statewide voting can influence regional policy. And at the national level, the educated and critical-thinking voter somewhat influences national ideology. Use that power like a stick. A big stick.

To register to vote :   http://oregonvotes.org/pages/voterresources/regtovote/index.html

The Oregon Secretary Of State is Kate Brown and the link above is the office homepage with links to register to vote, check status, or read about candidates and initiaves. These kinds of resources, as well as sites like Politico and The New York Times, are immeasurable in the quest for knowledge in the political arena. Use them.

John Blanchard fillets a South Santiam Summer Steelhead while camping at Waterloo Park.Not only does voting affect your county parks state policy, but water and fisheries is also a federal focus, and your vote determines rules and regulations. To a degree...

 

If this old Michael Jordan Wheaties box were sold on Etsy or Ebay, chances are the taxman wants a cut. Voting can determine policy when it comes to say, taxing items that should not be taxed, or excessive taxes. A majority of educated voters should be society's goal. Make it happen.

 

The "Field Gear", LBCC Baseball. Voting can influence state and federal money awards that LBCC uses to benefit its students and their futures. Register to vote and help enhance education.

 

Thanks for your time and REGISTER TO VOTE.