Tribal staff, ODFW Commission tour Chahalpam property

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

STAYTON -- A delegation of Tribal Natural Resources Department staff led a tour of the Tribe’s Chahalpam conservation property for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission, along with other government officials and conservation groups.

Chahalpam, which means “place of the Santiam Kalapuya people,” is 462 acres that the Tribe acquired between 2015 and 2018 through the Bonneville Power Administration’s Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program. It is located on the North Santiam River southeast of Salem in Marion County and just downstream from Stayton.

Tribal Natural Resources Department Restoration Ecologist/Fish and Wildlife Policy Analyst Lindsay McClary organized the tour. She was joined by Tribal Council members Kathleen George and Toby McClary, as well as NRD Manager Colby Drake and Tribal Fish & Wildlife Program Manager Kelly Dirksen.

The tour lasted 90 minutes and approximately 50 people attended.

“There were definitely more people here than anticipated,” Lindsay McClary said. “I thought it was great. I spend a lot of the time focused on that property so it was fun to have others see it. It felt like a natural fit with the staff members that were there.”  

In addition to ODFW Commission members, others in attendance included Marion County commissioners and staff, ODFW staff, Cascadia Wildlands, Association of Northwest Steelheaders and the Native Fish Society.

The tour included two stops. At the first, the significance of salmon and cooperative partnerships was discussed. At the second stop, attendees learned more about how the Tribe and ODFW collaborated to complete early-stage restoration steps, which included reestablishing trees and shrubs, helping set a foundation for future floodplain reconnection and ecological recovery.

“I’m proud of the work that our Natural Resources Department is doing on our mitigation properties,” Toby McClary said. “Restoring habitat and bringing back native species strengthens our land and our cultural practices moving forward. Having Marion County Commissioners and members of the ODFW Commission present on this tour shows that the state is watching and our restoration efforts are an example for future leaders.”

The Tribe has acquired 2,990 acres of conservation land in Oregon during the past 14 years in Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Lane and Linn counties through the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program.