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Eugene Weekly : 12.18.03 Page 6 of 8 <br /> • west Eugene. <br /> • Using Parks and Open Space funds,the city created four braided channels in the floodplain <br /> of Amazon Creek between Acorn Park and Oak Patch roads. To control erosion,they <br /> stretched jute and coconut fiber matting over the soil. Gilmore proudly points out the <br /> native species that he and other watershed volunteers planted: Douglas spiraea,dogwood, <br /> willow,and Pacific ninebark. <br /> Gilmore says that he used to carry a lot of anger about environmental destruction. Even <br /> now,he gets worked up talking about thoughtless polluters. "One of the things that really <br /> bothers me is the way that people just don't clean up after their dogs. Or, the other thing <br /> that I really can't stand are these leaf blowers," he says. "You just want to put sugar in their <br /> ..." He stops himself. <br /> "But I would never act on it," he adds quickly. "It sounds good to be radical. You know?" <br /> He chuckles and lifts his ear flaps,tying them on top of his hat. <br /> After years of mounting anger, Gilmore felt burnt out. "I just wore myself out yelling and <br /> screaming at issues and realizing that you need to act instead of just talk all the time,"he <br /> says. But the media hype surrounding environmental issues didn't help. "When an article <br /> appears in The Register-Guard, it tends to be either really pro-development,or really anti- <br /> development," he says. "It just starts off with this really big headline." <br /> The Watershed Council offered Gilmore a constructive outlet for his energy, allowing him <br /> • to listen to other perspectives and get involved in creek restoration projects. While his <br /> involvement with the council pushed Gilmore to compromise his radical ideals, it also <br /> gave him a tangible way to "think globally and act locally." <br /> It seems that Amazon Creek itself is a lesson in compromise,changing us even as we <br /> change it. We've turned it from a meandering wetland creek into a polluted"stream-ditch" <br /> flanked by blackberry bushes and willow trees. In return,the creek offers us floods, ducks, <br /> and floating tires. We walk, run and bike beside it;we absorb its chemicals when we swim <br /> at Fern Ridge. It drains our streets,carries our pollution, and shelters our wildlife. And all <br /> the while, Amazon Creek evolves, inspiring local government workers,business people, <br /> farmers, and environmental activists to hammer out ever-evolving schemes to contain it. <br /> To view a conceptual map of Amazon Creek and other waterways in Eugene, check out <br /> www.ci.eugene.or.us/wewetlands/images/Wetland-map-Dec02.pdf The city's comprehensive <br /> stormwater management plan is available online at www.ci.eugene.or.us/PW/storm/CSWMP.pdf <br /> A TOXIC CHANNEL <br /> A stream adjacent to Amazon Creek runs through the industrial flats of west Eugene from <br /> Seneca Avenue to Meadowlark Prairie,draining the lots of 166 businesses. It's called the <br /> • A-3 Channel, and it's one of the most toxic waterways in the state of Oregon. <br /> In 1997, the DEQ launched a project to improve water quality in the channel by <br /> encouraging local businesses to keep pollutants from reaching the stream. Although 80 <br /> http://www.eugeneweekly.com/archive/12_18_03/coverstory.html 1/6/04 <br />