On Saturday, Feb. 24, members from all seven greek organizations took up shovels and planted trees and bushes in an effort to restore water-flow to McEvoy Spring Branch, a small stream just outside of Walla Walla.
The stream, which ran perennially until 2000, has since fallen victim to the falling water table. Because of extensive use of the aquifer feeding the Walla Walla Valley, many springs in the area have dried.
As these waters disappear, so does the environment for many species of fish, fowl and amphibians. McEvoy Spring Branch used to see a steelhead run when the fish returned from the ocean to spawn. The stream also was home to freshwater muscles, salamanders and various birds of prey, such as owls, hawks and herons.
Tom Page, who was born and raised on one of the properties that the spring runs through, was on-site to oversee the fraternity and sorority members as they worked to re-vegetate the ground around the streambed. He and four other landowners in the area are heading up the effort to save the stream.
Their funding comes from a grant from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Department’s Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) gives out money to landowners who are willing to improve habitat on their property. They pay 75 percent of all costs of improvements, while the landowners cover the remaining 25 percent.
The trees planted by the volunteers will help the ground retain moisture by shading the streambed and wicking water from the ground.
“By this time next year, this should look a lot different,” said Page. “You come here, the grass will be up to knee level.”
The Department of Fish and Wildlife contacted the Whitman greek system for manpower to get the trees in the ground. Brice Crayne and Anna Daron headed up the organizational efforts. Participation was high, and all the work got done in one day even though two days had been planned.
“It was a very enriching experience,” said TKE sophomore Kyle Maestis. “We get to go beyond the realm of what we normally do and help others.”
One generation of Whitman students plants the trees. The next will get to enjoy the shade.
