BLUE RIVER, Ore. – Bob Bumstead drives a willow branch deep into the mushy riverbed. Water flowing over submerged logs elicits a soft gargle, while the soppy quicksand swallows his boots up to his ankles. He beats the stake with a rubber mallet until only a couple of inches peek out of the sediment.
On a crisp Sunday morning, Bumstead, a retired teacher and a member of the McKenzie Flyfishers, along with 23 volunteers, met at Quartz Creek for a “Willow Tree Planting Party,” part of a larger effort to restore the McKenzie River.
Since 2015, collaborations between the Eugene Water & Electric Board, the McKenzie Watershed Council and the McKenzie River Trust have focused on restoration to improve water quality, wildfire resiliency and fish and wildlife habitat…