Illahee Creek Culvert. The culvert under Illahee Road wherein the waters of Illahee Creek flow, has been a concern for the Illahee Community for some time. The December 3, 2007 storm filled the culvert with sediment and if a big log had come down and plugged the culvert it would likely have washed out Illahee Road. With the current storm approaching we are watching the culvert closely, and some big upstream logs. Attached are two photos, the first shows the culvert with a 32 inch clearance, and the second shows some big upstream logs.
Restoration Signs in Preserve. Two restoration signs were installed in the Preserve on Friday. One was to secure an unauthorized trail, and the other to note the future restoration in the area commonly known as Golf Course Hollow, where stormwater is a problem (see the last photo).
Eagle Scout Signs Missing. We were extremely disappointed to see that in less than a week some of the trail signs that Justin McAlister and his Boy Scout troop had put up (last Sunday), had been removed. Attached is a photo of some that are still there plus the empty spot where one was last Sunday. We received comments about how nice they were and how helpful it was to have them there from those who walk the trails daily. If anyone has any information on who is taking the signs please let us know.
Horse Comments. We received a number of comments regarding the two Updates that explained the horse situation. What was new to us was that several mentioned that their dogs either liked to roll in the horse droppings, or would eat it.
Before the Rain Photos. We took some other photos this morning before it started to rain. Attached are photos of the big pond under the power lines near the end of Johnson Road (north of the golf course). This big pond is the headwaters of the north fork of Illahee Creek and also the headwaters for one of the branches of Steele Creek. We also took photos of the detention facility at Illahee North. The water was overflowing from the detention pond where it is essentially tightlined (except for 150 feet) to the outfall at the Illahee community dock (see photo).
Wood Duck. When taking our 'before the rain' photos we noted a wood duck swimming with two mallards. It is a first sighting for us and we were glad to get the attached photo.
Wildlife Update Coming. We have a number of photos that we need to pass on regarding wildlife and promise to do so soon. We have been asked to increase the kilobyte (KB) size of our photos so they are easier to view. We are still learning on how to do this and attempted to do so with our last photo.
Jim Aho
