Wetzel Woods- Headwaters of the Refuge
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"I'm naming these woods for my Grandpa," Carole Andresen says. "He bought this land in 1905. Ever since I was a little kid this was my playground. My brother and I grew up here."
Carole and her husband Ron have dedicated 21 acres in Sherwood as a land conservation easement. Four creeks course through the steep woods, lush with enormous old cedar trees and blanketed with ferns. Animal trails meander here and there, narrow offshoots from a main path. Those four creeks form the west fork of Chicken Creek, headwaters to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge.
Carl Axelsen, former program manager for Raindrops to Refuge, who helped establish the easement, describes it as "almost untouched headwaters, a spring-fed, year-round stream. Recharging the goundwater system is critical. It's quite a unique place, really quite pristine. There are almost no non-native species. You could be in a wilderness area." Carole remarks, "There are springs all over in here. This water is always clear as a bell. I used to drink out of this creek; I'd still drink from it today."
Ron grew up on the other side of Highway 99, amid 17 acres of woods and a filbert orchard, and notes that when he was young "it wasn't uncommon to have forest right next to you." "I watched the area be all forest," Carole adds, "and now this is the only place left. Everything around the edge of the property is cleared. The owners on the north side have logged everything. This land was selectively logged in 1948, and again in 1959." Ron notes, "We wanted there to be a little oasis."
The threat of a natural gas line through the property, which would have likely entailed a 200-foot clearcut, was the trigger for pursuing permanent protection for the woods -- that, and a dream.
"I always thought this would be a good place for an outdoors school," Carole muses. "It was a dream of mine as a kid to share this with other kids."
Carl agrees that it is an ideal site -- "the proximity to the town and Sherwood and its schools makes for a wonderful opportunity for environmental education."
"At the National Wildlife Refuge," Carole notes, "kids have to keep their hands in their pockets. This place offers something different -- kids can touch things, pick leaves. It's can be more interactive." "Carole's and Ron's dream, and mine, too," Carl says, "is that this could be a hands-on education site for kids to learn about habitat." They also envision little gazebos where people could come and birdwatch, and enjoy the peace and quiet.
The rarity of these woods in the Sherwood area is evidence of this conservation easement's significance to Three Rivers' mission. No matter how much the surrounding lands are developed, Wetzel Woods' pristine headwaters will continue to provide a national wildlife refuge with year-round clean, flowing water. By offering public access to Boy and Girl Scouts, and church and school groups, through their easement the Andresens are helping to create future generations of citizens who will understand and appreciate the natural world, and work to protect it.
Carl says, "It's dear to my heart. It's a wonderful area." Carole takes a deep breath. "I love the smell of the woods, the trees, the moss, the creek, the critters. Having a school here is something I thought about since I was a kid."
This conservation easement project was partially funded by a Landowner Incentive Program grant administered by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.