Methow Restoration Council
 

Living With the Methow River

Monthly Activities and Learning Opportunities

January 2017

The landscape of the Methow Valley was sculpted thousadns of years ago by glaciers. After the ice retreated, water became the dominant force of erosion.

From the Calendar: "The landscape of the Methow Valley was sculpted thousands of years ago by glaciers. After the ice retreated, water became the dominant force of erosion."j

Glaciers carved the Methow Valley, and flowing water has reshaped it since, eroding material from some places and depositing it in others. Major floods, like the floods recorded in 1896, 1948, and 1972, move a lot of material at once, establishing new river channels and cutting through land. Wildfires, including the recent Carlton Complex, Okanogan Complex, and Diamond Creek fires, strip vegetation, allowing rain to wash large amounts of sediment into local rivers. Even in calm years, the spring's high water moves the channel a little, changing and renewing the habitat.

The salmon themselves may play a role in this constant change. A recent study from WSU suggests that spawning salmon actually change the rate of erosion in a river as they create and bury their egg nests (redds). For more about this study, click here.

 

New MRC calendars are out! The 2018 calendar features more great block print art by local kids with help from the Methow Arts Alliance and layout by Tara Gregg. Pick up your 2018 calendar at the Riverbank in Twisp, the Twisp Community Center, the Twisp Library, or the Winthrop Library, or click here to view the calendar as a PDF.

 

(Looking for last month? Click here.)


2017 Calendar

 

This year’s MRC calendar connects to ADVENTURES, ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION tailored to each month. If you haven't gotten your calendar yet, you can download an electronic version here.

Come back each month and find interactive activities, print outs, and suggested learning opportunities in our community.