On July 17, 2018, a fast moving brush and grass fire swallowed up 123 acres in downtown Central Point, Oregon, Hundreds of people were evacuated and thousands of dollars were lost due to mandatory business closures and evacuations. Yet a silver lining showed through the smoke and ash: acres of the invasive Armenian blackberry were removed in the near-stream habitat along Bear Creek. 

Beginning in October 2018, JSWCD and our partners began work to slow erosion, further reduce the number of invasive species on the site, and educate local students and community members. Flash forward to 16 months post-fire, and we've just completed a major planting effort with the tremendous help of Troop 7 Eagle Scout Candidate, Noah Stillwell, a 17 year old student at St. Mary's High School in Medford, Oregon.

Check out the excellent coverage of this story by our local Mail Tribune. There's no such thing as too much good news : https://mailtribune.com/news/top-stories/wildfire-set-stage-for-new-beginning-peninger-fire-restoration.