New from Cottonwood State Park

~ Cottonwood Park Ranger

We have fallen behind on the blog—every time we tried to emerge from the weeds, it seems like we get pulled back down by the puncture vine. Or tangled by the Russian thistle. Or strangled by the Kochia.

Our emphasis this summer has been on managing the invasive weeds while watering the natives. Unfortunately, water brings more weeds. Double-edged sword. No doubt, we are looking forward to the winter lull. On the whole, we have been keeping up, and hopefully this will start to reflect in fewer flat tires. Puncture vine, lesser known as Tribulus Terrestris, has truly been a thorn in our side. First generation Star Trek fans may harken back to the well-known episode “The Trouble with Tribbles.”

Here at the Ol’ CWC, were calling our version of overpopulation of goat’s head “The trouble with Tribulus.”

So please continue to use Slime and carry several spare tubes! We are doing our best to rid the park of this nuisance.

In that vein, we give a big shout out to Sherman and Gilliam County Oregon Youth Conservation Corps plus our fearless hosts. These folks have done the weed pulling and watering in hundred degree heat. And you know what hand pulling puncture vine and watering by hand gets you? Tired. Hundreds and hundreds of hours have been given. We are very thankful for these folks. We can’t do it without them.

This fall and continuing through the winter we are hoping to do several projects, which will hopefully have a big impact on the camping experience at Cottonwood. The first of these projects will be constructing wind breaks in campsites. The second is the completion of two shade shelters, one in the main campground and one in the hiker/biker camp. The third is working to establish better grass cover in the campground.

At this time, we are scheduled to construct cabins, a shower house and an RV dump station between 2015 and 2017. Over the coming years, we will also monitor the electrical draw to calculate if there is enough electricity to install some full hook-up sites in the campground.

Although the number of visitors has fallen with the heat between June and August, we have remained busy—about three quarters full every weekend. That means about 15 of our 21 drive-in camp sites are occupied on Fridays and Saturdays. We estimate some 22,000 people have visited the park in its first 10 months. And we know that the hunting, fishing and fall rambling folks are getting ready for their visit. We look forward to seeing you, and please let us know if you have any questions.