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	IFCAE Project: West Eugene Wetlands Ethnobotany Resource Area The mission of the Ethnobotany Resource Area project is to restore Native American traditions in the West Eugene Wetlands in Eugene, Oregon. Two primary objectives motivating this mission are 1) Building greater support for the wetlands and the long-term protection of the area through connecting people to the area through tangible projects, and 2) Meeting a need of Native American Indians in the region to have a place to harvest and provide education about culturally important plants traditionally harvested in Willamette Valley wetlands. The project has a great potential to bring long-term benefits to local people the ecosystem. IFCAE is officially partnering with the Willamette Resources and Educational Network (WREN) and working in collaboration with local Tribal Members and other local Native American Indians to direct this project. WREN is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit organization on a mission to practice and promote land stewardship through education, partnerships and scientific research.  WREN operates from West Eugene Wetlands (WEW), 3,000 acres of rare wetland and upland habitat in west Eugene managed by the WEW Partnership.  The Partnership is comprised of nine governmental and non-governmental agencies.  In 2004 WREN was funded by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to begin the preliminary work for creation of an ethnobotanical use area.   Prior to funding for the official project, WEW partners collaborated with Kalapuya Elder Esther Stutzman to rename WEW sites with Kalapuya names. Building on this the first few years of the project were largely spent communicating with local tribes about their interests and networking to build awareness and support for the project.  In the process of doing so a working group was created to guide the project. As time has progressed The project has a growing list of tangible accomplishments that it can point to as highlighted below. Since receiving project funding a more specific aim has emerged to collaborate with local botanists and Native Americans to designate a parcel of land in the WEW for an ethnobotanical resource area.  This would allow Indians in the region a place to harvest, provide education on culturally important wetland plants, and to initiate restoration projects targeting culturally important plants. It is also an opportunity to work with Indian people to better understand the role of cultural systems in contemporary ecological restoration. This may be a critical pursuit with widespread ramifications given that the endangered species of the area may very well be adapted to over 10,000 years of intensive management practices by indigenous people, practices that were severely impacted with the arrival of EuroAmerican settlers only 170 years ago. Accomplishments: The following are a few examples of projects occurring at the West Eugene Wetlands in collaboration with local Native American cultures. Inventory of local culturally important species. Poster of traditional food plants of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde Poster of traditional fiber plants of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde Ethnobotany booth during annual wetlands bike day community event Tribal gathering with demonstrations, talks, walks, and long-term planning Talks by Dennis Martinez, Gary Nabhan, Esther Stutzman, & Grandma Aggie Native American Lifeways Course Native American Wetland Cultures Day Creation of a traditional camas oven. Grand Ronde project to place interpretive signs at the wetlands Ash and Sweetgrass Basketry workshop Basketry workshop for Children Margaret Mathewson basket-making workshop Poster of timeline of human ecology of the Southern Willamette Valley Downloads: Traditional Food Plants of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde - Poster (large 16mb pdf) Traditional Fiber Plants of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde - Poster (large 17mb pdf) Including Nonwood Forest Products in Ecological Restoration - Article Ethnobotany for the Year 14,008 - Article Website Links: IFCAE Northwest Ethnobotany Conservation Program Willamette Resources and Educational Network 1st photo by Adam DeHeer 2008 2nd photo by Adam DeHeer 2008 3rd photo by Adam DeHeer 2008