June 1982 RAIN Page 11 Solar Greenhouse, Rajneeshpuram John Perry land grasses and riparian vegetation lock the water in the soil long enough to allow percolahon into the ground where it can stay and reemerge as a spring during drier periods. Plants are part of nature's flywheel, controlling and regulating the flow of water. Without their work water takes on a destructive role, flooding and eroding the land. The first pioneers here saw a land that looked rugged but was, in fact, quite fragile. It could be ranched and farmed, but only with the greatest respect and sensitivity to the existing natural order. Easily harmed, it would be slow to heal. Unfortunately, overgrazing has taken its toll at Muddy Creek Ranch. Much of the perennial grass on the hillsides has been replaced by annual grasses. Weeds began to take over — cheatgrass and medusahead. Very little vegetation is left to slow runoff from a spring thaw or a flash storm. Gullies appeared, the soil transported down streams in intermittent muddy torrents. The cattle, unable to forage on the depleted slopes, grazed more and more along the banks of the streams. Plants and the habitats they helped to create were destroyed as cows trampled the banks and the streams. The water, loaded with sediment, no longer benefited from the cleansing action of the plants. Streams that once had perennial flows began to dry up in the summer. First it was only at the upper reaches. Later, as the ground water level dropped, some of the streams dried up along their enhre length. Soon the junipers began to dominate the creek banks, denying water to nearby vegetation and inhibiting the natural, successional recovery of riparian plants. The creeks which once were a linear oasis in the desert became muddy wastelands incapable of supporting life. The conditions found at Muddy Creek Ranch are, unfortunately, ones that most Oregonians have come to accept. But the followers of Rajneesh have a different vision and are realizing it with incredible speed. They are working toward the hme when their ranch will provide most of the needs for their planned community of 2,000. Their short-term goal is to control erosion in the upland gullies and to rebuild the riparian systems. Fences are being built to keep out livestock and grass is being planted in and along the gullies. Workers are cutting the junipers and laying the cuttings along the stream banks as an organic riprap where they will slow the water and promote the natural recovery of the riparian plants. Willow slips are being planted in place of the junipers. They are fast growing and will help to stabilize the soil and provide the needed canopy over the streams. The soil erosion program alone is an immense undertaking. They have decided to halt the open grazing, even at a reduced level. But these people are not willing to settle for a smaller yield from the land. On the contrary, they expect more. The flat land in the low valleys will be intensively farmed. They have already constructed five greenhouses and planted 1,200 acres in grain. This spring they will plant 8,000 fruit trees as well as 18,000 grape slips. Sixty acres will be planted in alfalfa and another 50 acres in assorted vegetables. None of this can be done without water for irrigation during the summer growing season. It is estimated that if just one inch of runoff from the entire watershed could be held on the land, it would be capable of irrigating 1,500 acres. The key to this will be a new dam that will impound water from the newly restored streams. Major improvements in the riparian system are expected to happen quickly, but replenishment of the ground water will take longer — perhaps up to one hundred years. An aquifer recharge program is being considered to speed up that process. Their plan is to be self-sufficient in food and to make a profit on their other operations within three to five years. There is much at stake. Much of what they are doing is untried. If they succeed they could be a bright spot in central Oregon's depressed economy. But the real success or failure of the project will hang on its ability to demonstrate a new way to settle the land. If they are right, they will have indeed produced a fitting tribute to their Master. □□ John is a Portland architect specializing in appropriate technology and renewable energy designs.
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