Alexander Krause worked on a restoration project in the Almeda Fire burn scar near Blue Heron Park in Phoenix as part of his Eagle Scout Project. 

A chance encounter on a ski lift inspired Alex Krause to use his Eagle Scout project to help in the Almeda Fire scar. 

“When you snowboard as a single, you meet some interesting people. I was riding the lift and sitting next to someone, and they were telling me how they didn’t lose their house in the fire, but it came close — the next intersection over. That made me think about wanting to help with something affected by the fire,” Krause said.

The 17-year-old Ashland High School graduating senior was walking Wednesday through tall grass from Clyde’s Corner in Phoenix toward his project area along Bear Creek. The initial work was completed April 30, but there is paperwork outstanding before he officially attains the coveted and labor-intensive rank of Eagle Scout — the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America.

For his project, Krause combined his interest in the fire recovery effort and his past experience with ecological restoration.

“Our Scout group is really focused on community service. We’ve done plantings and trail clearings, and I’ve done volunteer work through school. We have to do 25 hours of community service. We did a clean-up in Lithia Park. I’ve also done Youth Conservation Corps, and we did a clean up in the parks with my cross-country team,” he said.

The area Krause focused on for his project was left hanging by recent restoration efforts.

“There was a gap,” explained his mother, Denise Krause, who walked beside him to the project area Wednesday.

To the north of Alex Krause’s project is the border of the Freshwater Trust’s recent restoration project through 47 acres of the fire scar. To the south is the edge of a project completed by Rogue Valley Watershed Council. The land left in limbo is owned by Medford Irrigation District, she said. 

The area restored by Alex Krause also happens to be a section of the creek where salmon and steelhead spawn, Krause said as she pointed at a sign near the pathway.

“I had seen a presentation from Eugene Wier at the Freshwater Trust about the work they were doing. I called him up and said, ‘I have a son doing an Eagle Scout project, can you help?’” she said.

From there, the teen was responsible for coordinating help from the Freshwater Trust, access from Medford Irrigation District and labor from his own Scout troop — Ashland Troop 112. He estimated with some weariness that the project took around 80 emails and numerous phone calls to coordinate. But he was smiling as he looked at the creek and remembered the volumes of invasive plants the crew removed.

“We pulled out a stack of debris as tall as my shoulders,” he said, pointing at his tall, broad frame.

“A couple of Scout masters were bloodied up from the blackberries,” Denise Krause said.

The project was otherwise without injury, Alex Krause said. To make sure that was the case, he instructed the youngest Scouts to plant baby trees with the help of a few adults. Adults and older Scouts did the dirty work of removing invasive plants, including the sharp tangles of blackberries.

Beside the water, he walked carefully through brush to where small piles of mulch protected a number of tiny the native trees planted during the project. 

Freshwater Trust donated over two cubic yards of mulch, numerous baby trees, fertilizer and help setting up an irrigation system so Krause can come out and water his new plantings — which he says he does every chance he gets. Paul Kay of the Phoenix Industrial Studios donated pizzas from Clyde’s Corner to feed the Scouts. As is traditional with Eagle Scouts, the labor was largely supplied by the Scouts themselves.

“It’s all hands on deck whenever anybody has an Eagle Scout project. And there’s kind of a thing in Scouts, you help me with my Scout project, and I’ll be out there to help with yours,” Alex Krause said. 

The work was done by hand to preserve the delicate ecology of the riverbank. Around 30 Scouts — and three of his friends from school — worked for over six hours. One of the hardest parts of the project wasn’t leadership, but watching others work without physically helping. 

“One of the big rules for Eagle Scout projects, you’re not supposed to be seen doing too much work yourself. You’re supposed to be in a leadership role. It was hard to keep my hands off,” Alex Krause said. 

The project succeeded in planting 120 to 150 young plants of nine different types — Oregon grape, maple, chokecherry, cedar, ash and pine — in an area stretching from the banks of the unnamed waterway flowing behind Phoenix Industrial Studios near the Bear Creek Greenway through the stretch of land that continues to the banks of nearby Bear Creek.

Alex Krause said he hopes his project will bring recognition to the waterway and that land as worthy of attention and protection.

“It’s an unnamed stream right now. I think it’s important for people to know about these areas,” he said.

Even though it isn’t required for his project, he plans to create an interpretive sign in English and Spanish to help bring recognition to the area.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, less than 5% of Scouts attain the rank of Eagle Scout every year.

There are 21 badges necessary to gain the coveted rank of Eagle Scout, and every one must be submitted with documentation. The badges include skills and achievements like personal fitness, swimming and camping and four kinds of citizenship — world, nation, community and society.

“It’s definitely given me an appreciation for paperwork. That’ll be helpful in applying for colleges and things,” he said.

The 17-year-old has until midnight before his birthday in January to finalize the paperwork for the project and three outstanding badges. He has a little longer to answer the lingering question — what do you want to do when you grow up? When asked, he stared off toward the stretch of land cleaned up and restored through his own recent effort. He said he didn’t know, but for now he’s only sure he enjoys math, and he’s on his way to college.