Gail Hammack

Rancher

Wallowa County, OR

9/4/2022

On a reunion weekend, we were joined by twenty previous Westies as we marched into Gail Hammock’s cow-patty-laden riverfront ranch. The property was once operated by Gail’s partner, Doug McDaniel, a youthful character who spent twenty years devoted to re-meandering the agriculturally influenced channelized section of the Wallowa River that runs through the ranch. The property is up against the basaltic wall of a valley, new sprouts planted by Gail line the reestablished riparian area, and an old suspension bridge handbuilt by Doug set the scene for this Northeastern Oregon Ranch.

The Semester in the West class of 2006 visited this same site with Doug after the first phase of re-meandering in 2005, and many returned sixteen years later to witness the effects of this project. Gail stood above us, a cowgirl, her short white hair neatly tucked behind her ears, her plaid button-down neatly tucked into her dark blue jeans, her dark blue jeans neatly tucked into her chunky work boots. She led us around the marshy property, indicative of the now fully sinuous river returning seasonal waters to the riparian areas, sprouting with aspen and cottonwood. Gail works in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to construct and maintain this project, setting an example for her neighbors who are implementing their own re-meanders downstream. Gail hopes that other landowners can recognize the necessity to unchain these erratic fluvial systems from their canals and return them to the malleable, untethered landscape that they used to move freely across.

By Thomas McElfresh