Residents of Onalaska and the rural areas surrounding the former Carlisle Lumber Co. logging community came together at The Mason Jar Gathering Barn on Saturday, Feb. 21, for the annual Onalaska Alliance fundraiser banquet.
During the dinner, cooked and served by Bonanza BBQ and Catering, longtime Onalaska resident Pete Murphy was named an honorary board member of the Onalaska Alliance. On top of having served the nonprofit for 17 years, Murphy was one of the original cofounders who helped it get off the ground in 2009.
Also honored was Onalaska High School educator Kevin Hoffman, as he recently volunteered to head an Onalaska Alliance committee focused on care and improvements at Carlisle Lake.
Hoffman was also recently honored with the Economic Alliance of Lewis County’s Russ Mohney Recreation Resource Stewardship Award for the aquaculture program he runs at the high school, which teaches students hands-on skills while raising thousands of native fish to be released into Carlisle Lake. The program raises fish from juveniles in a large tank to full-sized fish that are later released into the lake.
His work with the Onalaska Alliance goes further than just ensuring native fish species populations remain strong, as he is currently focused on trying to clear the lake area of invasive plant species.
“Which is pretty much everything,” Hoffman said. “It’s all canary grass and Himalayan blackberries and tansy ragwort. Everything has been nuked. We’re working with the Lewis County Noxious Weed Board, they’ve been out there. We’ve been walking around, they’ve been helping with some of that cost, and we’re going to (spray) again, and again, and again.”
The plan is to fully remove all the invasive plant species and replace them with native ones, though Hoffman stated with the high volume of weeds, he anticipates the planting of native species probably won’t take place until spring of 2027.
“We are working with the Lewis Conservation District to plan, to make sure that we’re planting only native trees, shrubs and grasses that will do well in the area,” he added.
Hoffman also added technically the Washington state Department of Ecology could come remove the dam creating Carlisle Lake, part of the reason both he and the Onalaska Alliance are pursuing stewardship of the lake and surrounding area.
“Not that they would do that, they would work with us and do as much as they can to keep it going. But, if we don’t address it, it could just become wetland,” said Hoffman. “The dam could be removed, the water level would drop, the weeds would grow and grasses would come in, everything would be different. There’d be little to no fishing, there would be no high school fisheries program, no boating, little or no water fowl … I don’t think that’s what the community wants.”
The goal is to keep Carlisle Lake Park a prime recreational spot.
Aside from maintenance and improvements at Carlisle Lake Park, funds raised from Saturday’s banquet — which also included both live and silent auctions along with a dessert frenzy fundraising event — benefit the Alliance’s annual Apple Harvest Festival, backpack programs and supplemental food programs for Onalaska School District students and scholarships for Onalaska High School graduates.
For more information, visit the Onalaska Alliance’s website at https://www.onalaskaalliance.org/.
