THE WATER IN THE relatively dry agricultural Bear Creek Valley is intensively managed. The cement canal beside the trail is managed by the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District, which has provided water to customers since 1902. This canal contains water from storm drains and/or the diversion dam at Greenway Medford Station 10. The water will either return to Bear Creek or enter Hopkins Canal, which flows under Bear Creek at this point. Hopkins irrigation canal is part of a large, complex system of managed water movement in the valley. Water for Hopkins Canal can come via canals from as far away as Four-Mile Lake, approximately 50 miles away. Other water-impounding sources that may feed Hopkins Canal are Agate Reservoir and Fish Lake. Fish Lake Water Company was organized in 1897 for the purpose of storing and transporting water into the Rogue River Valley for irrigation.

The two young trees next to the canal are ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa), large trees with long needles in bundles of three. They grow in every state west of the Rockies, preferring dry, gravelly soils. This pine is the second most important timber tree in volume cut, and is considered the most valuable general purpose tree for use in millwork, boxes, furniture, poles, piling, and general construciton. The Shasta Indians prepared the nuts from this tree by steaming them in an earth oven before drying and storing them. Ponderosa pine roots were a primary twining material for their baskets.