Oregon Oak Communities Meeting
September 17, 2003
Oregon Garden
Welcome/Announcements
Jane Kertis opened the meeting and welcomed attendees. Kertis indicated that this is the last meeting of 2003 and asked for volunteers to host or co-host the next meeting and also asked for suggestions on themes for the next meeting. Meetings are held in the Fall, Winter and Spring of each year. Responses can be sent via Email to Kertis at jkertis@fs.fed.us.
Reports
Patti Haggerty provided an update on the website and mailing lists. Additions or changes to mailing lists can be sent to Haggerty at ce@peak.org. The website should be up soon and will include a schedule of events. Haggerty asked for suggestions or ideas of items to include on the website. The website will be an effective way to get information out to people beyond the Valley area. Meeting notes will also be posted on the website.
Hugh Snook reported that work is progressing on the Oak Landowners Guide to Restoration. The guide will cover Oregon White Oak and Black Oak. It looks like funding has been secured for the project and Pacific Wildlife Resources to complete the writing through a contract. The steering committee is working with the contractor on the writing. Those involved are Bob Altman, Hugh Snook, Jane Kertis, NRCS, Nature Conservancy, Connie Huntington and OSU Extension Service. There is a rough outline at this time and the final product should be available by Summer 2004. There will be a video as well to serve as a companion to the Landowner Guide. The video will document restoration. Barry Shriver will be working on the video. If there are questions about this project, please contact any of the members of the steering committee. Also, please let steering committee members know of any projects that should be showcased.
Bob Altman reported on a project that will involve developing educational materials designed to educate school children on oaks. It will be a product that teachers can use in the classroom and will include information on the culture, value and life cycle of oaks. There will be a companion DVD and a toolbox. The final component of this project will be working with private landowners to do something on the ground – details to be announced.
Jane Kertis reported that, Eugene BLM and Forest Restoration Partnership, through a National Fish and Wildlife Federation grant, are working together on a three pronged project. They will be developing a restoration site index and a database with details and contact information. Another prong of the grant is planning, implementation and monitoring of a number of oak sites yet to be determined. Contact information on this project is calford@blm.gov. A third prong is outreach. An individual will be hired to put together a program that will be delivered to groups such as watershed councils, etc.
Bob Hansen of Marion County reported on upcoming meetings including SPR in Victoria, BC in August 2004 and SPR in Spain in August 2005.
Carl Anderson of Polk County reported that a Land Trust has been formed, but at this time there is no funding. Project sites will be identified.
A representative of OSU reported that the OSU College of Forestry to address oak ecosystems.
Adam Novik, a private landowner, asked about the status of the Forest Legacy Program. The program is designed to provide federal dollars to local government to purchase land or conservation easements. Some people are concerned about public access to private land. Because of some legislative action involving ODF, the funds allocated to Oregon are now going to other states. Some money is coming back and has not been totally lost.
It was announced by a representative from Oregon State Parks that weather permitting there would be a 10.5 acre burn at Champoeg State Park on Sunday, October 5, 2003.
Presentations
Lynda Boyer, John Miller
Lynda Boyer introduced herself and provided background on her educational credentials and work experience. She works as a Botanist with Heritage Seedlings, a company owned by Mark and Jolly Krautmann. Boyer explained that she is trying different restoration methods on 40 acres of land owned by Krautmann. Boyer has been able to secure a number of partners and identified partners as follows: USFW Partners for Fish and Wildlife, USFW Private Stewardship Grant, Willamette Valley Refuges, Valley Biologists and Land Manager, American Bird Conservancy, Oregon Department of Forestry, Integrated Resource Management, Marion County Alternative Programs, Stayton High School Science Club, Willamette University Natural Resource Students and Adopt-A-Stream Schools.
Boyer identified starting conditions for the Oak/Prairie Restoration is a mixture of young (40 year) Oak cohorts, Large open-grown oaks choked by conifers, conifers overtopping oaks, English Hawthorn and 10 foot high walls of blackberry. She started her work by spot spraying thistles with Clopyralid (Stinger©), mowing down the blackberry in the Spring followed by a treatment of Round Up© in the fall and removing invasive shrubs. The shrubs were not treated with a stump killer and have re-sprouted. Work in the Oak Woodland included removing many of the large conifers with low ground-pressure equipment and thinning the Oaks. A few of the large conifers were left for habitat, some areas were left unthinned. Before the thinning there were 77 trees per acre and after the thinning there are 55 trees per acre.
Boyer explained what she had done in different areas – Woodland and meadow areas with native forb populations were limbed, burned, and seeded using a no-till drill with aggressive native grasses (blue wildrye, California and Sitka brome) and annual forbs. Areas with mostly non-native grasses and forbs were receiving a season glyphosate treatment then being seeded with native prairie taxa. The first restoration meadow seeded this fall will also be interplanted with plugs of T&E species. Boyer explained her method of seeding the non-native dominated meadows. Meadows are divided into plots and seeed with a no-till drill. Two species of grass in one direction and a mixture of forbs perpendicular to grasses. The seed rate is 7 pounds/acre for grasses and 3 pounds/acre for forbs. To lessen competition, low stature forbs will be sown together and larger, more aggressive forbs will be sown together.
John Miller, President of Wildwood, Inc. and Mahonia Vineyards & Nursery discussed the Department of Corrections Oak Savanna property and discussed the work he and Mark Krautmann have done with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Department of Public Safety Standards & Training (DPSST) in an effort to save the Oak Savanna located on the DOC property. Miller indicated that the new location for the DPSST training facility is on property owned by the Oregon Department of Corrections located in east Salem. Initial plans called for the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) to be located on the site of an existing Oak Savanna, adjacent to Mark Krautmann’s property and the site of Lynda Boyer’s work. Miller explained that by working with a variety of state agencies, the location of the EVOC has been moved and the Oak Savanna will be left undisturbed.
Miller indicated that he and Mark Krautmann and Lynda Boyer are now working with DOC officials to identify and implement a plan to restore the Oak Savanna. There was a discussion among the group about the stability of the plan to restore the Oak Savanna and leave it undisturbed in terms of future construction. Options such as a conservation easement were discussed. Miller pointed out that saving the savanna would fit nicely into the Governor’s sustainability program.
John Miller
John Miller discussed the Woodscape community and specifically Woodscape Glen. The community is a mixed-use development comprised of single family and multi family residences. The community has a northwest flavor with built-in opportunities for wildlife viewing and native plant education. Miller has used native plants to landscape Woodscape Glen, a 65-unit multi-family housing community. He explained that native plants provide seasonal color and that many are drought tolerant. He has created a demonstration garden within Woodscape Glen that highlights a number of native plants complete with interpretive signs for each plant.
Miller also explained that he rescues Oak trees and Madrone trees that are scheduled to be removed or destroyed at construction sites. Miller shared photos of a courtyard at his office building, The Old Pringle Schoolhouse. The courtyard was transformed from a parking lot and now serves as not only a nice area for building occupants to enjoy the outdoors, but also is an area that draws birds and small wildlife. Miller won an award for the restoration of The Old Pringle Schoolhouse.
Neil Schulmann, Outreach Coordinator, SOLV
Mr. Schulmann described programs sponsored by SOLV and discussed ways that citizens can access these programs and services. Information on all programs along with contact information is available on SOLV’s website at www.solv.org. Schulman explained that when SOLV becomes involved in a restoration project, they are looking for an eight year commitment – three years of project work and five years of site monitoring. Schulmann described the Volunteer In Action Training program sponsored by SOLV and suggested that it might be a good vehicle to use in learning how to solicit and retain volunteers for projects. Down By The Riverside and Team Up for Watershed health are other programs that involve citizens from communities for specific projects. Schulmann indicated that SOLV does not charge for its services, but does expect people to go back into their communities and volunteer for projects. Schulman can be reached at neil@solv.org.
Bart Johnson, University of Oregon Professor of Ecology & Landscape Architecture
Mr. Johnson challenged the audience to rethink the savanna and think of ways to incorporate the functions and aesthetics of oak habitats into urban landscapes. Johnson shared photographs/slides of areas around Eugene and Lane County dating back to 1850 which revealed an open prairie and oak savanna. Johnson discussed how the oak savanna has evolved over time. He also discussed the margins of the oak prairie and how plants will return if the prairie is left alone.
Johnson discussed developing core reserves connected through a corridor and surrounded by inner and outer buffers as a way to live on the margins of the former savanna and prairie ecosystem. He discussed Tugman Park and Elliott Hill as examples of this matrix.
Johnson discussed the importance of designing landscapes that sustain a wide array of native species and important ecological functions and that are considered beautiful in designed urban settings. Johnson also talked about using snags, rock outcrops, shrubs and downed wood in landscaping. Use of dead foliage allows plants to go to seed and to provide food and habitat for insects, mammals and birds. Dead and decaying plant material serves as a litter layer on the ground providing habitat and foraging opportunities for wildlife, replenishing the soil for plants, and forming the basis for soil food webs.
Nancy Osterbauer, Oregon Department of Agriculture
Nancy Osterbauer provided a brief update on Sudden Oak Death. She said that information is available on the following website – www.suddenoakdeath.org which is dedicated to Sudden Oak Death in California. Information is also available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/sod. She indicated that new sites have been identified outside the quarantine area in Curry County. The new sites are nurseries (two are retail). The infected plants are being burned. Osterbauer identified the susceptible oaks -- tanoak, canyon live oak, coast live oak and black oak with tanoak very susceptible. Osterbauer said that AgriFos is being used as a curative and preventative treatment, which once applied will last for six months. It slows canker growth, but does not kill the fungus. AgriFos can be applied via trunk injection, bark spray or soil drench.
Tanya Beard, Botanist, Marion County Public Works. Due to illness, Ms. Beard was unable to present.
There was not sufficient time for Wilbur Bluhm to provide an update on West Salem/Orchard Heights Project and Gehlar Sanctuary Project. These updates will be provided at the next meeting of the Oregon Oak Communities.
The meeting adjourned for lunch and attendees participated in tours of the Krautmann restoration site and Woodscape Glen in South Salem.