February 6, 2014
Good news: removal of Oregon White Oak avoided
According to a letter from Catholic Community Services (Salem, Oregon), they have decided to avoid cutting down the 25-inch in diameter Oregon White Oak in their apartment development in West Salem (see previous post in this blog). The letter stated that they redesigned the plan for the driveway in order to preserve the tree.
December 22, 2013
Developer wants to remove OWO in Salem
From today's Statesman Journal:
A developer is seeking the city’s permission to remove a 25-inch diameter Oregon white oak in West Salem.
The oak, located in the right-of-way adjacent to 2579 Wallace Road NW, stands where the driveway for a new, 13-unit apartment complex is planned.
Aaron Panko, a case manager with the city’s planning division, said Oregon white oaks are provided special protection. City rules require that a developer receive a tree regulation variance before healthy white oaks, greater than 24-inches in diameter, can legally be removed, he said.
The applicant seeking the city’s approval to remove the tree on Wallace Road NE is Catholic Community Services. The nonprofit didn’t a return a phone call Thursday.
The city is taking written comments on the land use request. Written comments must be delivered no later than 5 p.m, Jan. 2.
Comments may be submitted by email to APanko@cityofsalem.net.
Comments also may be mailed to Case Manager, Planning Division, 555 Liberty Street SE, Room 305, Salem OR, 97301
A developer is seeking the city’s permission to remove a 25-inch diameter Oregon white oak in West Salem.
The oak, located in the right-of-way adjacent to 2579 Wallace Road NW, stands where the driveway for a new, 13-unit apartment complex is planned.
Aaron Panko, a case manager with the city’s planning division, said Oregon white oaks are provided special protection. City rules require that a developer receive a tree regulation variance before healthy white oaks, greater than 24-inches in diameter, can legally be removed, he said.
The applicant seeking the city’s approval to remove the tree on Wallace Road NE is Catholic Community Services. The nonprofit didn’t a return a phone call Thursday.
The city is taking written comments on the land use request. Written comments must be delivered no later than 5 p.m, Jan. 2.
Comments may be submitted by email to APanko@cityofsalem.net.
Comments also may be mailed to Case Manager, Planning Division, 555 Liberty Street SE, Room 305, Salem OR, 97301
April 6, 2013
Oregon oak wine barrels
From the Oregon Wine Press:
Barrel By...
“I have noticed people in tasting rooms talking
about American versus French oak barrels in regard to winemaking. What
is the difference? Is one better than the other?” - Randy, Portland
There are actually several differences, but if you ask me, quality isn’t one of them; it’s more about preference.
The wood for French oak barrels comes from several
different forests; Allier, Limousin, Nevers, Tronçais and Vosges are
considered the best. Each has its own micro-climate and soils, affecting
the wood, and in turn, the wine.
French oak is split along its natural grains to create
staves. After the wood is split, the staves are dried in open air for
about 24 months. Because of the quality of the forests, the reputation
of the cooperage and the time-intensive production, French oak barrels
often cost between $500 and $1000.
The way the French barrels express themselves in wine is
considered to be more delicate and less “oaky” than their American
counterparts, imparting notes of vanilla bean, cedar and clove — among
others. Its subtle flavor profile is desirable for wines such as Pinot
Noir, which is more sensitive to the wood’s influence. French oak’s
tighter grains are also believed to have slightly higher tannins levels,
helping the wine to age.
American oak barrels come from several different forests,
mostly in Midwestern states like Missouri, but also from Oregon and
Virginia. Unlike French oak, its origin is of minor significance,
placing the value with the reputation of the cooperage.
Traditionally, American oak barrels were made by sawing
the wood into staves — rather than splitting them — and drying them in a
kiln — as opposed to open air. These barrels impart stronger oak
flavors with slightly sweeter notes like vanilla extract, coconut,
sawdust and dill. With that says, many American coopers have recently
incorporated more French techniques to soften the character of their
barrels. Reduced production time and shipping costs are two reasons
American oak barrels are generally less expensive — new barrels cost
between $200 and $500.
There is no firm rule dictating who uses what type of
barrel; and certainly, though the prices might lead you to believe
differently, there is no quality difference between the two. It really
comes down to how a winemaker wants to make a particular wine. For
example, because of its strong effect on flavor, American oak is
typically used on heartier wines like Syrah, Cabernet, Zinfandel and
Malbec. In fact, in some Old World regions, such as Rioja in Spain,
American oak is preferred to add more muscle and complexity.
Cooperage competition has increased over the years. France
and the U.S. are joined by Hungary, Slovenia and even Russia in the
barrel market. Different types of wood have also made the industry more
interesting. Barrels made of chestnut, pine, redwood and acacia simply
add to the winemaker’s toolbox, ultimately allowing consumers greater
choices and more to discuss.
Cheers, Jennifer Cossey
Oak is Ashland's Tree of the Year
FROM THE MAIL TRIBUNE
Property owner Don Greene says the tree has a sentinel spirit
 |
| Karolina Lavagnino stands next to an Oregon white oak tree that’s outside the home she rents on Iowa Street in Ashland. The tree was selected as Ashland’s 2012 Tree of the Year. (Julia Moore) |
December 27, 2012
A North Portland community protects one of Oregon's last oak savannahs
From the Portland Tribune:
Tucked into a bend on tranquil N
Willamette Drive, just south of the University of Portland, a single
tree stands on a steep green embankment, its branches reaching out
toward the railyards below. Nailed on its moss-covered trunk is a plate
reading, “Portland Heritage Tree, Oregon White Oak.” But this is no
shield against the creeping encroachment of developers and the nearby
university—emboldened by relaxed city zoning codes.
Friends of Overlook Bluff is the collective name of the 15 volunteers who are
stepping up to preserve the oak, and convince the city of Portland to
acquire the land from its private owner. In a city with about 19 trees
per acre, the quest to save a single tree may seem odd, but the lone oak
extends its roots into one of the city’s last undeveloped, privately
owned properties east of the Willamette River. Before 1850, oak savannas
like Overlook Bluff formed a corridor and migratory pathway stretching
from British Columbia to California. Today, only 20 percent of this
original riparian land in Oregon’s Willamette River Basin remains
forested. And that percentage is shrinking fast. In 2010, with the
city’s blessing, UP bought up 55,000 square feet of previously protected
land on the bluffs to build a parking lot.
“I think the focus at first is
this one tree, this one acre,” says Friends founder and neighborhood
resident Ruth Oclander, “but all of a sudden the significance is so far
reaching.”
Oclander, a descendant of
landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of Boston’s
greenbelt (and uncle to the author of Portland’s 1903 parks plan),
believes that saving the tiny outcropping will be the first step to
building a network of urban wilderness trails from the bluff to St.
Johns. The single acre of untouched land is a stitch in the larger
ecological fabric that supports deer, coyotes, red-tailed hawks, and
great-horned owls.
“We have to think that if we
preserve this land,” Oclander says, “there will be something there one
hundred years from now, and it won’t be just houses.”
November 2, 2012
Riparian restoration along McMinnville’s Cozine Creek
From the YamhillValley News Register:
Oct 27, 2012
Restoration work is protecting the city-owned riparian area along the Cozine Creek corridor and hillside behind the McMinnville Police Department building on NE Adams Street. it's an important project in removing growth of an invasive plant species and clearing areas overgrown with blackberries and other weeds.
Restoration began about 18 months ago. Tim Stieber, former Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District executive director, and I approached Jay Pearson, city parks and recreation director, about partnering on the project. We wanted to remove the invasive weeds and restore the area by planting native trees and shrubs.
YSWCD was especially interested in the project because patches of invasive Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) were growing near the stream but were unreachable behind the 6-foot-tall blackberry brambles.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture identifies Japanese knotweed as a native of Eurasia that was introduced to the United States as an ornamental. These plans, according to ODA, "grow vigorously along roadsides, waste areas, streams and ditch banks; create dense colonies that exclude native vegetation; and greatly alter natural tree regeneration. Established populations are extremely persistent and do not respond to mowing or cutting. Large infestations can be eliminated with approved herbicides, but treatments are costly and time consuming. It poses a significant threat in riparian areas, where it disperses during flood events, rapidly colonizing scoured shorelines, islands and adjacent forest land."
City and YSWCD staffs decided to apply for a small grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. We planned to mechanically remove the blackberries, chemically treat and kill the knotweed, and replant the 1.2-acre area with native trees and shrubs. The OWEB small grant program, designed to fund small-scale projects that improve watershed health, is competitive, so it was good news when our proposal was accepted.
Last fall, YSWCD hired a contractor to mow the blackberries with a skid-steer mower, and we removed a small amount of concrete fill that had settled into the bottom areas. Because of the steep slope on part of the site, the Yamhill County corrections crew assisted us, using weed-whackers on hard-to-reach areas. It took more than three days to remove the blackberries and knotweed.
After the first mowing, weeds were allowed to grow back partially. Once green re-growth appeared, it was chemically treated with a herbicide approved for use on stream sides.
Knotweed is particularly invasive and known to re-sprout from small stem segments. Therefore, YSWCD staff decided to pile and burn the mowed plant material before winter flooding could flush plants downstream, preventing establishment of additional invasive patches. In the spring, we re-treated the entire site chemically for the knotweed and blackberries that came back.
For the re-planting portion of the project, district staff and local volunteers potted up bare root plants purchased at the 2011 YSWCD native plant sale and grew them out another year at the Miller Woods native plant nursery. The extra grow-time should make the plants hardier and give them a greater survival rate once they are in the ground.
Sunrise Rotary Club members had been instrumental in successful development of the wetland at Joe Dancer Park, so Pearson asked them for help with re-planting along the Cozine. The club believes this restoration project is another important public improvement of natural resources within the city.
The restoration planting will include Oregon white oak, Douglas fir, big leaf maple, Oregon ash, Nootka rose, Oregon grape, red-flowering currant, Douglas spirea and Pacific ninebark. Also, the area will be seeded with blue wild rye, which typically is used for restoration because of its hardy growth. Plants will be surrounded by chicken wire to protect them from the deer that frequent the area.
Unfortunately, because of the dry fall weather, we were forced to postpone the final planting until early November. Look for public announcements inviting community members to participate in the work party.
And thanks go to all our partners for making this restoration project possible.
Guest writer Marie Vicksta has been a conservation planner with the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District for more than two years. She works primarily with private landowners to implement projects that improve water quality, reduce erosion and enhance wildlife habitat.
Submitted photos
The hillside behind the McMinnville Police Department’s parking lot borders Cozine Creek. Patches of invasive Japanese knotweed, upper right, had to be removed carefully. A skid-steer mower, above left, cut down the blackberry brambles and other brush to prepare the site for replanting with native plants and grass.
Restoration work is protecting the city-owned riparian area along the Cozine Creek corridor and hillside behind the McMinnville Police Department building on NE Adams Street. it's an important project in removing growth of an invasive plant species and clearing areas overgrown with blackberries and other weeds.
Restoration began about 18 months ago. Tim Stieber, former Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District executive director, and I approached Jay Pearson, city parks and recreation director, about partnering on the project. We wanted to remove the invasive weeds and restore the area by planting native trees and shrubs.
YSWCD was especially interested in the project because patches of invasive Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) were growing near the stream but were unreachable behind the 6-foot-tall blackberry brambles.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture identifies Japanese knotweed as a native of Eurasia that was introduced to the United States as an ornamental. These plans, according to ODA, "grow vigorously along roadsides, waste areas, streams and ditch banks; create dense colonies that exclude native vegetation; and greatly alter natural tree regeneration. Established populations are extremely persistent and do not respond to mowing or cutting. Large infestations can be eliminated with approved herbicides, but treatments are costly and time consuming. It poses a significant threat in riparian areas, where it disperses during flood events, rapidly colonizing scoured shorelines, islands and adjacent forest land."
City and YSWCD staffs decided to apply for a small grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. We planned to mechanically remove the blackberries, chemically treat and kill the knotweed, and replant the 1.2-acre area with native trees and shrubs. The OWEB small grant program, designed to fund small-scale projects that improve watershed health, is competitive, so it was good news when our proposal was accepted.
Last fall, YSWCD hired a contractor to mow the blackberries with a skid-steer mower, and we removed a small amount of concrete fill that had settled into the bottom areas. Because of the steep slope on part of the site, the Yamhill County corrections crew assisted us, using weed-whackers on hard-to-reach areas. It took more than three days to remove the blackberries and knotweed.
After the first mowing, weeds were allowed to grow back partially. Once green re-growth appeared, it was chemically treated with a herbicide approved for use on stream sides.
Knotweed is particularly invasive and known to re-sprout from small stem segments. Therefore, YSWCD staff decided to pile and burn the mowed plant material before winter flooding could flush plants downstream, preventing establishment of additional invasive patches. In the spring, we re-treated the entire site chemically for the knotweed and blackberries that came back.
For the re-planting portion of the project, district staff and local volunteers potted up bare root plants purchased at the 2011 YSWCD native plant sale and grew them out another year at the Miller Woods native plant nursery. The extra grow-time should make the plants hardier and give them a greater survival rate once they are in the ground.
Sunrise Rotary Club members had been instrumental in successful development of the wetland at Joe Dancer Park, so Pearson asked them for help with re-planting along the Cozine. The club believes this restoration project is another important public improvement of natural resources within the city.
The restoration planting will include Oregon white oak, Douglas fir, big leaf maple, Oregon ash, Nootka rose, Oregon grape, red-flowering currant, Douglas spirea and Pacific ninebark. Also, the area will be seeded with blue wild rye, which typically is used for restoration because of its hardy growth. Plants will be surrounded by chicken wire to protect them from the deer that frequent the area.
Unfortunately, because of the dry fall weather, we were forced to postpone the final planting until early November. Look for public announcements inviting community members to participate in the work party.
And thanks go to all our partners for making this restoration project possible.
Guest writer Marie Vicksta has been a conservation planner with the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District for more than two years. She works primarily with private landowners to implement projects that improve water quality, reduce erosion and enhance wildlife habitat.
Submitted photos
The hillside behind the McMinnville Police Department’s parking lot borders Cozine Creek. Patches of invasive Japanese knotweed, upper right, had to be removed carefully. A skid-steer mower, above left, cut down the blackberry brambles and other brush to prepare the site for replanting with native plants and grass.
October 24, 2012
USFS Honors Oak Habitat Restoration work
Honoring Some Conservation Partners (excerpted)
Posted At : October 19, 2012 8:10 AM
Yesterday the Department of the Interior had a ceremony to honor some of our partners and their extraordinary work.
In the Pacific Northwest, the Central Umpqua-Mid Klamath Oak Habitat Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative is restoring more than 2,000 acres of Oregon white oak habitat by removing encroaching conifers, reseeding native grasses and applying prescribed fire. The exclusion of fire had degraded and highly fragmented oak habitat, which is important for terrestrial neo-tropical migratory birds. In addition to restoring habitat, this partnership provides local tribal employment in up to 90 percent of the on-the-ground work.
Note: The whole article is here.
Also, in the Mail Tribune:
Lomakatsi wins conservation award
Group has worked to keep region's ecosystems healthy
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
October 22, 2012 2:00 AM
A collaborative effort to restore the natural oak habitat in Southern Oregon and far Northern California, led by the Ashland-based Lomakatsi Restoration Project, received a national conservation award Thursday.
Lomakatsi Director Marko Bey, along with several representatives of other partners in the ongoing effort, were on hand to receive the Partners in Conservation Award when it was presented by U.S. Department of Interior officials in Washington, D.C. The effort includes a 23-member partnership to restore more than 2,000 acres of oak woodland ecosystems in Jackson and Douglas counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County in California.
Known as the Central Umpqua-Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project, the work includes removal of encroaching conifers, reseeding native grasses and using prescribed fire to restore oak environments.
The work began a year ago and is expected to be completed next year.
Less than 10 percent of the oak habitat that once existed in Oregon and Northern California remains, according to Interior Department estimates.
"The Partners in Conservation Awards offer wonderful examples of how America's greatest conservation legacies are created when communities from a wide range of backgrounds work together," said Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes, in a prepared statement.
"These awards recognize dedicated citizens from across our nation who collaborate to conserve and restore America's great outdoors, to encourage youth involvement in conservation and to forge solutions to complex natural resource challenges."
The effort is different because of its unique approach, added Robyn Thorson, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region.
"The strength of this initiative is that instead of taking a piecemeal approach to resource management, the partners are focusing their efforts toward restoring oak habitats through connected landscapes and corridors," she said.
"Their collaborative approach brings in expertise and good science from all participating partners and helps leverage funding to achieve better restoration," she added.
Bey cited the partnership approach for the success of the project.
"This cutting-edge, collaborative, conservation effort brings together a coalition of nonprofit organizations, landowners and federal and state natural resource management agencies who share a collective mission and interest in improving the condition and function of oak woodland habitats," he said.
"This project demonstrates a model for accomplishing landscape-scale ecosystem restoration where project partners share resources and expertise for conserving a critically important habitat for wildlife," he added.
The project includes working with 20 private landowners to restore the health of the oak habitat, creating an important connection to surrounding federal lands for wildlife, officials said.
Scientists have identified oak habitat as the primary habitat in the Pacific Northwest for terrestrial neo-tropical migratory birds. In Oregon and California, oak woodlands and savannahs are richer in wildlife than any other terrestrial system, providing habitat for more than 200 species, plus many plants and other organisms.
However, because of development and the exclusion of wildfires, the oak habitat that once blanketed much of the region has become one of the most threatened ecosystems, officials said.
The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service provided $1.8 million in funding, and project partners brought in more than $2 million in other funds and contributions for the collaborative effort. Participating property owners receive financial benefits for embracing conservation practices on their properties that protect, enhance or restore declining oak habitats.
In addition to Lomakatsi, core members of the partnership include the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the nonprofit Klamath Bird Observatory.
Other partners include The Klamath Tribes, Northern California Resource Center, Douglas County Soil & Water Conservation District, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, California and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife, California and Oregon Departments of Forestry, Oregon State University Extension Service, Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, Defenders of Wildlife, Colestin Rural Fire Department, Jackson County Small Woodlands Association, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, Oregon Oaks Working Group and private landowners.
For information about the oak habitat restoration project, see lomakatsi.org/oak-habitat-restoration/.
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or email him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.
Posted At : October 19, 2012 8:10 AM
Yesterday the Department of the Interior had a ceremony to honor some of our partners and their extraordinary work.
In the Pacific Northwest, the Central Umpqua-Mid Klamath Oak Habitat Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative is restoring more than 2,000 acres of Oregon white oak habitat by removing encroaching conifers, reseeding native grasses and applying prescribed fire. The exclusion of fire had degraded and highly fragmented oak habitat, which is important for terrestrial neo-tropical migratory birds. In addition to restoring habitat, this partnership provides local tribal employment in up to 90 percent of the on-the-ground work.
Note: The whole article is here.
Also, in the Mail Tribune:
Lomakatsi wins conservation award
Group has worked to keep region's ecosystems healthy
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
October 22, 2012 2:00 AM
A collaborative effort to restore the natural oak habitat in Southern Oregon and far Northern California, led by the Ashland-based Lomakatsi Restoration Project, received a national conservation award Thursday.
Lomakatsi Director Marko Bey, along with several representatives of other partners in the ongoing effort, were on hand to receive the Partners in Conservation Award when it was presented by U.S. Department of Interior officials in Washington, D.C. The effort includes a 23-member partnership to restore more than 2,000 acres of oak woodland ecosystems in Jackson and Douglas counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County in California.
Known as the Central Umpqua-Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project, the work includes removal of encroaching conifers, reseeding native grasses and using prescribed fire to restore oak environments.
The work began a year ago and is expected to be completed next year.
Less than 10 percent of the oak habitat that once existed in Oregon and Northern California remains, according to Interior Department estimates.
"The Partners in Conservation Awards offer wonderful examples of how America's greatest conservation legacies are created when communities from a wide range of backgrounds work together," said Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes, in a prepared statement.
"These awards recognize dedicated citizens from across our nation who collaborate to conserve and restore America's great outdoors, to encourage youth involvement in conservation and to forge solutions to complex natural resource challenges."
The effort is different because of its unique approach, added Robyn Thorson, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region.
"The strength of this initiative is that instead of taking a piecemeal approach to resource management, the partners are focusing their efforts toward restoring oak habitats through connected landscapes and corridors," she said.
"Their collaborative approach brings in expertise and good science from all participating partners and helps leverage funding to achieve better restoration," she added.
Bey cited the partnership approach for the success of the project.
"This cutting-edge, collaborative, conservation effort brings together a coalition of nonprofit organizations, landowners and federal and state natural resource management agencies who share a collective mission and interest in improving the condition and function of oak woodland habitats," he said.
"This project demonstrates a model for accomplishing landscape-scale ecosystem restoration where project partners share resources and expertise for conserving a critically important habitat for wildlife," he added.
The project includes working with 20 private landowners to restore the health of the oak habitat, creating an important connection to surrounding federal lands for wildlife, officials said.
Scientists have identified oak habitat as the primary habitat in the Pacific Northwest for terrestrial neo-tropical migratory birds. In Oregon and California, oak woodlands and savannahs are richer in wildlife than any other terrestrial system, providing habitat for more than 200 species, plus many plants and other organisms.
However, because of development and the exclusion of wildfires, the oak habitat that once blanketed much of the region has become one of the most threatened ecosystems, officials said.
The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service provided $1.8 million in funding, and project partners brought in more than $2 million in other funds and contributions for the collaborative effort. Participating property owners receive financial benefits for embracing conservation practices on their properties that protect, enhance or restore declining oak habitats.
In addition to Lomakatsi, core members of the partnership include the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the nonprofit Klamath Bird Observatory.
Other partners include The Klamath Tribes, Northern California Resource Center, Douglas County Soil & Water Conservation District, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, California and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife, California and Oregon Departments of Forestry, Oregon State University Extension Service, Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, Defenders of Wildlife, Colestin Rural Fire Department, Jackson County Small Woodlands Association, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, Oregon Oaks Working Group and private landowners.
For information about the oak habitat restoration project, see lomakatsi.org/oak-habitat-restoration/.
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or email him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.
August 13, 2012
De-paving, North Portland, Oregon
Friends
of Baltimore Woods and DePave held a volunteer “food, music and
sledge hammers” party on Saturday, July 28, 2012 to remove a two-acre parking
lot in North Portland. The groups are working to protect and restore the Baltimore Woods area, and prepare the land under the parking lot to become part of a native Oregon white oak prairie.
From Friends of Baltimore Woods:
Portland, Oregon, has a valuable yet little known natural resource that is in danger of being lost:
The 30-acre Baltimore Woods Connectivity Corridor fills a critical gap in the Willamette Greenway and regional 40-Mile Loop bicycling and walking trails, situated between Cathedral and Pier Parks in North Portland. This unique urban greenway, recognized for its special habitat value to plants and wildlife, faces threats from invasive species and development pressures that could eventually spoil its natural value. The Friends of Baltimore Woods is dedicated to preserving and restoring this corridor, and we encourage you to join us.
This remnant native woods features such trees as Oregon white oak, madrone, and broad-leaf maple and provides food and shelter for a variety of birds, mammals, and other species.
Restoring Baltimore Woods will:
• Improve the Willamette River watershed’s health by filtering storm runoff so pollutants are not carried into the river
• Keep a natural buffer between residential and industrial neighbors
• Provide excellent views of the Willamette River, St. Johns Bridge, Forest Park and the vibrant working harbor
• Enhance native habitat
• Offer trail users opportunities for recreation, education, and a natural experience for walkers and bicyclists, away from auto traffic
The 30-acre Baltimore Woods Connectivity Corridor fills a critical gap in the Willamette Greenway and regional 40-Mile Loop bicycling and walking trails, situated between Cathedral and Pier Parks in North Portland. This unique urban greenway, recognized for its special habitat value to plants and wildlife, faces threats from invasive species and development pressures that could eventually spoil its natural value. The Friends of Baltimore Woods is dedicated to preserving and restoring this corridor, and we encourage you to join us.
This remnant native woods features such trees as Oregon white oak, madrone, and broad-leaf maple and provides food and shelter for a variety of birds, mammals, and other species.
Restoring Baltimore Woods will:
• Improve the Willamette River watershed’s health by filtering storm runoff so pollutants are not carried into the river
• Keep a natural buffer between residential and industrial neighbors
• Provide excellent views of the Willamette River, St. Johns Bridge, Forest Park and the vibrant working harbor
• Enhance native habitat
• Offer trail users opportunities for recreation, education, and a natural experience for walkers and bicyclists, away from auto traffic
For more information: friendsofbaltimorewoods.org or depave.org.
June 10, 2012
Cutting firs, saving oaks in Canemah
from the June 7, 2012 Oregonian
Over the next year, Metro will remove firs that are gradually crowding out a small patch of Oregon City oak savanna.
The restoration of a once-dominant, now-vanishing Willamette Valley habitat is a cornerstone of Metro's restoration effort at the Canemah Bluff natural area. The agency bought about 120 acres of forest land next to Oregon 99E about a mile south of downtown Oregon City.
Plans call for a looping trail system and an overlook providing views of the river and Willamette Falls. The work will be done next year.
"We're trying to balance restoration with recreation," said Brian Vaughn, a Metro senior natural resource scientist.
The Metro land is adjacent to Canemah Neighborhood Children's Park, which serves as the entry point to the trail system. Oregon City recently improved the park, which includes a playground and picnic area.
It is unlikely that anyone will stumble across Canemah Bluff and its eight-space parking lot. Getting there requires maneuvering narrow streets through a neighborhood that includes Civil War-era homes.
But Metro's efforts will certainly draw some attention.
About 150 firs will be removed this summer to improve the oak habitat. Firs grow faster and taller than oaks and crowd them out. Other trees will be topped or girdled and the snags left standing.
The 15-acre patch of white oak and grassland that remains will give visitors a view how the area looked in the mid-1800s, when the former town of Canemah was born and flourished.
"This is what the (early) settlers saw when they came through here," said Jonathan Soll, who oversees Metro's natural area restorations. "This is special."
Neighbors aren't happy with Metro's decision to cut the firs or the agency's refusal to add more visitor parking, said Howard Post, Canemah Neighborhood Association chairman.
"We have kind of a running battle" with Metro, Post said. Canemah residents support more trails but don't want the forest disturbed, he said.
Many in Canemah don't trust Metro. They blame the agency for excessive tree-cutting and for damage to a historic road a few years ago.
Metro owns about 160 acres south of the Canemah site. The two parcels are separated by privately owned land. If the private property comes on the market, Metro hopes to acquire it.
Over the next year, Metro will remove firs that are gradually crowding out a small patch of Oregon City oak savanna.
The restoration of a once-dominant, now-vanishing Willamette Valley habitat is a cornerstone of Metro's restoration effort at the Canemah Bluff natural area. The agency bought about 120 acres of forest land next to Oregon 99E about a mile south of downtown Oregon City.
Plans call for a looping trail system and an overlook providing views of the river and Willamette Falls. The work will be done next year.
"We're trying to balance restoration with recreation," said Brian Vaughn, a Metro senior natural resource scientist.
The Metro land is adjacent to Canemah Neighborhood Children's Park, which serves as the entry point to the trail system. Oregon City recently improved the park, which includes a playground and picnic area.
It is unlikely that anyone will stumble across Canemah Bluff and its eight-space parking lot. Getting there requires maneuvering narrow streets through a neighborhood that includes Civil War-era homes.
But Metro's efforts will certainly draw some attention.
About 150 firs will be removed this summer to improve the oak habitat. Firs grow faster and taller than oaks and crowd them out. Other trees will be topped or girdled and the snags left standing.
The 15-acre patch of white oak and grassland that remains will give visitors a view how the area looked in the mid-1800s, when the former town of Canemah was born and flourished.
"This is what the (early) settlers saw when they came through here," said Jonathan Soll, who oversees Metro's natural area restorations. "This is special."
Neighbors aren't happy with Metro's decision to cut the firs or the agency's refusal to add more visitor parking, said Howard Post, Canemah Neighborhood Association chairman.
"We have kind of a running battle" with Metro, Post said. Canemah residents support more trails but don't want the forest disturbed, he said.
Many in Canemah don't trust Metro. They blame the agency for excessive tree-cutting and for damage to a historic road a few years ago.
Metro owns about 160 acres south of the Canemah site. The two parcels are separated by privately owned land. If the private property comes on the market, Metro hopes to acquire it.
April 19, 2012
Camille Park oaks
Excerpted from the Beaverton Valley Times, April 19, 2012
Just east of Highway 217 and accessed by Southwest 105th Avenue or Marjorie Lane, Camille Park is a 12-acre oasis with amenities both the young and old can enjoy. A 700-foot plastic-decked boardwalk system provides year-round wetlands access, which right now includes a lower-lying camas lily meadow that blooms in spring.
The park’s rare Oregon white oak habitat – one of the most endangered environments in the Pacific Northwest – was enhanced by thinning some fast-growing ash trees, opening the canopy and providing more light. A wetlands meadow was also replanted with native species, and invasive plants and shrubs were removed.
District Park Ranger Kyle Spinks said the restoration of native plants and the boardwalk through the park’s marshier areas should prove popular among nature lovers of all stripes.
“We sought to turn it into an interactive wetland/shrubland,” he noted. “The idea is you can walk in and see what (Oregon) wetlands are all about.”
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