Lauren E Hernandez

Statesman Journal

Willamette Valley vineyard owners and forest land managers are pledging to protect and restore oak habitats as part of a new conservation agreement.

The Oak Accord, drafted by Portland-based conservation organization Willamette Partnership, asks landowners to voluntarily agree to help slow the decline of oak habitats in the Willamette Valley by creating, restoring and protecting areas that currently have native oaks or have the potential to grow oak.

"We were all talking over coffee about how the fundamental keystone to biodiversity is oak habitat," said Pat Dudley,president and marketing director of Bethel Heights Vineyard in West Salem. "We were conscious of how oak habitat has been taken away by agricultural development, and now we were becoming aware almost too late."

Less than 5 percent of oak habitat remains, said Susan Barnes, regional conservation biologist for the western region of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Oak habitat is considered to be a high priority for the ODFW due to its dwindling numbers.

"We realized that oak restoration and conservation was falling through the cracks and there was concern about whether or not oak was being well-managed," said Nicole Maness, ecosystem services project manager with Willamette Partnership.

Oak habitat, which refers to oak woodlands and savannas, has declined from roughly 150,000 acres in the Willamette Valley in the mid-19th century to roughly 28,000 acres today, Maness said.

That decline can be explained by agricultural and urban development, invasive species like blackberries, Douglas-fir encroachment and vineyard owners uprooting native oak to plant grapevines.

"We've taken a lot of oak savanna to build vineyards, I will admit that," said Kevin Chambers, owner of Koosah Farms in Amity. "But this is an excellent effort to reestablish an ecosystem."

How will the agreement work?

Willamette Partnership will oversee efforts by the 41 participating landowners, first by conducting a baseline assessment of existing oak habitat on each property with the help of an ecologist.

The assessment will determine what can be done to preserve existing oak habitat and what land could be utilized to create new habitat.

Ecologists score each property by weighing the vegetation, natural disturbances like insect infestations, human-associated disturbances like timber harvest or grazing, and desired types of oak habitat.

Landowners will engage in oak restoration projects every five years and Willamette Partnership will monitor these projects.

As the Oak Accord is a voluntary agreement, not a state regulation or law, Maness said the agreement ensures that participating landowners maintain harmony with the environment through their own conservation efforts.

Barnes said while more oak trees are always better for biodiversity, even one oak can provide a home for several types of species that depend on the diminishing hardwood tree.

"We don't have any financial incentive, so right now we're relying on moral obligation to ensure that they're doing the best job they can," Maness said.

Part of that obligation, Maness said, is using their conservation efforts as an opportunity to educate the community, including vineyard customers.

Maness said vineyards can use their conservation projects as a marketing opportunity to reel in environmentally conscious customers, but can also inform customers of land management issues that local landowners juggle while trying to remain sustainable.

Sowing the seeds of biodiversity

Both Chambers and Dudley have started the oak restoration process ahead of signing the Oak Accord.

Dudley said her vineyard started pulling invasive blackberries in 2014 and was delighted to find 18 oak saplingss hiding beneath blackberry bushes. She now marks the oak trees with yellow ribbons.

She is working to restore an old oak tree that is currently being strangled by ivy; a leafy mass starts at the stump and extends through the branches. Before the oak can flourish, the ivy must be cut from the tree.

Now three years later after she discovered the oak saplings, Dudley said she is hopeful that she is joined by dozens of other vineyards and landowners in the effort to restore oak and improve biodiversity in the valley.

"Native forests don't generally have disease problems when we humans leave them alone — they have a natural balance," Chambers said. "But if we plant just one crop, then we create a situation where we allow one insect to become dominant in that mono-crop."

By preserving and creating oak habitat, Chambers said that invites biodiversity by creating a habitat that is utilized by many species. He said oak habitats are known for thriving ecosystems, as plants, insects and animals cohabitate in the oak environment.

Barnes said some of the species found on the state's at-risk list thrive in oak habitat, including the white-breasted nuthatch and Oregon's own state bird the western meadowlark.

She said since existing oak habitat is overwhelming found on private land, private landowners play an important role in preserving what is left, and a role in restoring habitat.

The first step landowners can do to preserve oak is refrain from cutting down oak, which she said is commonly used for fire logs. Second, landowners can cut any other nearby trees or shrubs that dominate oak, which would give oak the opportunity to grow large limbs that support acorn production.

For Chambers, the conservation process started when he purchased his Amity land in 2013. The property was covered with Christmas trees. He has since begun the process of cutting the trees down. He will uproot the stumps this spring and prepare the soil for oak trees.

Chambers said since oak is not commonly found in Willamette Valley nurseries, he is forced to get creative by planting acorns and waiting for germination.

"We’re just trying to mimic mother nature — somewhat inelegantly but we’re doing it," Chambers said with a laugh.

For more information on the Oak Accord, visit http://willamettepartnership.org/the-oak-accord/

To learn about the Oregon Conservation Strategy, visit http://oregonconservationstrategy.org/

All about oak

- Oak woodlands once covered nearly 400,000 acres in the Willamette Valley and nearly 1 million acres in the coastal range. The Willamette Valley now has less than 5 percent of its oak woodlands, and the coastal range has less than 6 percent of its oak woodlands.

- Ninety percent of oak habitat in Oregon have been cleared since the early 1800s when settlers began clearing the land for urban and agricultural development.

- Oak savannas are grasslands with scattered Oregon white oak trees, with only one or two trees per acre.

- Oak woodlands are characterized by an open canopy dominated by Oregon white oak.

- Some wildlife species use large-diameter oaks for nesting, feeding and shelter.

- More than 200 species of wildlife use oak habitat during their life cycle including the acorn woodpecker, the oak titmouse, Lewis’s woodpecker and the Columbian white-tailed deer.

- Roughly 45 oak-associated species are considered to be at-risk due to dwindling oak habitat.

Information compiled by Natural Resources Conservation Service Oregon and the Oregon Conservation Strategy.

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