Sunny. High near 85F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..
Clear to partly cloudy. Low 59F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Kyle Reed, Fire Risk Reduction Specialist at the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, discusses home defense from wildfires during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Ken Carloni, with the Yew Creek Land Alliance, discusses biochar practices during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Guests attend a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Forest Service employee Erin Holiman speaks to a group about the basics of oak tree planting and growing during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership.
Bureau of Land Management botanist Justy Grinter discusses invasive plant species during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Ken Carloni, with the Yew Creek Land Alliance, discusses biochar practices during a program at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Kyle Reed, Fire Risk Reduction Specialist at the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, discusses home defense from wildfires during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Ken Carloni, with the Yew Creek Land Alliance, discusses biochar practices during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Guests attend a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Forest Service employee Erin Holiman speaks to a group about the basics of oak tree planting and growing during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership.
Bureau of Land Management botanist Justy Grinter discusses invasive plant species during a program organized by Umpqua Oak Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service Douglas County at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
Ken Carloni, with the Yew Creek Land Alliance, discusses biochar practices during a program at Mildred Kanipe Park near Oakland on Thursday.
OAKLAND — Umpqua Basin is home to more oak trees than any of the other four oak groups around Oregon, according to Steve Denney from the Umpqua Oak Partnership. The mighty trees are important for a number of reasons — they are native to Oregon, provide habitat for thousands of other species, are drought tolerant and are fire resistant.
On Thursday, over 60 Douglas County community members gathered at Mildred Kanipe Memorial Park in Oakland, surrounded by peacocks and birdsong for the start of a two-day event: Oaks in the Umpqua.
“Oaks are valuable and they need to be managed,” Denney said. “People have a lot of options for managing oaks on their property. I think that hopefully we are going to describe a bunch of different techniques and options for them.”
Everyone in attendance either owns or manages land, according to Alicia Christiansen from OSU Extension who helped lead this event.
Christiansen’s goal for Oaks in the Umpqua is to provide land owners and managers with the education and resources they need to manage oaks and restoration projects.
“You don’t have to do all of this work alone,” Christiansen said, expressing what she hopes attendees will take away from the event. “There are agencies and organizations out there that are poised to help you accomplish your oak restoration goal.”
Umpqua Oak Partnership and OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources Program for Douglas County put on the educational event together. About a year ago, they sent out a survey to around 1,000 land owners in Douglas County to gauge interest. Many people responded, requesting information on oaks and so this event was created, according to Denney. He hopes it will become an annual or biannual occurrence.
Attendees began the day rotating through a series of five different informational sessions. After lunch, they toured two ranches working to restore oaks.
During five, half-hour-long informational sessions, specialists led attendees in a discussion about a topic, allowing time for questions.
In one session about invasive plant species in oak habitats Justy Grinter, from the Bureau of Land Management, discussed different tools to help get rid of invasives: digging, hand pulling, mowing, herbicide and others. She then led a mini tour, pointing out some invasive plants.
In another session, “creating wildlife habitat”, Bill Cannaday from Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and CalLee Davenport from U.S. Fish & Wildlife explained that oaks are a diverse habitat, providing for thousands of different species including over 100 types of birds and over 3,000 different insects.
In other sessions attendees learned about wildfires, biochar and how to cultivate oak from acorns.
At the end of the day, attendees left with a number of take-home informational packets — about restoring oak habitats and resources on how that can be done.
At the Friday session, attendees move through a variety of workshops further addressing oak restoration and habitat, including the option to watch a demonstration of either a portable sawmill or shiitake mushroom inoculation.
“My thing about wildlife is about preserving the land and not poisoning the environment,” Deb Cotterall, a land owner in attendance, said. “A lot of what we are learning today is in harmony with that. I want to learn more about how to take care of my land for the future.”
Nika Bartoo-Smith is a Snowden Intern for The News-Review, she can be reached at nsmith@nrtoday.com.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
If you are a landowner interested in the many programs that can help you manage oak trees on your property, or you just want to learn more about the value of oaks, you can contact The Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers or OSU Extension
I had no idea that oaks were both drought tolerant AND fire resistant! What a beautiful option for land owners to explore!
We have 2 huge oak trees. One is 3 feet from one pump house the other one is about 50 feet from another pump house.
My experience with the one 50 feet away, if they are drought resistant branches wouldn't be falling off--when picked up the branches seem dry rot--they fall apart in you hand.
One day decided to walk under the tree to do an inspection. Stood there then realized tiny green worms suspended on strings (don't know what they are called) but they were all around me. I felt like I was in a horror movie. This tree has to be very old, we are the 2nd residents so don't know when it was planted or perhaps it was already there. I really don't trust the limbs.
This tree can't be starved for water as in the Spring it is sopping wet up until May.
I wish you could have seen me trying to swing on a poison oak vine growing up the trunk of this tree. Had no idea it was poison oak as it was dormant, no leaves to indicate it was poison oak. I hugged the vine to take 3 good swings on it----you know the rest of the story.
We logged above our house several years ago. Lots of oak up there on the hill. A kind neighbor ask if we would like a small table from one of the oak trees--a nice memory from our logging. A year or 2 later the neighbor delivered a small table. How neat was that.
I remember someone saying, "if you have an oak tree near a well chances are there is a good source of water.
It is good to know oak trees are fire resistant.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Would you like to receive our Daily Briefing? Signup today!
Would you like to receive our DC Family wrap up? Signup today!
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.