SLIDE 1 Oak Woodland-Savanna Restoration for Wildlife in the Willamette Valley
A Collaborative Research, Education, and Management Program
Dan Rosenberg Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, OSU Craig DeMars Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, OSU Dave Vesely Pacific Wildlife Research Steve Zack Wildlife Conservation Society Bob Altman American Bird Conservancy Jock Beall
- U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Greg Fitzpatrick The Nature Conservancy Scott Hoffman-Black Xerces Society Joan Hagar
Brenda McComb
- Univ. of Mass., and OSU Forest Science
Brad Withrow-Robinson OSU Forestry Extension
SLIDE 2 Presentation Goals
- highlight imperiled status of Oregon Oak habitats
- identify research and monitoring needs
- discuss challenges in monitoring and research
- introduce research and education program
- discussion on future directions
SLIDE 3
Oregon Oak Woodland and Savanna Plant Communities in the Willamette Valley
Origin
SLIDE 4
Oregon Oak Woodland and Savanna Plant Communities in the Willamette Valley
SLIDE 5
Oregon Oak Woodland and Savanna Plant Communities in the Willamette Valley
Change in Condition
SLIDE 6
Oregon Oak Woodland and Savanna Plant Communities in the Willamette Valley
Restoration
SLIDE 7 Wildlife Conservation is a Key Goal
“This project will benefit both at-risk animal species…acorn woodpecker, Lewis’ woodpecker, western meadowlark, and Fender’s blue butterfly… ”
SLIDE 8 Our Premise:
Conservation of wildlife, from butterflies to birds, is a key goal of oak woodland–savanna restoration
- little is known of wildlife response
- nor how this affects wildlife in other habitats
- “indicators” of successful restoration
- guide restoration particularly those larger-scale
SLIDE 9
Oak Woodland-Savanna Restoration for Wildlife in the Willamette Valley
A Collaborative Research, Education, and Management Program
Goal:
Conserve and restore wildlife and their Oak Woodlands–Savanna habitats in the Willamette Valley through an integrated collaborative research, education, and management program
SLIDE 10
Guiding Questions
How do different conservation strategies affect wildlife at the landscape scale?
SLIDE 11
Guiding Questions
What are the tradeoffs for wildlife with various management prescriptions?
SLIDE 12
What are the most efficient approaches for monitoring restoration success ?
Guiding Questions
SLIDE 13
Guiding Questions
What are the most efficient and informative approaches for monitoring restoration success ?
SLIDE 14
What educational efforts are needed to make conservation effective? Guiding Questions
And discussion among researchers, restoration ecologists, plant and wildlife ecologists…..
SLIDE 15
Thoughts on Research Needs
Autecology
Lewis’s Woodpecker Broad survey of invertebrate habitat associations 5000 species associated with California oak woodlands
SLIDE 16
Thoughts on Research Needs
Effects of Restoration Practices
Unintended Impacts Assessment of Assumed Positive Responses
SLIDE 17
Thoughts on Research Needs
Evaluation of Thresholds and Surrogates: Cost efficiency
Wildlife Response Restoration Success Metric Cost/benefit high (e.g., percent native vegetation) Cost/benefit low
SLIDE 18 A modeling approach
- link with existing efforts at
the stand scale
- link with previous work at
the Valley scale
efforts
Thoughts on Research Needs
Landscape Scale Responses
SLIDE 19 Thoughts on Research Needs
Landscape Scale Responses Empirical evaluation of landscapes and wildlife associations
- meshing fine scale mechanistic
studies with hypotheses on response to landscape pattern
SLIDE 20
Three basic kinds of restoration in oak woodland- savanna habitats 1)Structural Restoration:
converting “closed form” oak woodlands to open stands of large, “open-form” oaks
2) Compositional Restoration:
restoring oak woodland-savanna plant communities
3) Restoration of scale:
restoring large areas of oak-woodland savanna
SLIDE 21 Structural and Compositional Restoration
Dense stands of
Douglas-fir; “closed-form oaks” Open stands of large Oaks; “open-form oaks” Possible Wildlife “Indicators”: Fender’s Blue Butterfly White-breasted Nuthatch Western Gray Squirrel
(acorns, cavities, vertical stratification, under-story)
SLIDE 22
Restoration of Scale
Possible Wildlife “Indicators”: Acorn Woodpecker Lewis’ Woodpecker Western Gray Squirrel Expand area under restoration Restore several adjacent properties
SLIDE 23
Start-Up Projects
Role of Legacy Trees and Remnant Patches
SLIDE 24 Start-Up Projects
Role of Legacy Trees and Remnant Patches
- Percent oak habitat in landscape
- Under-story biomass/diversity
Wildlife Value
SLIDE 25
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration Jefferson Farm
10 ha
SLIDE 26
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration
Jefferson Farm
SLIDE 27
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration
Jefferson Farm
SLIDE 28
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration
Jefferson Farm
SLIDE 29
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration
Jefferson Farm
SLIDE 30
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration
Jefferson Farm 10 ha Nuthatch
SLIDE 31
Start-Up Projects
Monitoring Wildlife Response to Restoration
Jefferson Farm
Landscape Scale
SLIDE 32
Conservation Can Not Be Effective If People Don’t Appreciate the Resource
Importance of linking research, education, and management
