Monitoring Fuel Treatment Efficacy in Oak Habitat at Suzanne Arlie Park

(In-Person) Oral Panel—Fuel, Fire, Grass and Compost

Upland oak prairies and oak savannas are scarce within Oregon’s Willamette Valley. In order to restore these fire-dependent communities, we must integrate prescribed fire and land stewardship practices. Our team has been working closely with the City of Eugene Parks and Open Spaces Department to collect vegetation data to evaluate the effects of fuels management at Suzanne Arlie Park. Project goals are to conduct vegetation monitoring and evaluate fuel loads within plots that have been untreated or treated with herbicide, mastication, mowing, and prescribed burns. A paramount aspect of our team’s protocol is to collect data on species composition and richness, which is key for management decisions such as prescribed fire. We have used a nested plot design: determining the plot center using randomized methods, measuring and describing trees and large woody fuels present within a 1/100th acre plot, measuring shrub cover along a 50 ft transect, and describing herbaceous cover and small woody fuels in three 1 m2 quadrats. Site awareness parameters consisted of photo monitoring points and qualitative assessment with comments. Our findings will be used to make management recommendations to the City of Eugene for Suzanne Arlie Park and the Ridgeline Trail System. These recommendations will be used to implement fuels reduction treatments; restore, enhance, and promote awareness of native habitats; and will increase collaboration across parks within Eugene’s Wildland-Urban Interface.