Tag: Oral Session 2 CLN

Landscape scale forest health assessment in Hendricks Park, Eugene, Oregon

Presenter(s): Kelly Shull

Co Presenter(s): Owen Collins, Jackson Dailey, Betsy Finn, Ben King, Haley Nicholson, Sky Ramirez-Doble, Nick Richardson, Haley Santos, Kiana Seto

Faculty Mentor(s): Peg Boulay

Oral Session 2 CLN

During Spring 2019, the Environmental Leadership Program will be partnering with the City of Eugene to collect data on Hendricks Park, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Hendricks Park team will collect data on vegetation, wildlife habitat features, recreational impacts, and invasive species in the original twenty-four plots that were surveyed in 1999. This data will be collected through multiple qualitative and quantitative measurements that indicate forest health, such as measurements of invasive species cover, coarse woody debris, and plant composition. The team will then conduct a comparative analysis of the 1999 and 2019 data to assess what has changed over time, and how this change influences the City of Eugene’s management objectives. This analysis will be compiled in a report for the City of Eugene to use and make informed decisions about the future management of Hendricks Park.

White Oak (Quercus garryana) Habitat Monitoring and Management: Thurston Hills Natural Area (THNA)

Presenter(s): Marinn Longenecker

Co Presenter(s): Kristi Thompson, Nick Pierson, Sakina Shahid, Jane Yeoman, Seth Arbogast, David Josi, Sarah Cudworth, Marie Moore, Marina Harrington

Faculty Mentor(s): Peg Boulay & Sara Worl

Oral Session 2 CLN

Prior to European colonization, Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) savannas and woodlands were a prominent ecosystem across the Pacific Northwest (Devine and Harrington 2013). Presently, their area is reduced by 97% in the Willamette Valley (Pritchard et al. 2017) as a result of reduced fire frequency, introduced species, and mismanagement (Devine and Harrington 2013). Land managers are increasingly adopting active management for oak savanna restoration in order to support biodiversity. Primary actions include the removal of invasives, underbrush, and competing conifers. Establishing baseline data on forest composition and health is required for informed and adaptive management decisions. At Thurston Hills Natural Area (THNA), a team of students from University of Oregon’s Environmental Leadership Program conducted a survey of Oregon white oaks to establish a baseline for use in restoration management decisions by Willamalane Park and Recreation District. Data was collected on the location, health, and threats to mature oak trees within the study area. Additionally, qualitative observations about wildlife, natural features, and neighboring vegetation were recorded to help evaluate recreational opportunities. This data was used to create detailed maps of THNA forests, and compile a detailed database of oak trees. As a comprehensive baseline, these deliverables provide the means for developing, implementing, and evaluating effectiveness of restoration management strategies.

ELP 2019 Riparian Restoration: Pollinator, stream temperature, photopoint, and aquatic invertebrate monitoring and native revegetation of Goose Creek

Presenter(s): Marissa Lane-Massee

Co Presenter(s): Joe Dahlke, Katie Fischer, Michaela Fishback, Steven Pearlman

Faculty Mentor(s): Peg Boulay

Oral Session 2 CLN

Whitewater Ranch is an organic blueberry and sustainable timber farm in Leaburg, Oregon that aims for sustainable practices through the improvement of the Goose Creek riparian area within the property. Through their support of the Environmental Leadership Program’s Riparian Restoration teams since 2014, the teams have been restoring the riparian area of Goose Creek for the goals of restoring vegetation to increase biodiversity and habitat for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, as well as creating a diverse habitat that encourages pollinators needed for the production of blueberries. The current Riparian Restoration team aims for the same goals in addition to collecting more data, continuing the monitoring of Goose Creek, and to improve upon the last teams work. The current team will be monitoring this area through the use of photopoint monitoring, individual plant monitoring, community plant composition monitoring, stream temperature monitoring, aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring, and pollinator monitoring. The team will use this data to assess trends seen in present and past data and to provide this additional data for next years team. The current team hypothesizes that from 2017, overall biodiversity and abundance of ecologically key species will increase.