Columbia Land Trust

A morning of habitat improvement and river views for these hardworking Land Trust volunteers! Earlier this month, a group of volunteers joined us on a sunny winter day at Barlow Trail, a 30-acre forested site on the Sandy River. The group worked together to remove invasive Scots Broom (Cytisus scoparius) and prevent its spread along this conserved shoreline and other areas downstream, allowing native vegetation to thrive. In 2016, this site underwent a large in-stream restoration project in a side channel of the river to create habitat for salmon and steelhead trout, and participants were able to explore this restoration area and see several signs of beaver activity (pictured 4th and 6th). Interested in giving back to nature? Visit https://lnkd.in/gArZ5Fwb to join us for an upcoming volunteer event!

It’s an exciting week for oak trees of the Columbia Gorge! East Cascades Oak Partnership Manager Lindsay Cornelius is the featured speaker for “Sense of Place: New Attention on Oregon White Oaks and Why They Matter,” a learning event hosted by Mt. Adams Institute this Wednesday, March 12 at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River. In-person tickets are sold out, but you can still register at https://lnkd.in/ghjxSkKA to watch live online and learn how oak trees support more vibrant life than any other tree species in the Gorge. We’re also excited to share the launch of the Pacific Northwest Oak Alliance website AND the new Prairie, Oaks, and People investment strategy, a five-year plan developed by partners in the Oak Alliance, Cascadia Prairie-Oak Partnership, and beyond. It outlines shovel ready projects and guides investment in oak and prairie restoration priorities across the Pacific Northwest! “A total of 41 organizations came together—bringing the voices of 8 Tribes and Nations, 18 land trusts, 3 state agencies, and 15 additional groups, including NGOs, conservation districts, and university experts,” said Sara Evans-Peters, U.S. Assistant Coordinator for the Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture. “Seeing this level of unity and commitment is a powerful testament to what the oak and prairie community can accomplish when we work together.” Visit the new Pacific Northwest Oak Alliance website at https://oakalliance.org/ to learn more about oak initiatives across the Northwest and to explore the investment strategy. ?? Doug Gorsline

We’re hiring! Do you want to be part of an innovative team caring for important habitats of the East Cascades? Make a direct impact on the nature of the Columbia River region by becoming a Natural Area Manager with Columbia Land Trust.? ? Based out of our White Salmon, Washington office this position will join our collaborative 24-member stewardship team and be responsible for the management of various natural areas in Washington and Oregon. Ranging from 30 acres to thousands of acres, these natural areas encompass riparian habitat, fire-adapted mixed conifer forests and oak woodlands, wetlands, talus, cliffs, and grasslands.?? ? Learn more and apply by March 26, 2025 at https://lnkd.in/gE2bJriA.

Restoring a coastal forest in the Grays River watershed.? ? Over 10,000 Douglas fir, hemlock, cedar, alder, and big leaf maple trees have been planted at this conserved site in Pacific County, Washington. Our stewardship team is working to reforest the landscape here in areas that were harvested before Columbia Land Trust acquired this land in late 2023.? ? This project area is within a 1,103-acre site that connects two large blocks of state-managed forest and creates an important habitat corridor for wildlife. As these trees grow over coming decades, habitat conditions will improve for several species of wildlife including endangered marbled murrelet that utilize these coastal forests for nesting.

That’s one tree-mendous oak! After visiting a recent oak restoration site, East Cascades Oak Partnership (ECOP) staff and members stopped by this nearby Oregon white oak tree that is thriving on U.S. Forest Service land near Mosier, Oregon. While it can difficult to precisely age oaks, ECOP members estimate this particular tree to be about 350 years old! Large, old oaks like this one often have sloughing bark with narrow, protected gaps that are perfect for roosting bats. These deep fissures in the aging bark help insulate the tree from the heat of fire and provide growing surfaces for rare lichens, some of which have only ever been documented to grow in the Columbia River Gorge. "One of my favorite parts of working and living in the Columbia River Gorge is exploring all the unique oaks this landscape has to offer,” said ECOP Technical Coordinator Stacy Simanonok. “I love coming across gentle giants like this one that have scars from lightning or wildfire, enormous cavities (I'm still waiting on my chance to see an owl perched in one), and produce abundant acorn crops that feed a variety of wildlife."

Get outside with Columbia Land Trust this winter to improve habitat on our conserved lands! There's still space to join us this Friday for a morning on the Sandy River as we work to remove invasive plants like Scots broom. This section of river supports salmonids and other wildlife, and removing these invasive plants will help native plants take hold. On Saturday, March 15th, we’ll work together to restore a section of the Optimist Youth Camp in Battleground, Washington by laying mulch around young trees we recently planted, which will suppress weed growth and help these new plantings establish. Hundreds of youth visit this site each year to connect with nature, and restoration work here will ensure habitat remains healthy into the future. Register for these (and other!) upcoming volunteer events at https://lnkd.in/gArZ5Fwb.

Snowy scenes from a prescribed burn to improve forest health. Our stewardship team took advantage of snowfall from earlier this winter to complete a pile burning project with the Mt. Adams Prescribed Burn Association at a section of Bowman Creek Natural Area, a conserved site in Klickitat County that we have been stewarding for over a decade. In winter of 2023, staff from the Land Trust and Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS), along with volunteer site stewards, thinned 12-acres of oak-pine woodland here that had become overstocked with conifers. This resulted in large slash piles of woody debris like branches and limbs that were left to dry out over the summer. Once cold winter conditions returned, these piles were ignited. Safely burning them significantly reduced the presence of forest fuels that would otherwise pose a serious risk of high-intensity fire in the future. Thank you to MARS, Klickitat Volunteer Fire Department, and Mt. Adams Prescribed Burn Association for supporting this work and sharing expertise!

Columbia Land Trust is delighted to welcome five new members to our volunteer Board of Directors. After a broad, public search, they will join existing board members in guiding our work to conserve and care for the nature of the Columbia River region. “The diverse skills, experience, and perspectives they bring will enrich our conservation work and support the Land Trust in reaching our ambitious goals in the coming years,” said Executive Director Meg Rutledge. Learn more about our new board members at https://lnkd.in/gYS7Jgq4. Photo by Emma Browne Media

The landscape is evolving at Indian Jack Slough. ?? Over 66,000 native plants of fifteen different species were put in the ground as part of our ongoing wetland restoration in Washington’s Elochoman River watershed. The ponds and water channels we recently excavated have already filled with water, creating immediate habitat for wildlife. ?? “If you build it, they will come,” said Natural Area Manager Katie Pierson. “As soon as we got the first rain, tons of waterfowl started using these ponds. I’ve seen a great egret, ducks, muskrats, nutria, killdeer. Wildlife sightings are already plentiful.”? ?? Native plants like spirea, snowberry, spruce, and cedar will have a chance to establish where invasive reed canarygrass once dominated. ?? “These plants will eventually grow up and diversify the landscape,” said Katie. “Restoration here will provide forage and shelter for lots of wildlife species, including year-round ponds for waterfowl and native upland habitat features for state-endangered Columbian white-tailed deer.”? ?? Thank you to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Ash Creek Forest Management, LLC for supporting this planting! This year and in the future, we will monitor restoration progress and perform Columbian white-tailed deer surveys. We can’t wait to see how habitat continues to improve.

Shake off those winter blues by joining Columbia Land Trust on Friday, February 28th for a morning of volunteer habitat restoration along the Sandy River! Barlow Trail is a 30-acre forested site near Rhododendron, Oregon. In 2016, Columbia Land Trust performed in-stream restoration here to improve habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout that return to this watershed each year to spawn. Using loppers, weed wrenches, and our hands, we’ll work together to remove non-native Scots broom growing along the shoreline and within the forest, to allow native vegetation to grow here once again and improve wildlife habitat. See more event details and sign up at https://lnkd.in/gQinc3S7. We hope to see you there!