Peregrine Falcons, Fender's Blue Butterflies, Red-Legged Frogs
And Rare Plants Are Protected at Six Nature Sanctuaries From North Coast
To Willamette Valley
PORTLAND, Ore., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Oregon's largest private forest
landowner has donated six ecologically sensitive properties to The Nature
Conservancy for permanent protection as nature sanctuaries.
The gift from Willamette Industries will safeguard imperiled habitats
including Oregon's largest remaining coastal wetland of its kind, an isolated
mountain refuge for rare plants, large remnants of native valley prairie and
other areas of rare botanical diversity.
The six sites harbor more than a dozen rare and sensitive plant and
wildlife species thriving in remnant native habitats in Oregon's Coast Range
and Willamette Valley. At-risk species include the peregrine falcon, Fender's
blue butterfly and northern red-legged frog.
The Willamette Industries gift includes permanent conservation easements
totaling 1,740 acres. At a seventh, 137-acre site, Willamette and the
Conservancy will work together to study methods of restoring native prairie
and oak woodland habitats.
The company estimates the value of the six conservation easements at
$1.5 million. The Conservancy is committed to raise an additional
$1.5 million for perpetual management of the protected areas. Willamette and
the Conservancy will jointly develop management plans for each of the
seven properties.
"Willamette Industries has made a tremendous gift to Oregonians," said
Russell Hoeflich, vice president and Oregon director for The Nature
Conservancy. "We can all be extremely grateful for their leadership in
protecting these critical pieces of Oregon's natural heritage."
Willamette President and CEO Duane McDougall said the gift is in keeping
with the company's sustainable forestry objectives. Nationwide, Willamette
has preserved more than 1,100 special sites for protection because of
environmental, cultural or historical significance.
"As a company with deep roots in Oregon, we've made a commitment to
preserve our environment and to protect sensitive areas that should remain in
their natural state," McDougall said. "We take seriously our responsibility
to manage our forests sustainably, and appreciate the scientific and
organizational expertise that The Nature Conservancy brings to this
partnership.
The seven properties include three sites in Oregon's Coast Range. At
Gearhart Bog near Seaside, a 469-acre conservation easement expands the
Conservancy's existing 47-acre preserve. The preserve hosts the largest
remaining coastal wetland of its type in Oregon, including the southernmost
occurrence of a conifer swamp more often seen in British Columbia and Alaska.
At Fanno Meadows west of Salem, a 660-acre easement expands an existing
84-acre preserve cooperatively managed by the Conservancy and Willamette
Industries since 1989. The preserve harbors rare plants, including the
elegant fawn lily, known to only five sites in the world, as well as unusual
wetland habitats. A 387-acre easement on Onion Peak expands the Conservancy's
existing 41-acre preserve and adds protection to an ecologically isolated
"rock garden" habitat with an exceptional array of rare plants. Peregrine
falcons frequent this high basalt outcrop near Cannon Beach.
In the Willamette Valley, four Willamette Industries properties include
the new, 30-acre Coburg Ridge Preserve northeast of Eugene. The site includes
an important remnant of native prairie and one of only four large populations
of Fender's blue butterfly, a federally listed endangered species. Biologists
estimate that less than one percent of the Willamette Valley's original upland
prairies retain their native bunchgrass and wildflower communities.
Other Willamette Valley sites include a 62-acre addition to the Horse Rock
Ridge Research Natural Area northeast of Eugene, a site protected by the
Bureau of Land Management for its exceptional botanical diversity. Philomath
Prairie is a 132-acre natural area with native upland bunchgrass prairie and
Oregon white oak woodlands. At Blakesley Oak Woodland west of Corvallis, a
137-acre cooperative research and management agreement provides for shared
research and restoration of native prairie and oak savanna habitats.
A Fortune 500 company, Willamette Industries owns approximately
1.7 million acres of forestland in the United States, including 610,000 acres
in Oregon. The company was founded in the Willamette Valley in 1906 and
operates 21 manufacturing facilities in Oregon. The company's lands have been
independently certified as sustainably managed according to the American
Forest & Paper Association's Sustainable Forestry Initiative(SM) program.
Last year in Tennessee and Louisiana, Willamette Industries announced
agreements with The Nature Conservancy and state agencies to identify and
preserve biological diversity on more than 177,000 acres of Willamette-owned
lands.
The Nature Conservancy is a private, international non-profit organization
established in 1951 to preserve biological diversity in nature. Working
cooperatively with communities, businesses and landowners, the Conservancy and
its more than one million members have helped protect more than 12 million
acres in the United States and more than 80 million acres in Latin America,
the Caribbean and the Pacific. The Conservancy owns or manages more than
1,340 preserves, the worlds' largest private system of nature sanctuaries,
including 50 in Oregon.
Facts
Background
Willamette Industries has donated to The Nature Conservancy permanent
conservation easements and a cooperative research and management agreement at
seven ecologically important sites in Oregon's Coast Range and Willamette
Valley. Six conservation easements total 1,740 acres. The cooperative
research and management agreement covers an additional 137 acres. Three of
the sites are in Oregon's Coast Range; four are in the central and southern
Willamette Valley.
Coast Range sites
Gearhart Bog - A 469-acre conservation easement expands the Conservancy's
existing 47-acre Gearhart Bog Preserve located north of Seaside. Oregon's
largest remaining coastal wetland of its type, Gearhart Bog features a
remarkable diversity of habitats including a sphagnum bog, sedge fens,
floating fens, cedar muskeg and the southernmost occurrence of a pine, hemlock
and cedar swamp more common in British Columbia and Alaska. Rare plants
include the bog cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos) and sweet gale heath (Myrica
gale). Northern red-legged frogs (Rana aurora aurora), a species of concern
in Oregon, and bald eagles frequent the site. The easement permanently
protects the wetlands and a forested buffer. It also limits the levels and
timing of harvest in the watershed to minimize impacts to the wetlands.
Onion Peak - In the northern Coast Range, the basalt outcrop of Onion Peak
supports an extraordinary and ecologically isolated array of rare plants,
including Saddle Mountain saxifrage (Saxifraga hitchcockiana), wandering daisy
(Erigeron peregrinus), rosy lewisia (Lewisia columbiana var rupicola), Saddle
Mountain bittercress (Cardamine pattersonii), frigid shooting star
(Dodecatheon austrofrigidum), Flett's groundsel (Senecio flettii) and
queen-of-the forest (Filipendula occidentalis). Peregrine falcons are
frequently sighted at the preserve. The 387-acre conservation easement
expands the Conservancy's existing 41-acre preserve to protect additional
habitats and adds a significant buffer from adjacent land uses.
Fanno Meadows - Near the crest of the Coast Range east of Salem,
Fanno Meadows includes four rare high-elevation sphagnum-sedge wetlands
similar to bogs and fens more common in Alaska and Canada. The elegant fawn
lily (Erythronium elegans) is found here and at only four other sites
worldwide. The bog anemone (Anemone oregana) is another rare plant species.
The 660-acre conservation easement expands an existing 84-acre preserve which
has been cooperatively managed by the Conservancy and Willamette since 1989.
The easement permanently protects the wetlands and a forested buffer. It also
limits the levels and timing of harvest in the watershed to minimize impacts
to the wetlands.
Willamette Valley sites
Coburg Ridge - Northeast of Eugene, the new 30-acre Coburg Ridge Preserve
includes a portion of an important remnant of native upland prairie and one of
only four large populations of Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides
fenderi), a federally listed endangered species, along with the butterfly's
host plant, Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphurureus var kincaidii), federally
listed as threatened, and other prairie wildflowers..
Horse Rock Ridge - North of Coburg Ridge, the new 62-acre Horse Rock Ridge
Preserve includes a large remnant of native bunchgrass prairie with wooded
margins. The easement expands the adjacent 378-acre Horse Rock Ridge Research
Natural Area, protected by the Bureau of Land Management for its native
grassland and forest habitats and diversity of wildflowers. The conservation
easement will enable the Conservancy and Willamette to protect sensitive
habitats in partnership with the BLM.
Philomath Prairie - West of Corvallis, this 132-acre natural area includes
native upland bunchgrass prairie, Oregon white oak savanna and a small
occurrence of Kincaid's lupine. White oak savannas are a focus for
conservation and restoration at a dozen sites in Oregon, Washington and
British Columbia, providing critical habitat for a diversity of bird species
including acorn woodpecker, western bluebird, vesper sparrow and western
meadowlark. The high quality native upland prairie grassland is the rarest
grassland in Oregon.
Blakesley Oak Woodland - A cooperative research and management agreement
between Willamette and the Conservancy will chart the future of this 137-acre
oak habitat west of Corvallis. Much of the historic Oregon white oak habitat
in the Willamette Valley has been converted to other land uses, and what
remains is threatened with encroachment of native and non-native species such
as Scots broom and Douglas-fir. Research at this site will help develop best
methods of restoring oak habitats.
Conservation easements
Conservation easements are legally binding deed restrictions that provide
for management of a property to protect its rare species, habitats or open
space values. The specific terms of an easement can vary in the restrictions
they place on uses of property. In this case, the easements identify the most
sensitive habitats, or "core areas," where the Conservancy is given full
management control. On lands adjoining the core areas, Willamette will limit
forest management activities and will consult with the Conservancy on
specified management actions.
Management plans and access
The Conservancy and Willamette will work in partnership to develop
management and research plans for the seven sites. Plans typically include
biological inventory, ecological research, invasive species assessment,
ecological monitoring and restoration efforts such as weed removal, native
plantings and prescribed fire. Access to the seven sites will ordinarily be
by invitation, as they are accessible only via private roads. Schools and
research institutions will be invited to join in ecological research and
restoration activities.
Value and fundraising
Willamette estimates the value of the gift of six conservations easements
at approximately $1.5 million. The Conservancy is committed to raise an
additional $1.5 million for initial stewardship costs and perpetual management
of the protected natural areas.
For more information
Contact Stephen Anderson, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon, 503-230-1221.
Press release, map, photos and this fact sheet are on the web at
nature.org/oregon - click on Press Releases.
SOURCE Willamette Industries
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Related links:
http://www.wii.com
CONTACT:
Stephen Anderson of The Nature Conservancy,
503-230-1221; or Jackie Lang of Willamette Industries,
503-721-2769
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