Oak-associated landscape planning
Well-managed oak habitats have the specialized ability to provide unique resources for hundreds of plants and animals while reducing local fire danger. When properly maintained, oak habitats can lower the risk of fire in an area from high to low intensity because the vegetation is more spread out and there are fewer opportunities for fires on the ground to move into the canopy. This page offers resources for making management decisions and writing plans for the oak habitats on your property.
A plan to get you started
Oregon State University has developed the Landscape Scale Management Plan — a partially completed and fillable management plan template for landowners wishing to participate in a coordinated, landscape-scale restoration effort for the oak forests, woodlands and savannas of the southern Willamette Valley. The information contained within is designed to provide landscape scale context and management guidance about Willamette Valley oak habitats, including tips for plan writers to aid in the creation of a property-specific management plan that may meet the requirements of the Oregon Department of Forestry, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This video explains the importance of oak habitats in the southern Willamette Valley, and where to get help and resources for writing a management plan with oak restoration and fire risk in mind.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
PUBLICATIONS
Considerations for Ongoing Understory Management Practices in Oak Habitats
Preserving Prairies and Savannas in a Sea of Forest
Species of Conservation Concern in the Southern Willamette Valley Oak and Adjacent Habitats
VIDEOS
Biology and Management of Oregon White Oak
Management Planning Tool Kit for Oak Habitats
OTHER
Oregon’s Conservation Strategy for Oak Woodlands
In the Woods podcast episode on Oregon white oak
Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana
Oregon White Oak and Wildlife: Tools for Family Forestland Owners