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The rugged Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion of Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California is famous for its biological diversity. The region is designated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as one of only seven Areas of Global Biological Significance in North America and it is a proposed World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. There are over 250 endemic plants, 36 species of conifers and an array of habitats including redwood forest, subalpine meadows and oak savannahs.
Oak savannahs are in decline due largely to the absence of fire leading to encroachment by conifers into meadows and open woodlands. To ensure that oak savannah persists on the landscape, the Oregon Coastal Program is collaborating with the Curry Soil and Water Conservation District, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians and private landowners on a restoration thinning project at Kimball Hill.
The Coastal Program has invested over $61,000 in this project to leverage funding by state and local conservation partners. Approximately 35 acres will be treated initially, with more to follow.
Encroaching conifers, mostly Douglas-firs, that are moving into oak woodlands and meadows are being selectively cut to reduce competition for water, space and sunlight facilitating the growth of several oak species and a variety of native shrubs, forbs, and grasses. Some of the larger trees are girdled to create snags for birds and mammals, and smaller diameter trees are piled and left to provide cover for wildlife. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappÏÂÔØ with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, white oak acorns will be collected and planted on site following tree removal. This project complements a similar thinning effort to preserve oak savannah being conducted in Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest which surrounds Kimball Hill on three sides.
The ecological benefits of conserving oak savannah are numerous. The open space that they provide within the densely forested matrix provide forage for deer and elk and habitat for wildflowers and pollinators, and oaks provide mast for nut-eaters and cavities for birds and Pacific marten. And Del Norte salamanders, a species of federal concern only found in a very small area of the Siskiyou Mountains, were found in talus under some of the largest oaks at Kimball Hill.
