“We’re ready for things to be drier than normal,” said Lucas King, fire and fuels program at Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS). The organization works to put good fire, more commonly known as prescribed burns, on the forest floor of fire-adapted landscapes in the Gorge.
The Oregon white oak is an unusual species — with deep cavities, long winding trunks, and a life span of hundreds of years, it has carved out a unique spot in the Columbia River Gorge’s ecosystem.
THE GORGE — The buttercups found on The Dalles Mountain are unique, endangered, and are being monitored and protected by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The fast-moving water of the Missoula Floods during the Ice Age shaped the beautiful landscape of the Gorge by scraping away rocks and sediment through the valley, and it also shaped the unique growth of The Dalles Mountain Buttercup.
THE GORGE — A program to certify bird-friendly ranches could help restore the Columbia Plateau, free for any rancher who wants it, and the rapidly-vanishing bird species of the sagebrush.
KLICKITAT CO. — Perched above the Klickitat River, a 2,666-acre parcel known as Klickitat Oaks is now accessible to the public after being acquired by the nonprofit Columbia Land Trust.
By Steve Lundeberg, 541-737-4039, steve.lundeberg@oregonstate.edu
Source: Meg Krawchuk, 541-737-1483, meg.krawchuk@oregonstate.edu; Bruno Aparicio, bruno.aparicio@oregonstate.edu
Updated
Free news from OSU: A new analysis shows that the Pacific Northwest’s mature and old-growth forests are most at risk of severe wildfire in areas that historically burned frequently at lower severity.
