Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of OregonNOTE: This is an archived NPSO Bulletin.
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Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon[ Return to Bulletin Directory ]
July 12-14, Fri.- Sun. Annual Meeting: See the April Bulletin for details.
July 14, Sun. State Board Meeting: On Sunday morning at the annual meeting.
May 5, Sun. Field Trip: To survey Thornhollow Grade and Squaw Creek Canyon. Meet at the railroad crossing at Thornhollow, 9 A.M. Trip leader is Jerry Baker.
May 11, Sun. Field Trip: We will car pool to Umatilla Forks to join Karl Urban for a walk up the North Fork Umatilla River trail. Meet at NE comer of Safeway parking lot in Pendleton at 9 A.M.
May 12, Sun. Work Day: We will car pool to Lindsay Prairie, south of Boardman Bombing Range, for a day of pulling rye and knapweed at The Nature Conservancy preserve. Bring gloves, boots, rain gear, lunch, and a sense of humor. Meet at NE corner of Safeway parking lot in Pendleton at 8 A.M., or the Irrigon exit of I-84 at 9 A.M.
June 1, Sat. Field Trip: Karl Urban will lead into the Pomeroy Ranger District, an area of the state most people don't get to. Meet at the General Store (only store) in Troy at 10 A.M.
June 15, Sat. Field Trip: Karl Urhan will lead to Bull Prairie Reservoir, south of Heppner. Meet at South Shore Picnic Area in the campground, 10 A.M.
June 22, Sat. Field Trip: Karl Urban leads to Frazier Campground (east of Ukiah). Meet at the shelter in the campground, 10 A.M.
May 13, Mon. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Room 2087, Cordley Hall, OSU campus. Phil Hays presents a slide show on "Wildflower Photography -- Types and Techniques." For more information call Esther McEvoy.
May 18, Sat. Field Trip: Loren Russell leads to Fanno Bog. Bring lunch and foot gear for wet areas. Meet at parking lot across from Monroe Beanery at 9 A.M. Call Loren Russell for more information.
May 27, Mon. Field Trip: Bob Frenkel leads to Baskett Slough Refuge. Meet at parking lot across from Monroe Beanery at 9 A.M. Call Loren Russell for more information.
May 4, Sat. Field Trip: To Dennis Lueck's home to view his garden and discuss use of native plants in the home landscape. Leave S. Eugene H.S. (19th & Patterson) at 9 A.M. Call Kathy Pendergrass for further details.
May 11, Sat. Atlas Trip: Molly Widmer will lead to a canyon live oak grove in Lane County, to assemble a species list for this unique community. Please bring keys/id books for lichens, bryophytes, fungi and other resources for "lowlifes." Leave S. Eugene H.S. (19th & Patterson) at 8:30 A.M. Call Molly Widmer for more details.
May 18, Sat. Field Trip: Cheshire Mayrsohn will lead to Grassy Mt., a low clevation, grassy bald in the Coburg Hills. We hope to see Githopsis speculariodes. Leave S. Eugene H.S. (see above) at 9:30 A.M. Call Cheshire Mayrsohn for more information.
May 19, Sun. Wildflower Show: The annual show at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum.
May 19, Sun. Field Trip: To look at West Eugene wetland restoration sites and discuss wetland mitigations. Meet at l P.M., West Eugene Wetlands office of BLM, just off Hwy. 126 at Danebo Ave. (first and red house on right off Hwy. 126). Call Kathy Pendergrass for further details
May 25, Sat. Field Trip: Ethen Perkins will lead to see serpentine plants around Merlin, Oregon. Leave S. Eugene H.S. (see above) at 8 A.M., or meet at Merlin exit off I-5 at 10:30. Call Ethen or Kathy Pendergrass for more information.
May 27, Mon. Meeting: 7 P.M. EWEB building, 500 E. 4th Ave. (near Ferly St. overpass) in the Community Room (building left of fountain). Scott Sundberg, from the OSU Herbarium, will update us on the Oregon Flora project, which is aimed at developing an up-to-date flora on the higher plants of Oregon (a book to replace Peck and Hitchcock et. al.). For more information call Kathy Pendergrass.
June 8, Sat. Atlas Trip: Bruce Newhouse will lead to Neptune State Park to assemble a species list. Leave S. Eugene H.S. (see above) at 8:30 A.M. Call Bruce for details.
June 15, Sat. Atlas Trip: Jenny Dimling leads to Mt. June and Sawtooth Ridge Mtn. to assemble a species list. Leave S. Eugene H.S. (see above) at 8:30 A.M. Call Jenny for details.
June 22, Sat. Field Trip: John Koenig leads to see the rare Pityopus californica and other strange ghost plants lacking chlorophyll (no green leaves). Site depends on where the plants are blooming. Leave S. Eugene H.S. (see above) at 9 A.M. Call John for details.
June 29, Sat. Field Trip: To Wamer Creek, proposed RNA, to view and discuss plant succession in n area of burned old-growth Douglas fir. We plan to look at some fire ecology plots and hope to see Astragalus umbraticus. Led by Kim McMahan (Forest Service botanist) and Jane Kertis (Forest Service fire ecologist). Leave S. Eugene H.S. (see above) at 9:30 or meet at Oakridge at 10:30. Call Jenny Dimling, for further details.
Meeting: No more meetings until September.
May 19, Sun. Flower Show: Annual Central Oregon Plant Show, in conjunction with the USFS Wildflower Week, at the Central Oregon Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend. This free event, noon to 8 P.M., displays hundreds of native wildflowers, shows slides at 3:30 and 6:30, has an edihle and poisonous plant seminar, information on ethical plant collecting, and a wealth of inforrnation on local flora. Experts available to identify your unknown plants. Call Howie Brounstein for more informatlon.
June 8, Sat. Field Trip: The Island is a remnant of our native grasslands. Much of the local high desert probably looked like this before grazing, farming and urbanization took over. Unfortunatcly, even in this barely-grazed area, exotic weeds are a prohlem. NPSO will assist the BLM in removing medusahead from several small, infested areas. Call trip leader Stu Garrett for details.
June 15, Sat. Field Trip: Coffin Mountain has one of the most spectacular wildflower displays in the Cascades. We will join with the Salem Chapter of NPSO for this trip. Call trip co-leader Stu Garrett for details.
June 29, Sat. Field Trip: One of the most dramatic canyons in our area is Alder Springs on Squaw Creek. Exotic thistles are starting to take over here and we will cooperate with the BLM and the Portland Chapter of NPSO to attack it! Be ready for a combination work day and fun hike. Call Stu Garrett for details.
July 4-7, Thu.-Sun. Field Trip: This overnight trip to one of the most spectacular areas in Oregon's high desert is not to be missed. We will combine with the Sierra Club and look at a number of issues. From our base camps we will tour selected parts of the Refuge and adjacent BLM land. Livestock grazing has been eliminated from the Refuge for several years and the results are dramatic. You will need a high-clearance, 4 WD vehicle with 8-10 ply (load range D or E tires -- or at least two spares! Roads are terrible and be ready for dry camping. Call trip leader Stu Garrett for more information.
July 27, Sat. Field Trip: Canyon Mountain is one of the less-visited parts of the Strawberry Wilderness. On this moderate 5 mi. R.T. hike, with 1,000 ft. elev. gain, we will have spectacular views and see the rare Cymopteris nivalis and Luina serpentina. High clearance vehicle recommended. Anyone wishing to come early or stay late is welcome to camp at the leader's beautiful Morning Hill Forest Farm and have an ecoforestry tour. Call trip leader Jennifer Barker, Canyon City, for details.
Aug. 10, Sat. Field Trip: Broken Top Volcano. This is our annual trek to view the spectacular glaciated scenery and the alpine wildllowers in the High Cascades west of Bend. Six-mile, moderate to strenuous hike, with 1,700 ft. elev. gain. Mostly off-trail hiking through Three Sisters Wilderness, so number limited to 12. A Cascades classic! Pre-registration required. Call trip leader Stu Garrett to sign up.
Aug. 16-18, Fri.-Sun. Field Trip: Sycan Marsh. This trip to The Nature Conservancy's preserve to see this wonderful marsh environment and help collect native seeds shouldn't be missed. This huge marsh is being returned to its natural state and we will help collect seeds to start plants for restoration. Includes fun camping, bird watching, marsh and forest hikes. Contact the Conservancy's preserve manager, Linda Rexroat, P.O. Box 797, Silver Lake, Oregon 97638 for details.
May 1, Wed. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Mosier School. Henrietta Chambers gives a slide show on the flowers of Iron Mountain in the Cascades.
Meeting: No meetings until Highway 101 is passable.
May 18, Sat. Field Trip: To Saddle Mountain State Park for the spring wildflowers. Moderately strenuous. Prepare for weather. Meet at trailhead, 10 A.M. Call Christine Stanley for more information.
Officers: Newly elected officers are: Linda M. Hardie, vice president for programs; Michael McKeag, vice president for field trips; Sue Allen, secretary; Melanie Bjorge, treasurer. Missing from this list is a chapter president. Volunteers are asked to call Sue Allen. No experience is necessary and the livin' is easy. The term is for one year, beginning May, 1996.
May 4, Sat. Field Trip: Explore The Nature Conservancy's Partridge Tract on the Sandy River. Another in our monthly series of field trips for beginning botanists. A Nature Conservancy naturalist will accompany us on a 4 mi., 800 ft. elev. gain, walk. Limit 20. Registration required. Meet: 9:30 A.M., Lewis & Clark State Park (I-84, exit 18). Contact Charlene Holzwarth.
May 11, Sat. Field Trip: Deschutes River. Car botanizing along east bank road north of Sherar's Bridge. See what changes the winter floods caused. Botanical highlights include Philadelphus lewisii and Petalostemon ornatum. Driving: 220 mi. R.T. Leave at 7:30 A.M. from Lewis & Clark State Park, returning to Portland at 6 P.M. or later. Contact Jan and Dave Dobak.
May 12, Sun. Field Trip: Hike along part of the Linear State Park in the Coast Range through mixed second growth forest. Learn the history of the area (both natural and human) and discover one of our newest state parks, stretching from Banks to Vernonia. Easy walk of about 4 mi. along almost level grade. Meet at 10 A.M. at Dairy Queen in Manning on Hwy. 26. Contact Glenn Walthall.
May 14, Tue. Meeting: 7 P.M. First Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jelferson, Portland. "Church Bells, Cow Bells and Harehells: the Botany of the Swiss Alps," a presentation by Kareen Sturgeon.
May 18, Sat. Field Trip: Wasco Butte. Leave Hitchcock home. Get ready for the 21st century. Bruce Barnes demonstrates the use of his computerized plant key. Say goodbye to dichotomous keys. Laptop in hand, we'll try Bruce's multi-entry "expert system" approach, keying plants we find along the road from Mosier to Wasco Butte. Leave at 8 A.M. from Lewis & Clark State Park. We meet Bruce in Mosier at 9:30 A.M. Contact Mike McKeag, mmckeag@teleport.com.
May 19, Sun. Field Trip: Second in our monthly series of plant identification field tutorials, led by USFS botanist Caitlin Cray along the Cherry Orchard Trail outside Lyle, WA. Bring lunch, water, and your favorite plant guide, plus magnifying glass or hand lens if you have one. Be prepared for sun and wind. Hike may be only a mile or less. The focus is on practice in using keys to identify plants. Leave (car pool) from Lewis & Clark State Park at 8 A.M. to meet, 9:30 A.M., at trailhead parking lot, 1/2 mi. east of Lyle on Hwy. 14, immediately east of the double tunnels on north side of highway. Limit 15. Registration required. Contact Caitlin Cray.
May 25-27, Sat.-Mon. Field Trip: Memorial Day weekend trip to southwest Oregon. Please contact the leaders, Jan and Dave Dobak, 248-9242, for information about a semi-scouted informal trip of exploration centered around Agness on the lower Rogue River.
Officers: Newly elected chapter officers are: Barbara Mumblo, president; Jennifer Beigle, vice president; John McClendon, secretary/treasurer; Elaine Plaisance, conservation chair; Don Heinz, field trip chair; Dick Straw, Oregon Atlas leader.
May 4-5, Sat.-Sun. Wildflower Show: Come visit the wildflower show at Shady Cove Elementary School, off Hwy. 62. Lots of exhibits and displays. A small admissions fee is donated to Mercy Flights. The Siskiyou Chapter will have a photo display. If you can help identify plants on Friday night, call Margaret Meierhenry.
May 16, Thu. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Room 171, Science Building, Southem Oregon State College. Don Heinze will intrigue us with the "Unique Plants of the Montana Desert."
May 25-26, Sat.-Sun. Wildflower Show: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. at the Pacific Northwest Museum of Natural History, Ashland, Oregon. Wildflowers, photo displays, speakers, videos and children's activities. Sponsored by the Museum and NPSO's Siskiyou Chapter.
For inforrnation on South Coast Chapter, call Bruce Rittenhouse.
May 9, Thu. Meeting: 7 P.M. Room 311, Douglas County Courthouse, Roseburg. Discuss the Oregon Plant Atlas Project. Bring in a plant you can't identiiy.
May 11, Sat. Field Trip: Visit Douglas County's Smith River drainage -- Gunter, Homcstead, Twin Sisters, Roman Nose -- and botanize the transition to the Coast Range ecosystem. Look for coast monkeyflower and a display of foxgloves. Meet at BLM parking lot, 777 Garden Valley Rd., off exit 125 off I-5, for 8 A.M. departure. Call Alan Romeril for more information.
May 4, Sat. Field Trip: To North Santiam (Bird Haven) ACEC. This is an alluvial, forest and riverine, cottonwood bottomland on the Santiam River. We have hotanized here before and will be looking for changes, damage and enrichment brought about by the flood of 1996. We pass Kingston Prairie on the way, and may also botanize there if time permits. Mild to moderate walk led by experienced team of Barbara and Glenn Halliday (NPSO) with possible assistance of Walt Yungen (Audubon Society). Driving: 60 mi. R.T. Meet at K-Mart parking lot, Mission St. in south Salem, 8 A.M. Call Barbara or Glenn Halliday for more inforrnation.
May 18, Sat. Field Trip: Scotts Mills area. We will be looking for Delphinium leucophaeum on this trip which may eventually take us to Scookum Tum Tum Park, Abiqua Creek Park and Silver Falls Park. A real road show with no promised destination. Driving: 100 mi. Meet: Chemeketa Community College, parking lot B, 8 A.M. (Enter main entrance of campus off Lancaster Drive, bear left past visitors' information booth, lot B is straight ahead.) Contact Don Roberts.
May 20, Mon. Meeting: 7 P.M. United Methodist Church, 600 State St. NE, Salem. A presentation of slides on the cacti and other desert plants will be made by George Schoppert.
June 1, Sat. Field Trip: Buena Vista area. We will be looking for Delphinium pavonaceum on this trip which will take us to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, Buena Vista Ferry and the hills west of Buena Vista. A chance to add to plant lists of this beautiful area. Meet at Roth's IGA on South Commercial (where Liberty and Commercial branch) at 8 A.M. Travel distance: 100 mi. Contact Don Roberts.
May 3, Fri. Field Trip: Loren Hughes, one of our new members, would like to show us the healthy riparian area of Owsley Canyon Creek which runs through his land, and the results of 35 years of range rehabilitation. Meet at 5:30 P.M., Safeway parking lot in La Grande. Bring a snack to munch on as we walk and enjoy the spring wildllowers. Call Barbara Russell for more information.
May 12, Sun. Field Trip: Andy Huber, an associate professor of soils and crop science, EOSC, leads a tour of GROWISER'S (Grande Ronde Overlook Wildflower Institute Serving Ecological Restoration) land on Pumpkin Ridge north of La Grande. The Institute is developing a method of wildflower seed production. Meet: La Grande Safeway parking lot, 9 A.M., to car pool. Stay a few hours or all day.
May 22, Wed. Meeting: 5:30 P.M. Business meeting and Morgan Lake potluck, at Morgan Lake city park. We will start the evening on the west side near the dam, with a wildflower walk around the lake, an area with some of the greatest number of wildflowers in the La Grande area. Then we will conduct the monthly meeting and have a potluck dinner. Cooking fire and drinks provided. Bring one dish and utensils for your family. Meet: Forest and Range Lab, 5 P.M., to car pool. Contact: Bob Ottersberg.
May 25, Sat. Work Day: The restoration of native plant communities needs all the help we can give it to remove the competition of weeds. We will start pulling at 8 A.M., but come anytime that day with gloves and digging tools. There is always landscape-related grounds work for anyone interested in that. Call Bob Ottersberg.
June 2, Sun. Field Trip: Join Karen Antell, EOSC botany professor, for a walk through Ladd Marsh to enjoy the diversity of early blooming wildflowers. Dave Larson, Ladd Marsh manager has requested our assistance in compiling a species list and for plant collection. Meet: 9 A.M., Forest and Range Lab, Gekeler Lane and C Ave., to carpool to the Marsh.
June 8-9, Sat.-Sun. Work Days: Hike 6 mi. down hill in a spectacular riparian canyon pulling noxious weeds on the way. On Sunday view sensitive species on the ridge. Camp Saturday at the cabin on the Clear Lake Ridge Natural Area. Meet: Jerry's Market in Joseph, 9 A.M. Saturday. Contact Berta Youtie.
June 15, Sat. Work Day: Please help protect the rare pink thelypody from the weeds which are displacing it in the Baker Valley, the only place it grows. Meet: North Powder Cafe, 9 A.M. Bring gloves, lunch, water, weed removal tools. Contact Berta Youtie.
June 22, Sat. Work Day: Gangloff Park trail work. The trail will be paved this summer and will have lots of detail work on finishing touches. Weed pulling is needed to protect the emerging native plant community. Start al 9 A.M. and bring lunch if you can spend the day. We will provide drinks.
June 29, Sat. Field Trip: Nick Otting and Danna Lytjen will be sharing some of their recently completed graduate school research on the ecology of willows and sedges of the Upper Grand Ronde River area. Nick will cover sedges and Danna will inform us about willows. Meet at Safeway parking lot for 8 A.M. departure. Bring lunch and clothes for stomping around in wet areas.
July 13, Sat. Work Day: Devil's Gulch late season knapweed and Scotch thistle weed pull, led by Tom Rohn who knows the many birds common to the riparian setting of Devil's Gulch. Meet at Jerry's Market in Joseph at 8 A.M.
Alder Springs is one of the jewels of the Oregon high desert. Located about 15 miles south of Madras, it is part of the 106,000-acre Crooked River National Grassland, and is administered by the U.S. Forest Service. At Alder Springs the valley bottom along Squaw Creek broadens out to 10 or 15 acres of greenery framed by dry rimrock and vertical cliffs displaying the geologic history of the region. A mile-and-a-half further down Squaw Creek is the Deschutes River and some equally splendid scenery.
The introduced weed, teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris), is a biennial which forms a flat rosette the first year, bolting the second year to form a 3-6 foot flowering stem. After producing seed, the plant dies, though the dead canes often remain erect for months.
In 1989, visitors to Alder Springs noticed a few teasel plants where the trail crosses Squaw Creek. By 1995, teasel had spread to most of the riparian areas at Alder Springs. If left untreated, this infestation will continue to worsen, and teasel will come to dominate the area.
The Forest Service and NPSO are proposing a cooperative effort to control, and eventually eradicate teasel from Alder Springs. Under this proposal, volunteers from NPSO would handpull or clip the bolted plants, after which the Forest Service would team up with Jefferson County to apply herbicide (probably Rodeo) to the rosettes.
By June 29 (when we plan to go) the bolted teasel plants should be ready for pulling or clipping, and volunteers from NPSO are invited to help rid this lovely place of a terrible weed.
For directions to get to Alder Springs, call Russ Jolley, or Stu Garrett. And don't forget to mark June 29 on your calendar.
Much has heen written about forest health problems in eastern Oregon. Usually we hear about massive forest health problems that have arisen because of fire suppresion and unsustainable logging practices. When settlers first arrived in eastern Oregon 150 years ago, they saw forests comprised of magnificent open stands of ponderosa pine, western larch and Douglas fir. Today, across eastem Oregon, one finds dense, highly inflammable, disease-ridden stands. This startling transformation has apparently occurred because fire suppression by the Forest Service has allowed tree densities to increase and woody fuels to accumulate, resulting in highly combustible forests. This phenomenon is also associated with selective logging. Selective logging involves the removal of the trees that best resist fire and disease, resulting in forests dominated by individuals prone to fire and desease.
In discussions of forest health, grazing by cattle and sheep is rarely mentioned. Cattle and sheep graze 91% of the federal land in the West. What is the effect of grazing on these forests? In scientific literature, many studies have shown that livestock grazing is associated with reductions in ground-fire frequency, increases in tree densities, and a build-up of woody fuels. This phenomenon began when grazing first commenced in eastern Oregon, well before logging or the suppression of fire.
You may wonder how cattle create these conditions. Before cattle and sheep were introduced into Eastside forests, the forests were resistant to destructive fires because the trees were widely spaced and the ground was covered with grasses and forbs, rather than young or dying trees. The grasses fueled cool ground-fires, which periodically thinned the understory layers and reduced fuel loads. The grasses also competed with tree seedlings for water and nutrients and prevented many of them from growing and forming dense stands.
With the introduction of cattle and sheep, herbaceous vegetation on the forest floor was grazed to the ground. Grasses were no longer able to compete with tree seedlings and prevent the growth of closely spaced trees. There were also fewer fine fuels to carry cool ground-fires, which became less frequent. Consequently, more tree seedlings and saplings survived and the forests turned into dense thickets, containing high levels of dry, woody fuel. During dry summers and long droughts, the crowded young trees in these thickets become stressed and vulnerable to destructive insect pests and virulent pathogens. As trees die, woody fuels build up and small fires quickly develop into large, hot, intense fires, similar to those observed in eastern Oregon and Washington in 1994.
Because livestock has contributed in a significant way to the forest health crises, their elimination from forests is an essential part of the remedy. The removal of livestock reduces dense tree regeneration and forest fuel loads. Thus, with only one management change, forests of the interior West may begin the process of recovering their original structure and stability, and the constant threat of catastrophic fire and disease may be reduced. Unfortunately, the removal of livestock is rarely mentioned as a management strategy in efforts to restore healthy Eastside forests. Studies that have compared grazed and ungrazed forests have substantiated the process outlined above. When cattle have been removed from forests, the forests have begun a trajectory towards recovery. To preserve our Eastside forests for the future, it is critical that we eliminate cattle and sheep from these forests.
[Material for this article was drawn from a report by Dr. Joy Belsky and D.M. Blumenthal. Effects of Livestock Grazing on Upland Forests, Stand Dynamics and Soils of the Interior West. Portland, OR: Oregon Natural Resources Council, 1995.]
Computer plant keys have now been completed for all of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and are ready for use. (See December Bulletin, p. 137) Subsets are available for various areas of those states (e.g. north coast, southwest Oregon, northeast Washington, etc.). For more information, price lists, or to order copies, contact Bruce Barnes, Flora ID Northwest, FAX 541-276-8405, or dbarnes@ orednet.org.
Elbert L. Little, Jr., in his 1979 Checklist of United States Trees, lists 728 tree species and varieties as native to the continental United States. Of those, 98 are native to Oregon and reach tree size within our state. They are listed here with the latest taxonomic changes. For the purpose of this list, trees are defined as follows: Woody native plants, which under natural wild conditions within Oregon, may have at least one erect perennial stem or trunk at least 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) in diameter at breast height (4 1/2 feet or 1.3 meters) and a height of at least 13 feet (4 meters). Final name selection was based on the following: Little, Elbert. Checklist of United States Trees. Forest Service, U.S.D.A., 1979. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. Univ. of Cal. Press, 1993.
| Gymnosperms | |
| Abies amabilis | Pacific silver fir |
| Abies concolor var. lowiana | California white fir |
| Abies grandis | Grand fir |
| Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa | Subalpine fir |
| Abies magnifica var. shastensis | Shasta fir |
| Abies procera | Noble fir |
| Calocedrus decurrens | Incense cedar |
| Cupressus bakeri | Baker cypress |
| Cupressus lawsoniana | Port Orford cedar |
| Cupressus nootkatensis | Alaska yellow cedar |
| Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis | Western juniper |
| Juniperus scopulorum | Rocky Mountain juniper |
| Larix occidentalis | Western larch |
| Picea breweriana | Brewer spruce |
| Picea engelmannii | Engelmann spruce |
| Picea sitchensis | Sitka spruce |
| Pinus albicaulis | Whitebark pine |
| Pinus attenuata | Knobcone pine |
| Pinus contorta ssp. contorta | Shore pine |
| Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia | Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine |
| Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana | Sierra lodgepole pine |
| Pinus flexilis | Limber pine |
| Pinus jeffreyi | Jeffrey pine |
| Pinus lambertiana | Sugar pine |
| Pinus monticola | Western white pine |
| Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa | Ponderosa pine |
| Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii | Douglas-fir |
| Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca | Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir |
| Sequoia sempervirens | Redwood |
| Taxus brevifolia | Pacific yew |
| Thuja plicata | Western redcedar |
| Tsuga heterophylla | Western hemlock |
| Tsuga mertensiana | Mountain hemlock |
| Angiosperms | |
| Acer circinatum | Vine maple |
| Acer glabrum var. douglasii | Douglas maple |
| Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf maple |
| Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia | Mountain alder |
| Alnus rhombifolia | White alder |
| Alnus rubra | Red alder |
| Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata | Sitka alder |
| Amelanchier alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia | Western serviceberry |
| Amelanchier utahensis | Utah serviceberry |
| Arbutus menziesii | Pacific madrone |
| Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata | Big sagebrush |
| Betula occidentalis | Water birch |
| Betula papyrifera var. subcordata | Paper birch |
| Ceanothus thyrsiflorus | Blueblossom |
| Celtis reticulata | Netleaf hackberry |
| Cercocarpus betuloides var. betuloides | Birchleaf mountain mahogany |
| Cercocarpus betuloides var. macrourus | Mountain mahogany |
| Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intermontanus | Curlleaf mountain mahogany |
| Chrysolepis chrysophylla var. chrysophylla | Chinquapin |
| Cornus glabrata | Brown dogwood |
| Cornus nuttallii | Pacific dogwood |
| Cornus sericea ssp. occidentalis | Creek dogwood |
| Cornus sericea ssp. sericea | Creek dogwood |
| Corylus cornuta var. californica | Hazelnut |
| Crataegus columbiana | Columbia hawthorn |
| Crataegus douglasii | Black hawthorn |
| Crataegus suksdorfii | Suksdorf hawthorn |
| Euonymus occidentalis var. occidentalis | Western burningbush |
| Fraxinus latifolia | Oregon ash |
| Garrya elliptica | Wavyleaf silktassel |
| Lithocarpus densiflorus var. densiflorus | Tanoak |
| Malus fusca | Oregon crab apple |
| Myrica californica | Pacific wax myrtle |
| Populus angustifolia | Narrowleaf cottonwood |
| Populus balsamifera ssp. balsamifera | Balsam poplar |
| Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa | Black cottonwood |
| Populus tremuloides | Quaking aspen |
| Prunus emarginata | Bitter cherry |
| Prunus subcordata | Klamath plum |
| Prunus virginiana var. demissa | Western chokecherry |
| Quercus chrysolepis | Canyon live oak |
| Quercus garryana var. breweri | Brewer oak |
| Quercus garryana var. garryana | Oregon white oak |
| Quercus kelloggii | California black oak |
| Rhamnus californica ssp. occidentalis | California coffeeberry |
| Rhamnus purshiana | Cascara |
| Rhus glabra | Smooth sumac |
| Salix amygdaloides | Peachleaf willow |
| Salix bebbiana | Gray willow |
| Salix exigua | Narrowleaf willow |
| Salix fluviatilis | River willow |
| Salix geyerana | Geyer willow |
| Salix hookeriana | Hooker willow |
| Salix lasiolepis | Arroyo willow |
| Salix lucida | Shining willow |
| Salix scouleriana | Scouler willow |
| Salix sessilfolia | Northwest willow |
| Salix sitchensis | Sitka willow |
| Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa | Red elderberry |
| Sambucus mexicana | Blue elderberry |
| Shepherdia argentea | Silver buffaloberry |
| Sorbus scopulina var. cascadensis | Greene mountain-ash |
| Sorbus scopulina var. scopulina | Greene mountain-ash |
| Sorbus sitchensis var. grayi | Sitka mountain-ash |
| Umbelluria californica | Oregon-myrtle |
The Corvallis Chapter, with increased membership, years of frugal spending and volunteer time, combined with the Spring Garden sale proceeds, has decided to disburse a portion of its savings on a yearly basis to fund research and education on Oregon's native flora. The Chapter Board has already received one request for research funds and will consider other requests pertaining to the study of our native vegetation. Funding requests should be limited to 1-2 pages and include a brief description of the purpose of the research, thc methodology to be used, and a budget. We are considering funding requests between $300 and $500. They should be in by June 1,1996. Please send requests to Esther Gruber McEvoy, 3290 SW Willamette, Corvallis, OR 97333.
Have you ever wondered what the vegetation was like where you live before the European settlers arrived? What did Portland look like 200 years ago? Towering forests of Douglas fir with an understory of hazelnut or salal or Oregon grape? Tufted hairgrass prairies? Savannas of red fescue and Oregon oak? Bottomlands of Oregon ash and willows? Ponderosa pine forests? Perhaps all these plant community types?
The Willamette Valley was surveyed in 1852 when Portland was a young and growing village. The surveyors drew charmingly artistic maps with notations such as "Undergrowth fern, hazel, salal, thimbleberry, rose, briars," or "Stony & rocky in places. Timber fir, dogwood, alder, etc." The surveyors also noted the vegetation present at each mile point everywhere across the Valley. From these surveyor's notes and maps, in conjunction with present day knowledge of elevation, aspect, presence of water courses, and soil types, the presettlement vegetation and plant community types can be determined and their boundaries drawn. This is a project currently under way at the Oregon Natural Heritage Program.
With the Oregon Natural Heritage Program mapping data as a basis, we are constructing a guide to the pre-settlement plant communities of the Portland metro area. In addition to a map, the guide will include lists of the plants most likely common in the major plant communities. This guide will be designed as an aid to gardeners and landscapers interested in employing native vegetation in ways that mimic natural plant communities. Of course, the original plant communities cannot be reconstructed, but it can be interesting to learn something of what once naturally occurred in your area and to perhaps honor the heritage in your own plantings. The first application of the guide will be as a section in the Portland Environmental Handbook, being prepared by the Portland Planning Bureau, and scheduled for release later this year.
In the March issue of the NPSO Bulletin, Connie Battaile says she doesn't like clearcuts. I assume she also doesn't like stand replacement fires. Along with those two factors, I would like to add that there are now three times as many people in Oregon as when I was born in 1919.
Our forests have changed. I do know that whole forest stands were fire-formed before our time. Some species developed in response to fire. But I don't believe we will ever again be able to manage (or mismanage) our forests as we have over the last 100 years right up to today.
I think Connie must consider the use of carefully managed, prescribed fire. She can also use interplanting of Douglas fir. I think she must consider growing multiple species. Getting away from monocultures considerably helps disease prevention. Growing several species of commercially valuable trees will greatly improve biodiversity of flora and fauna on your whole property. You can grow all seral stages, "including mature forests and old growth, available and thriving," if you gradually move to an all age, multiple species forest.
The above comments in part answer Bob Ottersberg and Berta Youtie, both very good friends of mine. I am trying to "nurture respect for nature" through education and law. I have spent the last six months talking to anyone who would listen about better ways to manage trees than by clearcutting. Better economically because better land productivity is maintained. Better biologically because it is better for salmon and other species. Better for people because it keeps our watersheds in better condition. Ecosystem management demands that we heed economic, biological and sociological conditions -- all of them.
As to the need for a law, I simply do not trust all of our land managers to make good decisions when it comes to clearcutting or the use of chemicals in our forests. Study what has happened in recent history. If you don't benefit from that, we are doomed to repeat it. There are forest managers all over the country who have given up clearcutting and doubled their production. Getting rid of clearcutting is just a first step in improving our timber management. If this initiative looks good to you on balance, it must be good. Sign it and let the people of Oregon decide whether they like it or not.
We are writing in response to the "Comment" on the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in the April issue of the NPSO Bulletin, which urged members not to sign the Initiative. (For those who may not know about the Initiative, it bans clearcutting and the use of herbicides and pesticides on all forest land in Oregon.)
The authors stated that a major reason to oppose the Initiative is that it bans clearcutting, which they call an "important tool" for forest managers. However, it is largely because forest managers have been using this "tool" with abandon for the last 50 years that our forests are in the sad shape they are in today! Unfortunately this tool happens to be the tool that coincides with the largest short-term profits for the timber industry (not the largest long-term prolits) so there is enormous pressure to use clearcutting to the exclusion of other forest management tools, such as individual tree selection. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative would stop this.
The authors further state that clearcutting is useful because it mimics natural disturbance such as fire. But it doesn't. Timber cutting is done in the spring (to avoid starting fires) while natural fires occur in the dry season of late summer and fall. Obviously, after clearcutting, the logs are removed, while after a natural fire they remain on the ground contributing nutrients for the next generation of live vegetation. Clearcutting takes out an entire stand of trees, while natural fires burn with varying intensity leaving a diverse landscape. Even after a stand replacing fire, a more diverse forest arises than after a clearcut because trees colonize the burns over an interval of 100 years or more. The authors of the comment state that the natural fire regime was stand replacing fires every 100 to 200 years, but our information is that in the ponderosa forests of central and eastern Oregon, where they live, the natural fire return interval was 8-10 years for less severe fires which served to clear out the underbrush, as well as less fire-resistant species such as true firs and Douglas fir. Thus stand replacing fires (as well as severe insect outbreaks) were usually prevented. Timber harvest by means of individual tree selection much more closely mimics nature than does clearcutting.
Another major argument put forth in the "Comment" is that clearcutting is needed to provide habitat for pioneer species. But with the vast widespread clearcuts we have today, we already have an overabundance of pioneer habitat. The authors say that "current land management has favored late stage species over pioneers." But that is certainly not true in western Oregon, at least, where widespread clearcuts have provided a surplus of pioneer habitat. And it is these opportunistic pioneer species which are often the very weeds the authors want to use chemicals on to control! Natural forests don't have large weed populations.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is an important step toward restoring our forests to a natural state, and we hope NPSO members will sign it.
A field trip to the far southeastern reaches of the state of Oregon is being planned. It is an area little explored and virtually unknown to botanists and wildlife biologists. On June 7, all interested parties are requested to report to the parking area of the McDermitt Motel, McDermitt, Nevada (on the Oregon border) at 4 P.M. We will then depart for Anderson Crossing and points east. Saturday and Sunday, June 8th and 9th, will be spent making collections and exploring the Toppin Creek Butte country, or any other interesting looking areas in this remote region of Oregon, once called the "geographical center of nowhere."
Detailed maps will be available. (Some will be left at motel for late arrivals.) Four-wheel drive vehicles are preferable although people may double up if rigs are available. We will be camping in remote places; everyone will be responsible for their own gear, food and gas. Please call Jean Findley (botanist) or Al Bamman (wildlife biologist) at the Vale District BLM office (541) 473- 3144 if you are interested.
There are green things with flowers out there, and it's time to be gathering information for the Oregon Flora/Atlas Project. As many of you know, the goal is to list all of Oregon's native plants (and weeds), with locality information. The simplest way to do it is to go to a place with a rich, diverse flora and try to identify all you see. The localities need to be mappable, at least to the nearest section. As coordinator for the Southwest Oregon Region of the Project, I have been looking at the lists and checking them twice, just like Santa Claus, and putting dots on the map. We have a start, but natu- rally many of the lists are for those best places that we return to many times. We have some blank spots, especially along the coast north of Port Orford, and the west side of Coos County. Another blank spot is southern Curry County from the coast between Pistol River and Brookings east to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Here are the block numbers that need most attention: 96, 111, 112, 127, 145, 159 and 160. Not that the others are complete, but we have very few lists from the above blocks. See the Atlas map for locations, or call me for ideas about good places to go. I'll look forward to hearing from any of you list-compulsive folks out there. Thanks for your help.
We have found an error in the Key to Oregon Penstemons (Kalmiopsis, 1994, p. 21 ) that needs to be corrected. At entry 44 (for P. euglaucus) insert as first line: Corolla and inflorescence glabrous. At entry 44 (for P. glaucinus) insert as first line: Corolla and inflorescence pubescent. Please let us know if you find other errors.
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Last Modified July 2, 1996