Oak Habitat Restoration Program

Lomakatsi is a leader in the field of oak restoration.

Since our inception in 1995, through a collaborative, holistic approach, we have worked to restore oak ecosystems throughout southern Oregon and northern California.

Oak Habitats at Risk

One of the most biologically diverse habitats in our region, oak environments are richer in wildlife than any other local terrestrial ecosystem. More than 300 wildlife species are known to use oaks, including dozens of resident and migratory birds. Oak habitats are important contributors to biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest, supporting communities of plants and animals that are remarkably different from adjacent agricultural fields and conifer forests. They are also among the most threatened ecological communities in the Pacific Northwest, with current estimates indicating that less than 10% of the historic oak habitats remain in Oregon. Oak habitats face a variety of stressors, and under such conditions, without changes being made to their current management, are at risk of disappearing.

Restoring Oak Habitat in Southern Oregon & Northern California: A Guide for Private Landowners

Interested in learning how you can help protect and promote oak habitat? This 53-page document is a good place to start. Developed by Klamath Bird Observatory and Lomakatsi Restoration Project in collaboration with Bureau of Land Management, Klamath Basin Audubon Society and the USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the guide provides valuable information about oak ecosystems of this area, including some of the wildlife species that depend on them and how private landowners can help restore this important habitat. Click here to download the pdf file.

Threats to Oak Habitats

Encroachment
Frequent, low-intensity fires help shape and maintain the health and diversity of oak ecosystems. Fire suppression has removed this natural disturbance process, allowing conifers, woody shrubs, and younger oaks to become established. As a result, oak stands are becoming extremely dense, creating stress on larger oak trees and degrading overall woodland health. This has led to a reduction in habitat quality, the build-up of fuel loads, and an increased risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfire.
Loss of Habitat Structure
Large, old oak trees that provide the limb structure, cavities, and acorn production required by many wildlife species have been lost. Due to overcrowding, remaining oaks are not developing the same structural traits.

Exotic Invasive Species
Non-native plants like Scotch broom, English hawthorn, and Yellow starthistle have invaded the understory communities, increasing fuel loads and degrading habitat.
Impacts to Watershed Health
Upland habitats affect aquatic systems by influencing the hydrologic function of watersheds, slope stability and erosion. Encroaching vegetation in oak systems affects watershed function by reducing water yield and increasing the potential for high-severity fire and subsequent erosion and sediment delivery to streams.
Land Use Conversion
Oak habitats continue to be converted to other uses, such as cropland, vineyards, and residential development.

Oak Habitat Restoration Program Objectives

Protect and promote the development of habitat for oak-associated wildlife
Curtail the decline of oak-associated plant communities by reducing existing threats
Improve watershed health and function

Oak Habitat Restoration Strategies and Priorities

Identify, map, and inventory priority oak habitat sites
Develop restoration funding sources
Work collaboratively with state and federal agencies, tribes and tribal communities, private landowners and other nonprofit organizations
Restoration project planning including developing stewardship plans, treatment prescriptions, prescribed fire burn plans and operational strategies
On-the-ground restoration through an innovative ecological adaptive management approach
Reintroduction of low intensity prescribed fire applications
Utilize restoration byproducts
Ecological monitoring for long-term evaluation and research
Eco-cultural restoration through partnerships with tribes and tribal communities and incorporating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the design of oak restoration treatments
Community engagement and education
Student and youth education
Workforce training and job creation

A 2015 video from the U.S. Department of Fish & Wildlife featuring the work of Lomakatsi and partners in restoring oak habitat.

Contact

645 Washington Street
Ashland, Oregon 97520

(541) 488-0208
info@lomakatsi.org

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Mission

Restore ecosystems and the sustainability of communities, cultures, and economies.

We acknowledge that Lomakatsi operates programs across the ancestral lands of aboriginal peoples who lived and live in the watersheds of the Willamette River, Rogue River, Klamath River, Umpqua River, and Pit River, in what is now called Oregon and California. From sagebrush hillsides and mixed conifer forests, to oak woodlands and riverine systems, we offer our respect, recognition, and gratitude to the original past, present, and future inhabitants of these landscapes, to whom we dedicate this work.