Summer Youth Program Week 2: Technical Forestry, Fire and Oaks

Published July 3, 2025

The Ashland Watershed Youth Training & Employment Program crew had a full second week learning about oak habitats, technical forestry, botany, fire management, and more!

Week 2 wrapped up today with the 14-member crew’s second day in Crater Lake National Park with National Park Service staff. NPS Cultural Resource Manager Thomas Adams led a lesson about botany and noxious weed removal, and the crew practiced building fire line while learning about fire management with NPS Forestry Technician Scott Wickham.

Earlier in the week, participants gained experience using tools of the trade to collect the forest inventory data used for developing forest restoration treatments. They worked under the guidance of Lomakatsi’s restoration technicians and foresters in the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative in Jackson County. The crew learned about the importance of monitoring in implementing and informing ecological restoration from the Lomakatsi staff who do this work day-in and day-out—shout out to Lomakatsi’s Liam Cislo for inspiring youth with his career path from Ashland Youth Program alum (2013) to his current position as Restoration Technician, working on projects across the region.

Guest presenters included Sean Prive, Ecologist with The Understory Initiative, who led the crew in a lesson about botany, plant ecology, and seed collection. On Tuesday, they continued to focus on oak habitats, with Ryan Terrill, Science Director at Klamath Bird Observatory, joining up with the crew to give his presentation about ornithology and how birds serve as indicators to assess forest health.

Thank you to all the guest presenters for sharing your time and knowledge with these youth!

Spending time in UROI with partners also provided participants insight into the collaborative framework of this large oak habitat restoration project—UROI is a collaboration between federal and state agencies, tribes, and nonprofits, which is working to restore over 3,000 acres of oak habitat within three watersheds east and northeast of White City and Medford, Oregon. Learn more at https://klamathbird.org/…/upper-rogue-oak-initiative/. Funded through Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and coordinated by KBO through the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network, the project focuses on reducing the risk of unnaturally severe wildfire in oak habitats, retaining large oak trees, enhancing access to ecoculturally important species, and improving forest health.

We thank our partners for this team effort to protect and restore oak habitat, which is providing an incredible outdoor classroom for youth in this area.

Wishing everyone a safe holiday weekend. Check out these great photos!