Metolius Winter Range Field Trip
Ochoco National Forest wildlife biologist, Monty Gregg, kicked off the Coordinating Shared Stewardship in Central Oregon field trip series by hosting a field trip to view mule deer winter range habitat improvement.
Partners for the project included Portland General Electric, Oregon Wildlife Foundation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council.
Project Funding came from Portland General Electric and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.
The project focused on improving mule deer winter habitat through thinning, herbicide treatments, seeding, and bitterbrush planting. It also included floodplain restoration of Whychus Creek, which involved repurposing thinned trees from the Winter Range Restoration project for use in-stream restoration work.
Outcomes
Key thoughts and questions called out at the end of the trip included:
- The importance of a ‘champion’ to see the potential of a project and invest the energy in making it happen
- A need to prioritize our work at a regional scale so we can be strategic about where we invest our energy and resources
- The need to keep building our network around each restoration effort rather than stopping at the project boundary
- The need for enhanced relationship building and awareness of shared interests and priorities
- The importance of taking a watershed-scale approach
- The challenge of institutions having different timelines, processes, and plans–and the need to sync them up so we can better align
- The opportunity to take on several varied pilot projects as a group so we can learn from them all
- Interest in shared learning opportunities and a shared “toolbox” for enhancing partnerships
Participants included the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Deschutes National Forest, and the Central Oregon Forest Stewardship Foundation.
