Umpqua Oak Partnership

09/25/2026

09/16/2026

Willamette University students working to revive oak trees are hosting OakFest Oct. 1-4 with free events across Salem as well as a native plant nursery and vineyard.
https://mrf.lu/2z64V

08/02/2026

This Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana garryana) reached out to give me a hug. A couple weeks ago I was hiking along the Whistler's Overlook Trail at North Bank Habitat Management Area and I was drawn into this charismatic oak's embrace. Just stare at this tree for a few moments. Follow the limbs with your eyes. See where each limb originates and where it goes. In this wide-angle view it almost doesn't make sense. It's an open-grown form for sure! But not one of the more symmetrical ones! And it's not even that large and old compared to some. I want to call this the "Medusa Oak" or the "Octopus Oak of North Bank." I imagine monkeys swinging around or bobcats lounging on its limbs.

Show me some of your interesting Oregon White Oaks!

April 24, 2026. Whistler's Overlook Trail, North Bank Habitat Management Area, Douglas County, Oregon.


Decade of the Oak Umpqua Oak Partnership

08/02/2026

06/10/2026

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄

🔥 PRESCRIBED BURN NOTICE – NORTH BANK HABITAT MANAGEMENT AREA

Weather permitting, a 122-acre prescribed burn is planned in the North Bank Habitat Management Area, located approximately 6 miles west of Glide, Oregon, off North Bank Road.

📅 As early as Thursday, June 11
🕚 Ignitions may begin around 11:00 a.m.

This operation is being jointly coordinated by the United States Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) and the Bureau of Land Management, Roseburg District.

⚠️ Visitors should use caution in the area. Increased equipment and personnel traffic is expected, and portions of the local trail system may be temporarily impacted, including:

• West Entrance Parking Lot
• Blacktail Ridge Trail
• Middle Ridge Trail
• Chasm Creek Road
• Thistle Ridge Trail
• North Gate Trail

🌿 Why conduct a prescribed burn?
Prescribed fire is an important land management tool used to:
✔️ Reduce wildfire risk to nearby communities
✔️ Create more fire-resilient landscapes
✔️ Improve the quantity and quality of forage for wildlife
✔️ Reduce invasive species
✔️ Restore and maintain oak woodlands

🌫️ Smoke may be visible from Glide and surrounding areas near North Bank Road. Fire managers will work closely with Oregon's smoke management program to conduct operations during conditions that help minimize smoke impacts to local communities.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as crews work to improve the health and resilience of our local landscapes.

📞 Questions?
Contact BLM Roseburg District (541) 440-4930

05/21/2026

6/6/2026 - 8:30 am - Mildred Kanipe Memorial County Park- Bird Field Trip - https://mailchi.mp/umpquaaudubon.org/662026-830-am-mildred-kanipe-memorial-county-park-bird-field-trip

04/10/2026

Over 50 bird species are closely associated with oak habitats in the Pacific Northwest—including the Lewis's woodpecker!

Lewis's woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) nests in the cavities of large dead and dying trees within open oak and pine woodlands, riparian areas, and recently burned forests. In winter, they utilize stored acorns and other nuts and berries as a food source when flying insects are scarce. The Lewis's woodpecker once nested in most regions of Oregon, but has not been known as a breeding species in western Oregon north of the Rogue Basin for over 50 years.

But Roseburg-based wildlife ecologist Matt Hunter recently spotted a nest in the footprint of the 2020 Archie Creek Fire. Are large fires providing new habitat for Lewis's woodpecker in the western Oregon Cascades?

🔗 Learn more from his blog post: mghwildlife.com/a-modern-record-of-lewiss-woodpecker-nesting-in-the-umpqua-basin-southwest-oregon

📸 Matt Hunter

04/01/2026

This is the time of year when Yellow-rumped Warblers, which were in relatively dull plumage all winter, begin to show their colors! The month of April is probably the best month to see many of these colorful warblers moving through western Oregon on their way north. This male was flycatching and gleaning among the many insects attracted by budding Oregon White Oak. In this photo one can see the male flowers (catkins) as well as the leaves just emerging. The female flowers are very small and difficult to see, that is until they turn into acorns later in summer! The ever-present Usnea lichens soften the branchlets.

March 30, 2026, Melrose, Oregon.