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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Ashland needs to make room for trees, arborist says ... Inner Peace: Wired — or, life on Facebook ... Ashlander on TV on Friday ... Ashland needs to make room for trees, arborist says ... Inner Peace: Wired — or, life on Facebook ... Ashlander on TV on Friday ... ENVIRONMENT $60K grant aids oak restoration, bird habitat Ashland-based Klamath Bird Observatory to monitor woodlands Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 3, 2015 at 8:55 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 3, 2015 at 8:55 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Mountain Bird Festival attracts birders to Ashland • American dippers take rare stab at city-dwelling in Ashland • Residents tour forest thinning site » Social News As farming and human development expand, they’re taking out more and more oak woodlands, which live at lower elevations and provide habitat, especially for birds. Klamath Bird Observatory, headquartered in Ashland and working with Lomakatsi Restoration Project, has helped restore over 2,000 acres of oak woodlands over the last five years, says Jaime Stephens, KBO science director, and has now it has received a $60,000 grant to monitor how oak restoration has enhanced bird numbers. The grant, from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which is also working on the problem, enables KBO monitoring in Jackson, Klamath and Siskiyou Counties, where native oak woodlands have shrunk by 90 percent because of logging and development, she says. The remaining oaks are threatened by conifers, which have taken a foothold in oak habitat because of a century of fire suppression, notes Stephens. The restoration campaign has focused on “removing encroaching conifers and restoring the native understory of shrubs and grasses.” The oaks are already there, but are being “overtopped and outcompeted” by conifers, she notes, “so if you remove the conifers, then oaks have more light and rain.” Lomakatsi is the lead organization on oak restoration, while KBO also works with Fish & Wildlife and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service. The survey, starting next May and going over the next five years, will assess if oak restoration increases the numbers and species of birds, she said. If the project is working, says Stephens, they expect to see an increase in numbers of many species, including acorn woodpeckers, which stash acorns and live on them all winter. Engaged in a Partners Program with KBO is Fish & Wildlife in Yreka, which provides private landowners with financial and technical help to design, fund, implement and enhance oak habitats, says Dave Johnson, a wildlife biologist with F&W there. “It could be removing encroaching conifers. It’s Doug fir and juniper here,” says Johnson. “It’s reintroducing fire to these oak woodlands and planting native grasses, forbs (herbaceous flowering plants) and native grasses and understory vegetation.” If landowners perform or hire such work, they get reimbursed by F&W. “We’re pretty successful over the last six years at restoring native diversity,” says Johnson. “With the lack of fire suppression, we’re seeing many oak habitats at risk of encroachment from conifers and other species. A lot of landowners are partnering with us … We have a longer list of projects than we can fund.” As a result of this work, he adds, “oak woodlands are thriving. They are a slow-growing species. It takes time to see the response. But you see it immediately in the understory. Grasses and forbs respond quite rapidly — and oaks are clearly healthier and in recovery.” John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 3, 2015 at 8:55 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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