Native Plants
Restoring
Native Plant Species
to the
Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and Washington Plant Material Development and Restoration
Activities
Native Hardwood Restoration:
Hardwood restoration activities focus primarily on the deterioration and
decline of aspen clones and cottonwood galleries, although the condition
and decline of other hardwood species such as water birch, cherry, and willow
is also of concern. Numerous projects are underway throughout the Blue Mountains
to enhance and restore native hardwood communities through the reintroduction
of fire to remnant stands, planting seedlings and cuttings where appropriate,
and building exclosures
to protect seedlings and sprouts from herbivory.
 A gene bank was established in 1996 for the preservation of native black
cottonwood, and as stool beds for the production of high quality planting
materials for restoration projects. A larger black cottonwood clone bank
will be established in 1998 in cooperation with the BLM and other R-6 National
Forests. Plans are also being formulated for the establishment of an aspen
clone bank to protect the genetic resources of deteriorating and "at-risk" stands.
A DNA/isozyme study of 47 aspen stands from 21 drainages on the Umatilla
National Forest (North Fork John Day Ranger District) was initiated in Fall,
1997 to characterize patterns of genetic variation and genetic relatedness
within and among aspen populations. Leaf samples were sent to the National
Forest Genetic Electrophoresis Laboratory (NFGEL) in Placerville, CA for
analysis. Information from this pilot study will be used in devising gene
conservation strategies and in plant material development, as well as in
the development of restoration prescriptions and the prioritization of stands
for treatment. For example, if disjunct stands within a drainage were found
to be genetically identical (i.e., remnant parts of a once continuous stand),
treatments might be prescribed for only a portion of the extant stands, allowing
limited funds to be used in other drainages to protect and enhance clonal
populations with a different genetic background.
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