Native Plants
Restoring
Native Plant Species
to the
Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and Washington Plant Material Development and Restoration
Activities
Overview:
When settlers traveled the Oregon Trail in the
mid-1800’s, they described the Blue Mountains as a landscape dominated
by magnificent, park-like stands of ponderosa pine and western larch, with
large
grassy openings that resembled fields of tall ripening grain. Fur trappers
and early surveyors reported extensive stands of cottonwoods, willows, alders,
and
flowering shrubs growing in moist seeps and draws, and along creek bottoms
and streams.
Now, 150 years later, numerous scientific assessments and a draft EIS considering
alternatives for the management of the Interior Columbia Basin (ICBEMP, 1997)
report that terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in our area are vastly different
from pre-settlement conditions, and not for the better. They find, for example:
- Ponderosa pine and western larch have decreased across their ranges,
particularly the older, larger trees. Western white pine has
decreased by 95 percent across its range. Whitebark pine is also in decline.
- There has been a dramatic decline in occurrence and health of native
grassland communities due to displacement by noxious weeds,
exotic plants, and non-native forage grasses.
- In riparian ecosystems, the amount and diversity of native vegetative
cover has decreased, while exotic grasses and forbs have increased.
- Changes in plant species composition and diversity have contributed
to the decline of a number of wildlife and aquatic species
due to reductions in levels and condition of habitat and forage.
These vegetative changes are attributed to a combination of factors, including
disruption of natural fire cycles, overuse by livestock and wild ungulates,
and past harvesting practices. In an effort to reverse current trends, the
preferred alternative of the ICBEMP draft EIS (Alternative 4) outlines aggressive
restoration strategies designed to promote ecosystem function and resiliency,
and conserve/enhance the genetic integrity of native species. A final decision
and EIS will be released following public review and comment, probably sometime
in late 1998.
In the Blue Mountains, many restoration and revegetation projects are already
being implemented, albeit on a relatively small scale due to limited budgets
and personnel. This site highlights recent accomplishments and future plans
of genetics personnel, botanists, silviculturists, ecologists, wildlife and
fish biologists, range conservationists, hydrologists, and engineers in their
collaborative efforts to conserve and restore native plant species and communities.
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