Gazette-Times reporter

Looking back 150 years reveals a much different picture of McDonald-Dunn Forest. In 1850, about 72 percent of the forest was covered by oak savanna and prairie.

Now less than 3 percent of this historical vegetation remains, and conifers blanket most of the 11,250-acre forest north of Corvallis.

Oregon State University’s College of Forestry wants to retain what native vegetation remains and protect it from forest succession, with the hope of expanding the oak and prairie presence in McDonald-Dunn Forest.

Brad Withrow-Robinson, OSU Extension forester and associate professor in the College of Forestry, presented a plan for conserving and restoring native oak and prairie habitats Tuesday afternoon.

More than 40 people attended the meeting in Richardson Hall. A second presentation will take place Thursday evening at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

“We don’t know much about oak and prairie savanna restoration, and we need to know more. OSU can lay the track,” Withrow-Robinson said.

Hal Salwasser, dean of the College of Forestry, tapped Withrow-Robinson to head a group whose aim is to protect the remnants of McDonald-Dunn Forest’s

historical ecology.

The team, which includes representatives from OSU, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Confederated Tribes of Siletz and Greenbelt Land Trust, developed a plan in 2005 that was approved by OSU’s Forestry Executive Committee.

The group was given a budget of $23,000 to start surveying the land and putting its strategy into action this year.

McDonald-Dunn Forest has a longstanding connection with Native Americans, and was home to Kalapuya Indians in the Willamette Valley for thousands of years.

Back then, regular burning produced a landscape favorable to oak and prairie habitat, especially at lower elevations.

Today, because of agriculture, roads and European-American settlement, the picture is much different.

The forest is endowed to OSU, and is managed by the College of Forestry for education, research, timber production and public recreation.

To salvage the remaining historic vegetation, oaks and high-quality prairie areas need protection from invasive species, Withrow-Robinson said.

Part of the plan is to “release” oak trees, which involves removing adjacent competing conifer trees to allow the oaks to survive and grow.

“It’s a very important lifesaver that we’re tossing to these trees,” Withrow-Robinson said.

Similarly, prairie “hot-spots” need to be delineated so buffers can be created to keep additional nonnative species from invading.

This new management plan will conserve the most at-risk components of ecological and cultural diversity in the forest and provide a more varied wildlife habitat, according to Withrow-Robinson.

AT A GLANCE

OSU’s College of Forestry will hold a second meeting this week to discuss its new strategy for restoring native prairie and oak habitats in McDonald-Dunn Forest.

The event will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the main meeting room of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave.

For more information about the plan, see www.cof.orst.edu/cf/forests/mcdonald/plan.