Greenbelt Land Trust Newsletter Fall 2024

Harkens Lake, 2019

Ten Years on the River

EXPLORE INSIDE

A Young Forest on the Willamette

Fall 2024

In 2010 we began a long-term project to restore forest habitat in the floodplain of the Willamette River. Our first crews were middle school student volunteers, planting trees and shrubs at Little Willamette, a conservation easement between Corvallis and Albany. Soon after, we started work at two more easements on the river, Horseshoe Lake and Harkens Lake, this time with professional crews planting 1,000 saplings per person per hour. By 2014, almost 500,000 native trees and shrubs were in the ground and a new forest was growing.

Floodplain Forest A Time for Turtles Mighty Mighty Acorns

Ten years later, the changes on the land are amazing. At all three sites, former agricultural fields prone to flooding are now home to vibrant young forests. The trees and shrubs that went in the ground as skinny sticks are providing food and shelter for wildlife, cooling and filtering the water that feeds the river, and absorbing floodwaters that flow over the land.

Our stewardship team tends the young forest, keeping vegetation mowed in the planting rows, battling weeds, and monitoring the maturation of dozens of native tree and shrub species. Planting in precise rows lets us use some of the same agricultural techniques and equipment that previously grew crops and orchards in the floodplain. Trees and shrubs are planted densely to hedge our bets against some of them dying due to weather or other factors. But that hasn’t been a problem.

The rich river bottom soil that makes the Willamette Valley an agricultural powerhouse is also great for growing native trees and shrubs. Older planting rows are no longer visible and are virtually impenetrable, with cottonwoods soaring over 50 feet, and shrubs like Oregon grape and snowberry crowding the aisles, covered in fruit. But our work here is only beginning. Our mission as a land trust extends beyond our lifetimes and into perpetuity, and our care for the land continues past the last tree planted in a restoration project.

Planting at Horseshoe Lake

cont. page 2

Ten Years on the River, contd. page 1 Climate, flooding, and time will bring changes to the land along the river, and we will take our cues from the way the forest responds. This fall we are entering a new phase of caring for the land here and beginning to thin some of the oldest plantings to give trees room to grow up and out and bring more sunlight to the shrubs below.

As we look back at ten years of growth, we are also looking forward to a new floodplain forest restoration project at Luckiamute Confluence, a 110-acre parcel between the North and South Units of Oregon State Parks’ Luckiamute State Natural Area. Greenbelt moved quickly to purchase this property in 2023 when it went on the open market. We recognized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for habitat and recreation.

Over half of the current agricultural fields on the property regularly flood, making for quiet, off-channel habitat that is vital for Steelhead, Chinook, and other fish species.

We will build on 15 years of active restoration in the state natural area and plant a diverse floodplain forest, eventually creating one of the largest intact forests on the mid-Willamette River. And that’s not all…

Luckiamute Confluence

With the two properties of Luckiamute State Natural Area now connected by Greenbelt land, we are moving forward with Oregon State Parks to create a connection for the current trail system. Future visitors to the park will be able to walk along the river from one property to the other on a 1/2-mile trail through a growing floodplain forest.

As we begin a new phase of restoration along the Willamette, we are applying the lessons we’ve learned since 2010. Stewardship Coordinator Jeff Baker was at Little Willamette when the first shovel went into the ground. He looks back at the work since then with a lot of pride and appreciation.

“It’s an impressive project in acres and quality of habitat. None of this could have happened without the support of our members, the landowners who wanted to see their land in conservation, and the funders and partners who helped us get it done.”

- Jeff Baker, Stewardship Coordinator

Planting Rows at Harkens Lake

Students at Little Willamette

Volunteer Spotlight Paulo Villanueva

Northwestern Pond Turtle at Horseshoe Lake. Photo by Freshwaters Illustrated

Charitable Bequest Stock Donation IRA Designation

A Time for Turtles Volunteers Monitor Rare Species at Horseshoe Lake It's turtle trapping time again at Horseshoe Lake, one of our Willamette River floodplain forest restoration projects where we have been working for over a decade to improve water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife.

Land Donation Paulo holding a young pond turtle at Horseshoe Lake.

Over the last two years, dozens of volunteers have joined staff from Greenbelt and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to monitor and document the Northwestern Pond Turtle population.

“This is my second season volunteering on the turtle monitoring project. I have really enjoyed meeting new people and getting excited with them when we see turtles up close and personal.

Northwestern pond turtles are currently under consideration to be added to the endangered species list in Oregon. Willamette river floodplains are important habitats for pond turtles, and unfortunately most of the floodplain has been altered, severely restricting places where the turtles can thrive. Understanding how many turtles are present, and which areas they are using is key to this work, and that's where the volunteers and turtle traps come in.

My experience led to landing an internship with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and is helping me on my career path.

Hoop style turtle traps are baited with sardines and deployed overnight to be retrieved the next day. Greenbelt Volunteer Manager Jean Fleming is excited about the results this year: "We are not only catching, measuring, and tagging more turtles than last year, almost all of them are not turtles we have previously tagged. This means there are a lot more turtles than we thought after the 2023 season."

Volunteers for this project are mostly Oregon State University undergrads studying natural resources and fisheries and wildlife. We are thrilled to use our conservation sites as learning laboratories for the next generation of land stewards.

I want people to know that turtles are survivors! Even with all the changes that people have made to their habitat they find a way to keep going forward.

It is important for us to protect their habitat at places like Horseshoe Lake!”

Volunteers trap, record, and tag pond turtles at Horseshoe Lake.

Greenbelt Land Trust PO Box 1721 I Corvallis OR 97339 www.greenbeltlandtrust.org

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Mighty Acorns - Greenbelt’s Club for Kids Monica and her sons have been exploring Greenbelt lands on public walks and as volunteers planting native flowers for pollinators. For Monica, getting the boys outdoors is a great way for them to learn about the natural world and burn off some of their abundant energy.

“We have a small backyard, and this is how we get out and explore.”

The boys were some of our first Mighty Acorns members, Greenbelt’s club for kids to explore and have fun in the great outdoors. Got kiddos at home? Join the Mighty Acorns Club! Get notified of family-friendly events and special youth adventures, and we’ll send you a welcome packet to help your mighty acorns explore nature in your backyard and beyond.

SIGN UP TODAY!