North Willamette Valley Upland Oak Restoration Partnership

Funding under the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) will provide investments in oak and prairie habitats in Yamhill County. This will fund practices typically associated with oak and prairie restoration projects to address the primary resource concern of Terrestrial Habitat with the added benefits of Weather Resilience and Long Term Protection of Land. This unique project will protect USDA investments and critical wildlife habitat by leveraging other investments made by partners that protect and preserve land. The majority of historic oak, prairie and savanna habitats have been lost in the Willamette Valley. State, federal and local conservation agencies, and other conservation groups recognize the importance of oak habitat in addressing recovery goals for a number of rare, threatened and endangered species. Nearly all land in Yamhill County, Oregon is privately owned and the majority of listed species reside on these lands. An investment in oak and prairie habitat conservation in our proposed project area will facilitate implementation of numerous regional conservation plans and priorities. Restoring oak and prairie habitat will include clearing of dense invasive plant species in the understory
and removal of fire-prone conifer trees, greatly reducing wildfire risk and intensity. With the requested funding, we plan to restore 1000 acres within Yamhill County. Depending on project sizes, we could have anywhere from 35-50 contracts by the end of 2029.  A large part of our leveraging funds will come from securing properties with permanent
conservation easements which harbor oak and prairie habitat. This will provide a vehicle for smart investment of federal funds for wildlife habitat and species conservation.