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Success Story: Colestin Valley Project
Klamath Siskiyou Oaks, Credit: Jaime Stephens
The Cottonwood Creek Watershed within the Colestin Valley—on the border of Oregon and California along the I-5 corridor, in the mid-Klamath Watershed—harbors incredible biodiversity and high concentrations of critical oak habitat. Many residents in the Colestin Valley have been committed to maintaining its beauty and natural heritage for decades. Lomakatsi has been engaging with landowners to build collaborative restoration projects for over two decades, leveraging partnerships with NRCS and USFWS to treat oak woodlands on private lands. Through the NRCS CCPI and RCPP awards, and additional investment from the USFWS Partners Program, KSON partners have implemented over 1,200 acres of ecological thinning and prescribed burning to restore oak habitat between 2012 and 2020—almost all on private lands. Treatments were strategically placed to protect large, old legacy trees and increase their resiliency to wildfire. The Colestin community continues to exemplify the important role that landowners can play in restoring and preserving oak habitat in an all-lands context.
We found it incredibly satisfying to engage in restoration work not only for the good of our own property, but also for the good of the surrounding community. We feel comforted knowing that our woodlands are not only healthier, but safer in terms of fire risk and more beneficial for wildlife”