OHA worked with USFS and ODFW this summer to protect 480 acres across three areas in the Cascade Mountains, including Willow Prairie, Short Creek Prairie, and Whiskey Springs with 6.5 total miles of wildlife-friendly fencing. Volunteers also removed nearly as much old, dilapidated fencing.
Meadow systems across the western Cascades are at risk of loss, degradation and fragmentation due to conifer encroachment, heavy use by domestic livestock, wildfire suppression and other factors. Willow Prairie and Whiskey Springs are high-risk groundwater infiltration areas, and these areas provide spring water for the Big Butte Springs Municipal Watershed, which provides drinking water to approximately 140,000 people in the region.
The wet meadow and spring systems provide critical habitat for a suite of species, including deer, elk, neotropical and migratory birds, owls, amphibians, reptiles, pollinators, and small mammals.
Fencing associated with this project should physically prevent illegal off-road driving, which has damaged these mesic systems in the recent past. Fence strand spacing fit wildlife-friendly fence standards to a tee; 16 inches were measured from the ground to the first smooth wire, 6 inches to the first barbwire, 8 inches to the next barbwire, and finally the top smooth wires were installed 42 inches from the ground to reduce ungulate entanglements.
OHA tallied more than 1,000 volunteer hours with help from eight OHA chapters.
“This project was a tremendous effort by a number of OHA chapters,” said OHA Conservation Director Tyler Dungannon. “More than 100 volunteers shed blood and sweat for the protection of these critical meadows, and bringing so many chapters together exponentiated our impact.”
OHA obtained a $50,000 grant from the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund to complete this project.
