Understanding and Utilizing the Environment

Through a practice called biodynamic permaculture—a natural approach to self-sustaining agriculture—Don's farm works as a self-contained, life-regenerating system, with waste products being recycled and used to nurture other elements. His Keyline water system uses the natural landscape and flow of water to make irrigation more efficient, creating benefits for his farm and for the landowners downstream.

Through a system of holding ponds and channels, water moves through the land—mostly driven by gravity—sustaining agriculture and native species. Large amounts of controlled water flow through the landscape and soak directly into the earth in a process called Rapid Flood Irrigation, which makes for very little evaporation and much more efficient use of water than a traditional sprinkler irrigation system. The Keyline system enhances the local groundwater, with neighboring farms reporting Increased well water supplies and healthier stream flows.

Cultivating the Pioneer’s Spirit

Tlipping’s mission is more than his own sustainable operation. He embraces his role as consultant and teacher, educating others on permaculture-based landscape design, running workshops on permaculture, crop-planting and rainwater-harvesting, and hosting a biannual Seed Academy.

Seven Seeds Farm is one of the founding farms of the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative, which runs a 250-share Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in the Rogue River Valley. And Tipping’s Siskayou Seeds, an organic seed-producer and catalog-supplier, was a supporter of Josephine County's Genetically Engineered Plant Ordinance. On May 20, 2014, the voter-approved measure banned production or cultivation of any genetically modified or engineered crop within Josephine County—with the exception of state or federally licensed medical research. It became the second county in Oregon—after Jackson—to be designated free from genetically engineered crops.

The Economic Benefit of Sustainability

The benefits of Tipping’s smart agricultural management are visible everywhere you look. Strong organic seeds grow into crops that require less help with disease management; working in harmony with the land creates efficiencies in pest-control and water management—saving money, among other resources. The benefits of his hard work, expertise in biodynamic permaculture, and dedication to education and community continue to promote the success of Seven Seeds Farm.

Ecological and Economic Need

Residential development in the region continues to drive up land prices and contribute to the conversion of agricultural lands and floodplain habitats. Local farmers and ranchers struggle with the regulations and implied costs associated with endangered species and Department of Environmental Quality-protected streams. And, until the late '90s, Whychus Creek ran dry nearly every summer, as irrigation withdrawals exceeded natural stream flows and flood control efforts altered 18 miles of stream, isolating the floodplain, dropping the water table, and eliminating essential salmon habitat.

A New Model for Collaboration

Over the last two decades, in order to address the problems stemming from past land use practices, members of the Deschutes Partnership group have worked with landowners to address stream flow, floodplain restoration, and irrigation improvements. They established a working lands conservation easement that has improved fish passage and habitat within the upper Deschutes Basin and made local agriculture more resilient. Part of this effort included the West Coast’s largest reintroduction of anadromous fish (those that live primarily in saltwater, but return to freshwater to spawn) in the area.

Keeping Businesses in Business

The ability of farmers and ranchers to regulate development and secure funding through working lands conservation easements has been vital to keeping local agricultural operations profitable. Additionally, irrigation canals—which put "saved" water back into the system—have led to improved, lower-cost irrigation and the creation of a small hydro project, which generates additional revenue for the district.

Prosperity for All

A key steelhead and salmon spawning and rearing stream has come back to life and is beginning to function naturally in ways that will contribute to the restoration of mid-Columbia stock steelhead. Beyond that, a broad range of species have benefitted from the protection and restoration of the floodplains and riparian habitats. Today, local contractors continue to monitor the restoration projects for long-term effectiveness. These efforts are an example of community-based problem solving and collaboration that benefits local wildlife as well as the agricultural community.

The rebirth of Whychus Creek has included protection of more than eight miles of stream, including restoration of three miles, removal or replacement of six dams or diversions, improved irrigation efficiency for local agriculture with more water for fish, increased recreational opportunities, benefits for the local economy, and enhanced property values. Farmers and ranchers have lower operating costs, more reliable irrigation, and a legal, safe harbor under the Endangered Species Act.

Looking Ahead

The long-term success of Whychus Creek depends on community engagement and the financial resources to assist nonprofits and private landowners in their efforts. The challenges faced here are not unique and other watershed councils, land trusts, and water trusts throughout the state are beginning to collaborate, hoping to achieve similar improvements in their own environments, for all inhabitants.

Working Together For a Solution
In 2011, Wallowa Land Trust acquired a conservation easement (a voluntary legal agreement between the landowner and land trust that protects a property and preserves its natural value while letting the landowner continue to farm) on 197 acres of the Wolfe Farm. Wallowa Land Trust is now working with the Wolfe family again, to place an easement on an additional 257 acres, including agricultural lands and wetlands.

Essential Wildlife Habitat
The project area includes more than two miles of river where the wetland feeds fresh water into the Wallowa and Lostine Rivers and supports a range of wildlife. Various bird species of concern including bald eagles, osprey and long-billed curlew, and Columbia spotted frogs all call this area home. It also provides essential migration, spawning, and rearing habitat for three federally listed endangered species of fish: bull trout, steelhead, and Chinook salmon. The Chinook habitat is a critical outlet for spawners that would otherwise have to pass through nearly 12 miles of less-suitable habitat and countless obstacles like human-made irrigation systems.

Protecting a Piece of History
In addition to its value as a wildlife habitat, this property is also historically significant. Wolfe Century Farm was originally established in 1897 and has served as a traditional Native American summer fishing camp for the Wallowa Band Nez Perce since long before that. Congress has designated the area as a private-lands unit of the Nez Perce National Historic Park. Chief Joseph died on the land in 1871 and was originally laid to rest nearby. Today, the property contains a fish weir facility operated by the Nez Perce Tribe to monitor and manage Chinook salmon.

With the completion of this second easement, a total of 454 acres will be permanently protected from residential development and subdivision. More than 300 acres will be permanently dedicated to farmland, and the remaining acreage of wetland, including more than two miles of river, will be improved and protected from degradation.

Preserving a Way of Life
Extinguishing development rights on working lands is an important tool for private landowners. It permanently removes development and subdivision rights, while allowing for continued agricultural use. That's especially important in rural Wallowa County, where agriculture and natural resources are main economic drivers. This project ensures that a sixth-generation farmer can continue to own and farm his land and eventually pass it on to his children, all while protecting the local wildlife and its habitat.

An Uncertain Future

Sarah and her husband began managing Zena Forest in 1987, using sustainable forestry practices. They lived adjacent to the property and raised three children. "This was our big backyard," recalls Ben. "It didn't belong to us, but we sort of felt like it did because we lived here and had taken care of it for so many years." In 2005, the company that owned the forest wanted to sell. Since it's located in the Willamette Valley and has a lot of areas ideal for vineyards, the Deumlings were worried it would be clearcut to make way for grapes, homes, or farms. Ben remembers, "We realized very quickly that we might be living in a very different neighborhood if it sold to the wrong person."

Protecting a Valuable Resource

More than 90 percent of the native oak ecosystem in the Willamette Valley is gone, the land converted to farms and homes. Ben says Zena Forest is one of the largest—perhaps the single-largest—contiguous area with healthy and abundant oak trees left in the valley. And Sarah was determined to keep it that way. She made hundreds of phone calls in an effort to save the land, eventually reaching Kristin Kovalik at the Trust for Public Land (TPL). "They had the experience and partners we needed to make our dream of living and working on the forest a reality," Sarah says. "TPL made this happen." With numerous federal and state partners, TPL helped sell the development rights to the property via a permanent conservation easement. Eventually, Sarah found enough capital and partners to purchase the rest of the rights, ensuring no development of Zena Forest will ever take place except the small-scale sustainable forestry that's already being done.

Maintaining the Balance

Today, Sarah and Ben own and manage a large portion of the forested acres, under "close to nature" forestry principles. And they work constantly to ensure a healthy and balanced forest ecosystem, including a never-ending battle with invasive blackberry bushes. Ben also operates a small sawmill, where he transforms logs into high-value products including hardwood flooring for local markets like Portland. The mill usually employs three people full time, plus contractors. Ben and Sarah are also able to pay themselves—most of the time. Other times, it's simply a labor of love. Their property is a little more than half Douglas Fir, a conifer that foresters know a lot about managing and cutting, and the rest Oregon White Oak, a hardwood that was mostly cleared out to make way for farms. Little is known about how to sustainably manage Oregon White Oak. "We're sort of making it up as we go along, because no one has tried to manage the Oregon White Oak for timber production," Ben says. "It all comes down to scale. I can't run a huge sawmill because there aren't enough logs to sustain it for very long." 

The hardwood Ben mills—from his property and others—either comes down naturally in storms or from disease or is taken as part of a carefully planned thinning process which allows those that remain to mature into bigger, more beautiful trees. The trees he plants won't be ready for harvest in his lifetime; they’ll mature for more than 100 years first. It’s a model that Sarah and Ben hope will spread to help preserve oaks throughout the valley. "We're turning our hardwoods into assets instead of liabilities," Ben says. “Creating not only the products, but the jobs that go along with them."

The Heartbeat of a Habitat

"Bald Hill Farm is truly a community property," says Michael Pope, Executive Director of Greenbelt Land Trust (GLT), which purchased the farm from a private landowner in 2013. "With miles of public trails, incredible vistas, and endangered habitats, it is one of the last properties of its kind in Benton County. Since GLT was founded in 1989 this property has been at the heart of our organization, and now it's permanently protected." The Farm is home to 48 bird species—including the largest-known population of Oregon Vesper Sparrow in the Willamette Valley—three endangered plant species, and over a mile of creek systems. It contains a diverse mixture of wet prairie, upland prairie, and oak savanna habitats. It also serves as a critical connector for the recovery of the endangered Fender's Blue Butterfly and its host plant, the also-endangered Kincaid's Lupine.

Serving a Community

Through the purchase and preservation of these lands, a community viewshed has been protected and a public access area has been ensured, helping to promote a vibrant economy for the city of Corvallis by maintaining the natural character that its community, citizens, and tourism industry depend upon.

GLT also contributes to the financial health of the community with myriad job creation: employing contractors, lessees, and consultants, employing a logging company and consulting forester for timber harvests, hiring a restoration crew for prairie reseeding, contracting with Northwest Youth Corps to provide trail building and maintenance, and hiring a crew to construct miles of pasture fencing.

Ongoing Stewardship

GLT manages the property for both its ecological and agricultural values. In 2015, it initiated a two-year, large-scale forest restoration project aimed at restoring diverse forest habitats among a 100-acre forested section of the property.

Scenarios of commitment to land protection, large-scale habitat restoration, and preservation of existing agricultural heritage like this one are relatively unique in Oregon. But hopefully, properties like Bald Hill Farm can act as a tool for observing and learning about how ecosystems can work together to preserve habitats, manage resources, and accomplish restoration goals throughout the state.

Changing Landscapes, Endangering Species

Shortnose and Lost River suckers, known to the Klamath Native Americans as Qapdo and C'waam, have been a primary food source for the Klamath and Modoc Tribes throughout history. And the Williamson River Delta is one of the most important nursery and rearing habitats for larval and juvenile suckers. In the 1940s, levees were built to convert more than 7,000 acres of this historic marsh system to cropland and pasture, eliminating connectivity between the wetland ecosystem and the Williamson River, Upper Klamath Lake, and Agency Lake. The loss of the wetland habitat contributed to a severe decline in the fish populations, forcing the Native tribes to close their fishery in the 1980s. Continued declines in habitat and population caused both sucker species to be listed as endangered.

A Group Effort

The Williamson River Delta area was identified as a critical site for restoration in the 1990s. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased the northern half of the delta in 1996 and the southern portion in 1999. TNC set out to restore the wetland with help from the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, leaders from The Klamath Tribes and local communities, federal, state and government agencies, local farmers, and PacifiCorp.

The Critical Restoration

One of the main goals of the restoration, aside from restoring the fish habitat, was to improve water quality in Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes. The group wanted to restore the leveed wetlands around Upper Klamath Lake, as they are critical to the larva life stage of suckers, and they help to reduce nutrient loading in the river and lake. An additional 800-acres remain in organic alfalfa farming providing food for migrating waterfowl in the fall and winter months and also help to provide job opportunities and revenue for the local communities. 

A wetland restoration plan was created to reconnect the wetlands to Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, and water levels in the wetlands are driven by lake level patterns. Native wetland species were planted, noxious weeds are being tracked and removed, organic alfalfa and grain are being produced in uplands, adjacent to restored wetlands, and native upland vegetation is being restored in non-agricultural uplands. 

Restoration of the wetland ecosystem began in 2006. Levees were lowered and breached, using both explosives and mechanical equipment, inundating the delta within just a few short days. Since then additional levees have been breached and channels evacuated and restored. Today approximately 5,500 acres have been flooded and restored.

Protecting Lands to Preserve a Livelihood

Jack and Bev Sparrowk, owners of Drew's Valley Ranch in Lake County, wanted to ensure their land would be permanently protected. In 2001, they helped form the Oregon Rangeland Trust (ORT) to preserve the state's traditional ranchland and protect it from subdivision and development. Modeled after the California Rangeland Trust, ORT is governed by ranchers who have firsthand knowledge of ranching practices, challenges, and resource needs. "Ranching is a way of life that we can no longer take for granted," says Jack. "It is our responsibility and privilege to help make sure this beautiful landscape and its agricultural heritage are not destroyed."

The Drew's Valley project is the first of what ORT hopes will be a series of such efforts to support the agricultural way of life in Oregon. "Protecting Drew's Valley is a major victory for all of Oregon," says ORT Board President Larry Rew. "It helps sustain our economic and agriculture base, while protecting the natural beauty of the place we call home." Next steps for ORT include implementing long-term stewardship on Drew's Valley Ranch, looking for new projects with positive conservation impacts, and expanding the pool of funding sources for such projects.

Partners in Conservation

Working with the Trust for Public Land (TPL), the Sparrowks sold a conservation easement, granting development rights to buyers while ensuring that natural resources on the land will be protected. Jack and Bev donated a portion of the easement to secure the completion of the project and protect the sanctity of the land in perpetuity. By selling easements, ranchers, farmers, and foresters can stabilize their finances and keep actual ownership of their land. Former TPL Oregon Field Office Director Geoff Roach says, "The Oregon Rangeland Trust and the Sparrowks are leaders in the effort to protect rural Oregon's agricultural way of life and beautiful landscape. Their vision and leadership will help pave the way for continued conservation of our natural resources." 

The 11,400-acre ranch is surrounded by the Fremont National Forest and includes nine miles of streams, eight tributary creeks, a lake, and grassy wetlands. The ranch is home to more than 185 species of birds, fish, and mammals, including the bald eagle and red-band trout. Thanks to the conservation easement, this important habitat will also be permanently protected. 

Partial financing for the easement came from state funds, including lottery revenue, and was matched by federal funds. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) was also instrumental in assisting the Oregon Cattlemen's Association to form the ORT, as they provide grants to projects that benefit conservation education, habitat protection, and restoration, as well as natural resource management. The ORT was formed as an entity that could both provide natural resource stewardship and be responsive to management issues associated with a working ranch.

Far-Reaching Effects
In the last century, the exclusion of wildfires in southwestern and eastern Oregon has resulted in a concerning excess of potential wildfire fuel in the Ashland Watershed, increasing the risk of severe wildfire and threatening the city of Ashland’s water supply. That also means a risk to people, property, wildlife habitat, beloved recreational activities, and vital local business activity.

Changes in the forest landscape create changes in wildlife habitat as well. Species that have adapted to open canopy forests with large trees, like the white-headed woodpecker, mountain bluebirds, and other cavity-nesting birds, depend on large, old-growth pine and Douglas fir. The over-abundance of trees and the thickening vegetation below inhibit the ability of these species to make their home. As a result, some key objectives of this ongoing project—in addition to reducing the risk of widespread wildfires—are to help large, old-growth trees to survive those fires as well as attacks from insects and disease, and restore a healthy forest ecosystem.

Solving Problems Together
With more than 22,000 acres of at-risk forest identified on publicly and privately owned land, this project presents no small task. Fortunately, the city of Ashland, the US Forest Service, the Lomakatsi Restoration Project, and the Nature Conservancy have teamed up to tackle the project’s most challenging obstacles. More than 7,600 acres have been managed since 2010, including 1,000 acres logged and 2,000 treated with prescribed burns, to strategically thin and restore the health of the forest.

The logs were sent to local mills supporting local communities and families, and more than 200 seasonal jobs are supported by this project annually.

Logging in the steep, erosive soil sometimes requires the use of a helicopter, which can be complicated and expensive. Controlled burns must occur within strict parameters and a narrow window of weather conditions to ensure safety and minimize smoke intrusion. 

Local, state, and federal resources have been pooled to plan and implement the restoration and ensure proceeds from the harvested timber are reinvested to fund other non-commercial restoration. Thanks to this Master Stewardship Agreement, the Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Program stands as a shining example of the power of collaboration. 

Looking to the Future
The partners involved with this project are currently working to expand the effort to restore an additional 4,000 acres of adjacent, privately owned forested lands. To advance this new cross-boundary effort, the partnership is expanding to include the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Together, the partners are working to design, plan, and implement restoration activities across both public and private ownerships, in this important geography in southern Oregon.