Westlake Oak Woodland Restoration Project

Oswego Lake Watershed Council
$20,000

The Westlake Oak Woodland Restoration and Interpretation Project restores 21.4 acres of suburban Oregon White Oak woodland and creates a plan to ensure the continued stewardship of the area through community education and citizen science monitoring. Westlake Home Owners Association (HOA) contains 200+ homes surrounded by twenty acres of Oregon white oak woodland habitat. These twenty acres are divided into three ‘tracts’ A (17 acres), B (2.7 acres), and C (1.7 acres). The Oswego Lake Watershed Council has partnered with the Westlake HOA, City of Lake Oswego, Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District and Wisdom of the Elders to fund an the restoration of Tract A by removing invasive plants (predominantly ivy and blackberry) and invasive trees (mainly hawthorne) from the 17 acres. We have also designed and implemented an oak release project by removing trees (mainly ash, big leaf maple, cherry, and Douglas fir) that compete with oak development. The native sub canopy has been replanted to develop a healthy understory of cascara, vine maple, Indian plum, hazelnut, and other appropriate natives. Oak-associated species have been observed including sweet trilliums, camas, white breasted nuthatches, and western gray squirrels, all noteworthy oak obligate species. OLWC is requesting funding to complete this restoration work on Tracts B and C using the approach used on Tract A. We will also develop an education program through signage, web based information and school curriculum that helps community members understand the importance of oak woodland habitat with emphasis of future stewardship of the oaks. The educational materials will include an emphasis on how this land and the associated oaks were used by the original inhabitants. Indigenous residents actively maintained these areas to promote healthy Oregon White Oak populations. Monitoring protocols will also be implemented by volunteer citizen science volunteers to support continued conservation efforts.

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