Oak and prairie habitats are among the Pacific Northwest’s most threatened habitats. They were once a signature feature of the native landscape from northern California to British Columbia, but they have suffered widespread losses over the past 150 years. Many of the remaining oak woodlands are rapidly being overtaken by conifers, a process expected to accelerate in the next few decades.
Oak and prairie habitats are also where a growing number of people want to live and farm. One of the major goals of this priority initiative is to find conservation solutions that accommodate the needs of people and native plant and animal species.
In 2017, Pacific Birds worked with the Cascadia Prairie-Oak Partnership, the Klamath-Siskiyou Oak Network and other partners to develop a conservation business plan that addresses the ecological, cultural and economic issues at play in oak and prairie landscapes. Prairie, Oaks and People outlines strategic conservation objectives and offers potential strategies to achieve them.
Prairie, Oaks and People
Conservation Business Plan
Profile
Projects
Conservation Business Plan
“This conservation plan seeks to create the economic, social and political climate necessary to preserve and enhance prairie-oak habitats and the species that rely on them. It is an overarching strategic framework that presents the business case for a 10-15 year investment in oaks and prairies in the Pacific Northwest.”
– Bob Altman, American Bird Conservancy
We are now working with our partners to:
Implement
the conservation goals of Prairie, Oaks and People.
Expand
our partners’ collective capacity to protect and restore oak and prairie habitats in the most important places for birds.
Build
public support for long-term conservation investments that will sustain oak and prairie birds and their habitats in the decades ahead.
BY THE NUMBERS: Prairie-Oak Species
Native prairie-oak species are at a crossroads. Populations are declining, ranges are contracting, and many species are gone from parts of their historic range. Some have received official status as threatened or endangered; many others have not. Our goal is to save the most imperiled, and keep the rest from becoming imperiled.
To learn more, contact Bruce Taylor, Pacific Birds Partnership Coordinator, or Sara Evans-Peters, Pacific Birds Conservation Planner.
bruce_taylor@pacificbirds.org
sara_evans_peters@pacificbirds.org
Latest Oak & Prairie News
Birds and the Family Farm in Oregon
Working farm and ranch lands support a variety of wildlife, including birds. Changing demographics are affecting the future of working lands in Oregon, however, threatening habitat that some species depend upon.
An Urban Legacy for White Oaks
In June 2018, the Intertwine Alliance published a plan that will guide oak and prairie conservation in the greater Portland-Vancouver area for the next decade. The plan brings together the best science and the most effective tools to conserve part of Oregon’s dwindling white oak and native prairie habitats.
New Incentives for Oak Restoration will Benefit Birds
There is good news for landowners in California – the state of California has developed new incentives for oak woodland restoration efforts on private lands.
