Hosta

English: In November 2019, Neal Anderson and Hope Robertson moved from southern Oregon to the 60-acre property in Muddy Valley located 10 miles southwest of McMinnville in Yamhill County. Tall oak trees densely dotted the property and were covered in blankets of blackberry brambles at the forest floor. The Anderson's conservation goal from the start was to encourage the health and prosperity of their native Oregon white oak habitat.

Working with Amie Loop-Frison, Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District Habitat Conservationist, Neal and Hope applied for the North Willamette Valley Upland Oak Restoration Partnership project. The project, funded through NRCS' Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), targets financial and technical assistance to private landowners with oak and prairie habitats in Yamhill County. The partnership project's overall goals are to improve degraded plant conditions - structure and composition - and to improve wildlife habitat.

Neal and Hope’s three-year contract started in 2021 and kicked off with invasive weed species control in the oak forest understory. They hired a contractor who used a skid steer with front mounted rotary mower to initially clear the understory.

Once they opened up the forest floor enough to navigate through, Neal and Hope managed their tree population with thinning. Thinning a tree stand involves cutting trees back from too-densely populated areas and removing any diseased trees. Cut trees were then masticated into mulch and left on the forest floor to regenerate nutrients into the soil.

When oak stands have enough space and receive ample sunlight, they start branching out to create their signature mushroom canopy. Acorn production ramps up when oaks have achieved this canopy growth, which supplies wildlife critters with foraging resources. With ground level cleared, Neal and Hope were able to plant a custom native pollinator seed mix to fill in the once-covered weedy areas to increase wildlife habitat and native species.

This restoration work could not happen without the dedication of Yamhill County private landowners like Neal and Hope.

Other project partners include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Greater Yamhill Watershed Council, The Institute for Applied Ecology and Willamette Partnership.