The Central Umpqua-Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project

A Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative

September 2012

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The Central-Umpqua, Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project

A Lomakatsi Restoration Project publication

September 2012

Authors:

Matthew Cocking Restoration Ecologist

Marko Bey Executive Director

Leah Schrodt Outreach and Communications Manager

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Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4

Collaborative Formation ........................................................................................................................... 4

Partners and Contributors ........................................................................................................................ 4

Primary Partners ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Auxiliary Partners ...................................................................................................................................... 6

Oak Woodlands ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Project Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 7

Threats to Oak Habitat .................................................................................................................................. 7

Urban and Agricultural Development ....................................................................................................... 7

Fire Exclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 7

Exotic Invasive Species .............................................................................................................................. 8

Restoration Strategy ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Site Selection ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Encroaching and Invasive Species Removal .............................................................................................. 9

Thinning Techniques ................................................................................................................................. 9

Restoration Byproduct Utilization ............................................................................................................ 9

Renewal of Natural Fire Processes ......................................................................................................... 10

Science Development and Project Monitoring ....................................................................................... 10

Community Outreach and Education ......................................................................................................... 12

Landowner and Public Engagement ....................................................................................................... 12

Youth Engagement ..................................................................................................................... 12

Ecological Workforce Development ....................................................................................................... 13

Future Work ................................................................................................................................................ 13

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 14

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Introduction Collaborative Formation In August of 2010, a formal partnership was established between Lomakatsi Restoration Project, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Klamath Bird Observatory and multiple other state and federal agency partners and conservation organizations. The partnership was formed in an effort to expand oak habitat restoration on private lands in Douglas and Jackson Counties in Oregon, and Siskiyou County in California (Figure 1). The result of this cross-state oak conservation collaborative was a proposal submitted by Lomakatsi to the NRCS Collaborative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) program, resulting in the obligation of 1.8 million dollars by the NRCS to assist landowners with oak restoration in the three counties from 2011-2013. This funding is matched by an additional one million dollars provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for the project, through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Led by Lomakatsi Restoration Project, other matching funds, resources and expertise will be provided by a total of fifteen agency and non-profit conservation partners in support of this oak restoration effort.

Partners and Contributors This Oak habitat conservation effort brings together a coalition of nonprofit organizations and federal and state natural resource management agencies, each with distinct and overlapping skills, values, and missions. Together these project partners are equipped to address and assist in implementing the variety of goals and objectives of the projects which are sought by this CCPI. All parties share a collective mission and interest for improving the condition and function of oak woodland habitats. It has been mutually beneficial for the parties to share resources and work together to implement the goals and objectives of this CCPI.

Figure 1. Oak CCPI counties with active projects.

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The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service provide the majority of the funding to administer and implement oak habitat restoration. Lomakatsi Restoration Project is the primary lead for the partnership effort to coordinate the implementation of the Oak CCPI. This organization provides technical assistance to producers for regulatory compliance in forestry operations (i.e. production of “burn plans”, DEQ smoke management, forestry operating permits, etc.), expertise in project design and layout, vegetation monitoring, GIS mapping, silvicultural prescription development, contractor and workforce development and training assistance, and participates in NRCS monitoring, quality control and inspections.

Additional partners including those described and listed below provide matching funds, technical expertise and the collective capacity to implement this landscape level cooperative conservation effort. Partners perform a variety of tasks including landowner outreach and recruitment, project planning, contract and conservation plan development, project implementation, and monitoring.

Primary Partners Lomakatsi Restoration Project (Project Lead/Sponsor) is a non-profit organization that develops and implements forest and watershed restoration projects throughout southern Oregon and northern California. This organization has implemented restoration projects across thousands of acres of forests and miles of streams. It sets important precedents for nationally recognized projects in cooperation with a broad range of partners (e.g. private landowners, watershed councils, land conservancies, city and park municipalities, Native American tribes, and federal and state land management agencies). As a leader in the field of oak restoration, using a collaborative, holistic approach since its inception in 1995, Lomakatsi has worked to restore oak ecosystems. Lomakatsi brings to the Oak CCPI demonstrated expertise and capacity in assisting landowners with project development, planning, management and implementation of conservation-based projects. The organization’s Oak Habitat Restoration Program is one of ten diverse programs that are designed to encourage the recovery of ecosystems and the sustainability of communities, cultures and economies.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a federal agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).Originally established by Congress in 1935 as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), NRCS has expanded to become a conservation leader for all natural resources, ensuring private lands are conserved, restored, and more resilient to environmental challenges. Seventy percent of the land in the United States is privately owned, making stewardship by private landowners absolutely critical to the health of our Nation’s environment. NRCS works with landowners through conservation planning and assistance designed to benefit the soil, water, air, plants, and animals that result in productive lands and healthy ecosystems.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is a technical assistance partnership-based program offered to private landowners. The goal of the program is to restore and protect habitat for fish and wildlife species on private lands. This program puts private landowners first! This program strives to develop creative and strong partnerships with a variety of entities to further leverage funding and other resources. There is a strong focus on federal trust species and partnerships with local non-profit and watershed groups such as Lomakatsi Restoration Project.

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Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) is a non-profit organization that advances bird and habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships. KBO has been working throughout the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California for over a decade. Through an array of products to diverse audiences, they have expertise in study design, field methods, data management, data analysis, and delivery of scientific results. KBO’s experience includes extensive application of adaptive management relevant to this project and a history of working with diverse partners, including many who are collaborating on this proposal.

Auxiliary Partners The Klamath Tribes Bureau of Land Management, Medford Oregon Bureau of Land Management, Roseburg Oregon Bureau of Land Management, Redding California Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Department of Forestry Oregon State University Extension Service California Department of Forestry California Department of Fish and Game Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District Douglas Soil and Water Conservation District Douglas County Fire Protection Association The Nature Conservancy-Southwest Oregon Northern California Resource Center Defenders of Wildlife Colestin Rural Fire Department Jackson County Small Woodlands Association Southern Oregon Land Conservancy Oregon Oaks Working Group

Oak Woodlands Oak savannas and woodlands are among the most diverse ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. They support communities of plants and animals that are remarkably different than adjacent agricultural fields and conifer forests. Oak woodlands and savannas in the Umpqua and Klamath Basins include both Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) ecosystems with a wide range of plant associations and unique structural variations. More than 200 vertebrate species are known to use oaks, and these ecosystems offer an important habitat for the vast majority of Oregon native resident and migratory birds.

Figure 3. A large, dying California black oak surrounded by encroaching Douglas-fir in the Klamath Mountains, California.

Figure 2. Oak CCPI project partners observe and discuss a completed oak restoration project during an educational field tour in the Colestin Valley, Oregon.

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Acorns produced naturally in these woodlands are renowned for nutritional content and food value for numerous wildlife species.

Many federal and state listed endangered and candidate endangered species are highly dependent on oak woodlands and savannas in southern Oregon and northern California. These include species such as Pacific fisher, Gentner’s fritillary, Kincaid’s lupine, white breasted nuthatch, acorn woodpecker, western bluebird, and foothill yellow-legged frog, among many others.

Project Objectives To protect these valuable oak habitats and the resources they harbor, the partnership for The Central-Umpqua Mid-Klamath Oak Conservation Project was formed with three broad objectives within the defined geographic region:

1) Protect and promote the development of habitat for oak associated wildlife 2) Curtail the decline of oak associated plant communities by reducing existing threats 3) Improve watershed health and function

Threats to Oak Habitat Urban and Agricultural Development Despite their ecological and biological importance, oak woodlands in the Pacific Northwest are declining. Since European settlement, one third of California’s oak woodlands have been lost, while in Oregon only four to seven percent of the historic oak woodlands remain. Because oak woodlands historically existed at some of the best agriculture and homestead sites, they were among the first deforested and converted ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Oak woodlands were cleared to improve grazing land, create agricultural fields, or for urban development. These activities continue to this day, with the majority of conversion occurring for new urban development. Continued land management and woodcutting also exacerbate currently poor conditions at many sites, further altering unique oak woodland environments and the vitally important ecosystem functions they provide.

Fire Exclusion One of the most important natural processes in Northwest forests and woodlands is fire disturbance. Before European settlement, fire return intervals in the Klamath-Siskiyou region were frequent. Tree densities were kept low by this frequent fire, and woodlands in the region were characterized by widely spaced, large oaks and occasional old-growth conifers. One-hundred years of fire suppression has allowed unnaturally dense regeneration of young conifers in many remaining Oregon and California oak woodlands. Shade-intolerant oaks eventually die when encroaching young conifers overtop them and block sunlight (Figure 3). Structures and resources vitally important for wildlife are lost when large old oaks die (e.g. wide umbrella-shaped oak crowns, large diameter low-hanging limbs, cavities in tree boles, and acorn production) (Figure 4).

Figure 4. An acorn woodpecker stores acorns in a large cedar tree.

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In addition to limiting establishment of young conifers, frequent, low-intensity fires also shape and sustain species rich oak woodland understories, providing habitat for many fire-enduring, fire-adapted, and shade-intolerant understory plant species. Fire exclusion in oak woodlands throughout the 20th century has contributed to declines in understory plant health and diversity, poor regeneration of fire-adapted native species, and reduced understory sunlight from stand densification. Poor understory conditions affect wildlife plant food resources, cover, and nesting habitat, and contribute to reduced understory species diversity as competition and shade from stand densification suppresses and pushes out shade-intolerant native shrubs, herbs, and grasses.

Exotic Invasive Species Oak woodland understory environments devoid of introduced species are extremely rare in California and Oregon, and are more typically comprised of a mix of native and non-native, invasive species. Many oak woodlands, grasslands, and oak savannas were intentionally sowed with non-native European grass species to improve cattle grazing conditions during early settlement of areas in California and Oregon. The vast extent of replacement of native species by introduced grasses and shrubs was not foreseen, and subsequent negative effects on wildlife species dependent on native understory plants for food and shelter are widely spread. In some cases, introduced species can become so dominant they suppress regeneration of oaks. Reduced oak regeneration as a result of competition with non-native understory species is a serious threat to the continuance of oak woodlands as young trees are needed to eventually replace older oaks.

Restoration Strategy Oak woodlands have historically occupied many lower elevation foothill and valley locations throughout Oregon and California. Because many of these areas were optimal homesteading sites, the majority of remaining oak woodlands occur on private land (Figure 5); therefore, the future of oak habitats is highly dependent upon active conservation by private landowners. Through the CCPI, private landowners are offered incentives that provide financial and technical assistance aimed at helping restore, protect and maintain oak habitats on their property.

Site Selection Presence of degraded oak habitat, landowner interest in restoration, and the potential for long-lasting restoration effects are all considerations used in identifying new project sites. Sites are assessed for biological integrity and woodland condition during visits by partnering and contracting managers and

Figure 5. The distribution of public lands in Ashland Oregon. Note the general lack of overlap between public lands and oak environments. Vegetation data from the Northwest Gap Analysis Project (2012).

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scientists. In addition, CCPI project partners meet with landowners of potential sites to determine landowner level of interest and commitment to land stewardship and conservation. All considerations and data collected are used in a project ranking system developed to ensure that projects with the most biological value, greatest need for restoration, and highest probability for restoration success are selected for funding.

Encroaching and Invasive Species Removal Initial treatment involves removal of encroaching conifers, a general reduction in accumulated forest fuels, and removal of non-native invasive shrubs by cutting with chainsaws (Figure 6). Encroaching trees are generally cut most aggressively when they are growing directly underneath, through, or at the periphery of oak crowns. More aggressive thinning is often focused on the south side of large oaks where sun exposure is greatest. The largest oaks are often given the greatest attention and detailed treatment as they contribute great ecological value and are at greatest risk for loss of vigor

due to shade by encroaching conifers. Invasive woody species such as Armenian blackberry, English hawthorn, and English holly are removed if encountered at restoration sites.

Thinning Techniques To increase overall ecosystem resilience, thinning is performed at varying intensities to create stands of varying tree density. Forestry technicians are responsible for carefully marking single stems as well as clumps or groups of trees and shrubs for retention or removal. Decisions made in the field regarding take or leave of vegetation are based on the ecological concept of variable density thinning, which attempts to mimic natural fire-driven stand dynamics and forest development. Variable density thinning uses a mix of techniques including basic thinning of small diameter trees from within stands, creation of small canopy gaps by removing groups of small trees, and retention of dense patches where no activity is performed. This approach encourages maintenance and creation of the greatest age, structural, and spatial diversity possible in treated stands; conditions optimal for wildlife habitat, stand resilience, and overall health. Thinning decisions are made case by case at small spatial scales to allow flexibility and adaptability of operations and provide the highest quality restoration possible.

Restoration Byproduct Utilization Often materials created during ecological restoration projects are usable. Where possible, byproduct utilization is encouraged to offset project cost or provide valuable material to landowners and local communities. Project material is generally processed into saw logs, firewood, or biomass, (as an alternative to on-site burning), and

Figure 6. A Lomakatsi Restoration Project sawyer thins Douglas-fir trees around several large oaks.

Figure 7. Logs of small diameter encroaching conifers are utilized as the byproduct of oak restoration as part of the CCPI project in Jackson County.

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occasionally as specialty building and craft materials. Byproduct utilization makes use of materials that would be created by ecological restoration activities regardless of whether there was a plan or need to use those materials, with no primary objective or intent to create economic gain or commercial profit.

Renewal of Natural Fire Processes Carefully planned and executed prescribed fire applications are an important component of the oak CCPI project. Fire is re-introduced to many project sites using several types of prescribed fire applications. The most basic reintroduction of fire involves pile-burning of activity fuels created by removal of encroaching vegetation and variable density thinning. Activity fuels are burned in late fall or early winter. Although this type of fire application is generally limited to pile locations, it does stimulate growth in and around burned patches and is essential for reducing forest fuel loads that inhibit future understory prescribed burns. After a period of rest (generally 1-2 years) prescribed fire is applied at some project sites to further reduce ground fuels, maintain low forest fuel levels, inhibit establishment of young conifers, rejuvenate fire-adapted understory species, and create unique snag and fire-scar structures (Figure 8). Following burn operations, native forbs and grasses are seeded in some treatment areas into the mineral rich ashes to help encourage greater establishment and growth of native understory plants. The Oak CCPI Partnership encourages landowners to continue to seek methods to maintain fire processes in project areas and is pursuing more resources to continue this important restoration management practice in oak woodlands.

Science Development and Project Monitoring Science and monitoring are integral components of any ecological restoration project. To ensure quality and efficiency of project deliverables and implementation, The Central-Umpqua -Mid-Klamath Oak Conservation Project collaborative formed a monitoring sub-committee to oversee and direct two

primary monitoring types: Implementation monitoring and effectiveness monitoring.

Implementation monitoring is achieved through collaborative bi-annual field visits to each of the three counties project sites. During visits, managers, scientists, and planners are asked a set of specific questions regarding oak restoration implementation practices and processes. Information is shared among the group and valuable dialogue is stimulated by melding of diverse individuals each contributing important aspects to the process of restoration. Information and ideas shared at site

Figure 8. A prescribed fire set by Lomakatsi Restoration Project technicians burns through understory vegetation at an oak woodland restoration site in the Colestin Valley, Oregon.

Figure 9. Students collect understory data at an oak restoration site in southern Oregon.

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tours is consolidated, summarized and distributed to oversight personnel in each county for integration into the implementation process to ensure a high quality unified, focused approach is maintained among collaborative partners.

Effectiveness monitoring involves scientific study of organisms and habitats at project sites before and after restoration treatments. This field research provides data that can be used to evaluate effectiveness of treatments. Science that improves our knowledge of Oregon and California oak ecosystems is urgently needed to better understand how treatment activities and stand manipulations affect woodland ecosystems. Collection of ecological data prior to and following treatments allows partners of the Oak CCPI to develop science that informs future oak woodland restoration and management. Scientific research is also used as an educational tool for students to observe

characteristics of the natural environment, learn about local ecology, and gain experience with scientific methods. Field data collection conducted in Oak CCPI project areas in southern Oregon and northern California focuses on ecological effects of restoration activities on birds and vegetation within treated areas.

Bird habitat and populations are being studied by the Klamath Bird Observatory across all three project counties using a treatment and control study design. More intensive study of vegetation is being conducted by Lomakatsi in Jackson County, Oregon, using a pre and post-treatment study design. In addition, bird research is being performed concurrently with vegetation study plots in Jackson County to allow greater analysis of bird habitat preferences and restoration effects. So far data has been collected for bird research at 143 treatment, and 87 control sampling points across all three counties. Vegetation is being intensively studied at 56 permanent plots in Jackson County (table 1).

Table 1. Plot summary for data collection across three counties in southern Oregon and northern California. Siskiyou County is the sole county in California. “Vegetation Plots” refers to more intensive vegetation sampling in Jackson County; basic vegetation data was also collected at both bird treatment and control sampling points

County Woodland Type Vegetation Plots Bird Treatment Bird Control

Jackson Mixed Oak 20 11 15 California Black Oak 20 15 13 Oregon White Oak 16 8 28

Siskiyou Mixed Oak x 23 19 Oregon White Oak x 8 17

Douglas Oregon White Oak x 22 51

Total

56 87 143

Figure 10. Klamath Bird Observatory monitors bird activity at an oak restoration site.

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Community Outreach and Education Landowner and Public Engagement The Oak CCPI is helping private landowners restore, protect, and maintain oak habitats across three counties spanning northern California to southern Oregon. In addition to performing restoration activities, the program is used to inform landowners and community members about conservation practices that help restore declining oak habitats. Financial assistance for landowners is being provided primarily through the NRCS’ Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. In addition to obtaining federal agency monetary support for direct habitat enhancement of their properties, landowners also become connected to local restoration contracting companies and non-profit restoration and conservation organizations working in their region. Often, long-term relationships are established with these important community organizations, creating an incubation system for future collaboration and conservation work on private lands. Oak CCPI partner organizations direct many additional complimentary programs that help to educate landowners, youth, and the general public about environmental concerns in their region, including those specific to oak woodland environments. This process of engagement allows members of local communities throughout the CCPI project footprint to become educated on oak ecology and decline, topics particularly pertinent to working and non-working private lands, and generates growth of restoration programs such as the CCPI by spurring public interest in oak woodland ecology and management.

Youth Engagement Lomakatsi’s environmental education program provides regional youth with hands-on workforce training, employment and educational experiences in ecosystem management within the Oak CCPI Project. Using oak environments as an outdoor classroom for students to explore and experience career paths in natural resources, Lomakatsi educators and scientists joined by agency specialists guide students through service-learning, interactive, environmental education activities. These educational efforts are getting regional youth outside, connecting them to the outdoors, and helping shape the next generation of natural and cultural resource professionals.

Figure 11. Lomakatsi Restoration Project Executive Director, Marko Bey, addresses landowners and agencies regarding oak woodland restoration in the Colestin Valley, Oregon

Figure 12. Students participate in oak restoration activities during Lomakatsi project in the Colestin Valley, Oregon.

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Ecological Workforce Development The Oak CCPI is an important component of ongoing growth of ecological workforce resources in the region, including development of tribal, youth, and local workforces that gain experience and training through the Oak CCPI and other regional restoration programs. Great strides in development of technically competent and ecologically-minded work crews have been made in the past 15 years by Lomakatsi Restoration Project. Local restoration contractors and workers are receiving training by Lomakatsi instructors in cutting edge science and practices regarding ecological thinning, prescribed fire, data collection, and site-specific ecology, resulting in long-term development of a professional, highly advanced natural resources workforce. The Oak CCPI is progressive and unique in its cross-state collaboration, and has offered invaluable expansion of ecological workforce knowledge and techniques developed by Lomakatsi Restoration Project to similar non-governmental organizations and private contractors in nearby Siskiyou and Douglas counties (in California and Oregon, respectively). This movement to expand holistic, ecologically and sustainably-minded forest restoration management across state boundaries represents a growing private work sector where citizens can find reasonable employment while making valuable, environmentally friendly, and ecologically advanced contributions to their communities and surrounding natural environment.

Future Work To date, the Oak CCPI project partners have completed oak woodland and savanna restoration on 1,138 acres spanning 16 private properties in southern Oregon and northern California (Table 2, 3). Additional restoration will continue through 2013, including both thinning and encroaching conifer and vegetation removal, and prescribed fire. In addition, scientific research plots will be revisited in subsequent years to evaluate treatment effects on birds and vegetation at project sites over various timeframes. Oak CCPI partners are continuously seeking and acquiring funding to expand science and education development on topics surrounding vegetation and wildlife in oak woodlands. The vast work being implemented under the Oak CCPI offers an unprecedented opportunity to study oak woodland ecology and management, expand restoration efforts to additional regions and sites, and strengthen techniques and practices involved in oak woodland conservation and management for many years to come.

Figure 13. Klamath Tribes work crew members pose for a photo at a Lomakatsi Restoration Project site in southern Oregon.

Figure 14. The sun sets through smoke from prescribed fires set by Lomakatsi Restoration Project workers at an oak restoration site in southern Oregon.

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Table 2. Summary of acres of restoration treatments enrolled across three counties in Oregon and California under the Oak CCPI program since 2011. “Thinning” includes both general variable density thinning and encroaching conifer removal techniques.

Acres

County (State) Treatment Type 2011 2012 Project to Date

Douglas (OR) Thinning 55 155 210 Slash Treatment 55 155 210 Prescribed Fire 0 0 0

Jackson (OR) Thinning 160 271 431 Slash Treatment 160 271 431 Prescribed Fire 100 0 100

Siskiyou (CA) Thinning 166 231 344 Slash Treatment 166 231 344 Prescribed Fire 0 0 0

Totals Thinning 381 657 1,038 Slash Treatment 381 657 1,038 Prescribed Fire 100 0 100

Table 3. Forest Management and/or Activity Plans completed for enrolled private properties across three counties in Oregon and California under the Oak CCPI program.

Completed Forest Plans

County (State) 2011 2012 Douglas (OR) 3 4 Jackson (OR) 3 4 Siskiyou (CA) 1 1

Totals 7 9

Conclusion The future of oak habitats in the Pacific Northwest is dependent on successful ecological restoration models like the Central-Umpqua Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project. Driven by science, ecological forestry principles, adaptive management, and collaboration across state lines between agencies, nonprofits and private landowners, this project informs the future management of oak ecosystems. Using cutting edge habitat restoration treatments, economic development is increased by employing local contractors and hundreds of seasonal workers. In addition, youth and community members are educated and, by incorporating private land, the connectivity of oak environments is restored. Lomakatsi Restoration Project and our partners look forward to continuing this important effort and the benefits it brings to future generations.