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  • Forests make up 50% of our state, but many are unhealthy. To address the problem, we’re working to increase forests restoration efforts across Oregon.
  • Songbirds can be indicators of forest health. Here, birds are banded to help track changes in bird communities and count observations across the watershed.
  • Our forests provide us with clean water, jobs and products for local communities and important fish and wildlife habitats. The northern spotted owl — this one pictured in the Ashland watershed — lives primarily in West Coast old-growth forests.
  • Around Ashland, in Southern Oregon, scientists like Kerry Metlen, above, study forest history and fire patterns. Metlen cuts a slab from an old pine stump to discern historical fire patterns. The details will help inform restoration efforts.
  • Often, many Oregon forests were maintained naturally by frequent low-burning fires. But fire suppression has disrupted natural cycles. The Conservancy and partners use controlled burns to help restore historic conditions.
  • Community-based collaborative groups are forming around the state to develop science solutions — that benefit both nature and people — in Oregon’s fire-prone forests.
  • The Conservancy’s Darren Borgias and a volunteer prepare to release this Pacific fisher. Scientists from the U.S. Forest Service collared the fisher to record its travels in and around the old-growth forests in the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project area.
The Nature Conservancy in Oregon
Forest Restoration in Action