Oregonians cherish the state's vast and iconic lands for their beauty, recreation, the industries they support, and myriad other environmental and cultural values. In the face of unprecedented threats from devastating wildfires, a rapidly changing climate and habitat degradation, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is investing in science-backed management practices to build resilience, support communities and accelerate the use of these conservation practices across private and public lands.
Learn how TNC in Oregon is restoring lands for a more resilient future—one where lands, waters and communities thrive, biodiversity flourishes and our planet heals.
Western Dry Forest
Dry forests evolved with fire. They depend on fire for regeneration and maintenance of forest health. The absence of fire due to a century of active suppression has resulted in overgrown, dense forests—kindling for wildfires worsened by climate change and drought.
Restoring dry forests in Oregon and across the Western U.S. requires a combination of science-backed techniques, including thinning, prescribed fire, cultural burns and letting low to moderate severity wildfires burn under safe conditions. Together, these practices can reduce the danger and devastation of future wildfires, protect communities, and clean air and water.
TNC works in partnership with local, state and federal agencies, Tribes, academic institutions and other organizations to advance science and implementation of ecological forest restoration and prescribed fire projects on the ground. We drive workforce development programs and advocate for effective forest health and wildfire resilience policies, to ensure we have the people and resources to support forest restoration in Oregon and states across the West.
Sagebrush Sea
The expansive shrub steppe, rangelands and grasslands of Eastern Oregon stretch across the horizon like a continuous inland “sea.” These lands are the heart of the American West, yet every year we lose another 1.3 million acres of sagebrush habitat as a result of interrelated and compounding threats: increased wildfire risk, invasive annual grasses, drought, degradation of water sources, and fragmentation.
In Oregon, we’re working together with ranchers, communities, and Tribes to preserve the last remaining intact rangelands and ensure this arid landscape maintains its vital water resources. We’re using innovative and adaptive, on-the-ground restoration to protect the remaining core habitat and leveraging policy at the state and federal levels to ensure lasting and wide-scale benefits.
Connection is key in the Sagebrush Sea; connectivity of the land, and connection to the people who know these lands as home.
We Can’t Save Nature Without You
Sign up to receive monthly conservation news and updates from Oregon. Get a preview of Oregon's Nature News email.
Related Articles
Through the Fire
In summer of 2021, the Bootleg Fire became the third largest wildfire in Oregon history, burning through nearly 15,000 acres on The Nature Conservancy's Sycan Marsh Preserve.
Healing the West’s Waterways: Crews Are Showing How Simple Fixes Can Heal More Than Land
What do sticks and stones have to do with community resilience in a challenging climate? A lot, actually.
Ecostate Mapping—New Tools for Conservation
A team of scientists and land stewards has created a new guide to “ecostate maps”—a simple way to see where sagebrush is thriving, where it’s strained and where attention is most needed.