Name: Controlled burns @ Willow Creek
Start: 2023-05-13T00:00:00-07:00
End: 2023-05-13T23:59:59-07:00

Past Activity

Controlled burns @ Willow Creek

Start date: 05/13/2023
Start time: 12:00 AM
End date: 05/13/2023
End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

We're all hearing about the need for more fire on our wild landscapes. Join Jeff Rosier, Steward of Willow Creek Preserve, to learn how controlled burns are being used to help restore native prairie ecosystems and increase habitat for the Fender's Blue Butterfly. Once thought extinct, this butterfly is endemic to the Willamette Valley and was listed as endangered in 2000. Walk to various areas in the preserve. Observe the differences between before and after 2022 fire treated areas. Learn how Willow Creek Preserve has assisted this butterfly, it's host plant and other native prairie species. After Jeff's presentation and tour, we will have time for more walking at Willow Creek Preserve. And there will be an optional hike at Iris Ridge nearby after our Willow Creek Preserve adventure.

Event Leader: Becky Lipton
Event Leader Phone: 541-736-7498
Event Leader Email: liptbeck@gmail.com
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Trips
Area Type: Urban
Departure Location: Eugene Target, W11th, parking lot closest to W11th
Rating: Easy
Roundtrip total drive miles: 8
Season: 2023
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: 9:00 - 12:00 Weather appropriate clothing, water
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance: 5
Member Fees: —
Elevation Gain: 300
Non-Member Fees: 2
Committee: Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Obsidians joined Jeff Rosier, Steward of The Nature Conservancy's Willow Creek Preserve to learn how controlled burns are being used to help restore native prairie ecosystems and increase habitat for the Fender's Blue Butterfly. Once thought extinct, this butterfly is endemic to the Willamette Valley and found no where else in the world. The Fender's Blue Butterfly was listed as endangered in 2000. We learned how Willow Creek Preserve has assisted this butterfly, it's host plant and other native prairie species. After an initial talk and lots of questions from our group, we walked to various areas in the preserve to observe areas treated with fire this last fall. We were rewarded with meadows overflowing with wildflowers in bloom and a peek at a sparrow's nest full of eggs, hidden at the base of a robust prairie plant. After our Willow Creek Preserve adventure, several of us enjoyed the optional hike at nearby Iris Ridge.