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Science, Stewardship, and Stamps: Uniting Birders for Oak Woodland Restoration

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO Education, Press Room.

Conservation with impact and heart

By funding habitat protection across our National Wildlife Refuges, the Federal Duck Stamp has long shown what’s possible when people unite for wildlife. At Klamath Bird Observatory, we’re building on that legacy with our Conservation Science Stamp that highlights science-based efforts to protect habitats for all bird species. When you purchase the Conservation Stamp Set, you’re joining birders, hunters, and conservationists who believe in preserving birds and their habitats.

2025-2026 Conservation Science Stamp

The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is a small, bluish-gray-backed songbird noted for its pure white underparts, black cap, and habit of creeping head-first down tree trunks. Both males and females share similar plumage, and they are often heard giving nasal churring calls as they forage. These birds probe bark crevices for insects and spiders and cache seeds—especially sunflower kernels and other nuts—wedged into bark fissures before hammering them open.

In the Pacific Northwest, the Slender-billed subspecies (S. c. aculeata) specializes in oak woodlands. Genetic studies suggest that this group diverged in place approximately 350,000 years ago, during the glacial-interglacial climatic shifts of the Pleistocene. It likely evolved to specialize in oak habitats during glacial periods when it was cut off from breeding with other populations of White-breasted Nuthatches by mid-continental glaciers. Today, it nests and roosts almost exclusively in the cavities of mature oak trees—and occasionally in old ponderosa pines—showing strong ties to stands with large trees (diameter at breast height >50 cm) and abundant canopy cover.

Populations of the Slender-billed White-breasted Nuthatch have fallen steadily, earning it “candidate” status in Washington and a “sensitive” designation in Oregon. Fragmentation and loss of mature oak stands, resulting from agriculture, urban development, and fire suppression, have reduced the availability of cavities and foraging habitats. Encroachment by Douglas-fir trees shade out young oaks, while invasive European Starlings and other cavity-nesters vie for nest sites, further stressing nuthatch numbers.

Conservation efforts focus on preserving and restoring large-diameter oaks, as well as their associated cavities. Land managers aim to maintain contiguous oak patches of at least 173 acres with 40–80% canopy cover, supplemented by smaller “stepping-stone” patches of 50 acres to support subpopulations. Prescribed burns help prevent conifer trees from overtaking oak woodlands, and incentive programs encourage private landowners to protect oaks and snags. Continued monitoring of populations and habitat suitability will guide adaptive management to secure the future of this charming woodland bird.

Decade of the Oak

Oaks are foundational to Pacific Northwest ecosystems, hosting some of the region’s richest biodiversity and cultural heritage. The Pacific Northwest Oak Alliance’s Decade of the Oak campaign emphasizes that oak and prairie systems once covered vast landscapes but have been reduced by up to 90 percent in places. These fire-adapted, drought-tolerant habitats support more than 300 vertebrate species, including specialized cavity-nesting birds like the White-breasted Nuthatch, which depends on oak trees for nesting in cavities and foraging for insects. By restoring and protecting large‐diameter oaks, employing prescribed fire to maintain healthy oak woodland habitat, and engaging tribal and community partners in stewardship, the Alliance aims to secure the future of both oaks and the nuthatches that rely on them.

Purchase your Conservation Science Stamp set here

Learn more about oak conservation here

The Artist

Nora Sherwood entered the field of science illustration as a midlife career changer, having spent many years in the high-tech world. She graduated from the University of Washington’s Natural Science Illustration certificate program in the Spring of 2014 and is a full-time, self-employed artist.

Intricate details and patterns found in nature are endlessly fascinating; Nora enjoys the challenge of portraying them on paper. Watercolor – my primary medium – is a highly technical but powerful medium that allows her to construct illustrations in layers, always considering pigment characteristics and color theory to build forms and create depth. She primarily works with organizations such as museums, zoos, government agencies, consumer product companies, and academics.

Explore more of Nora’s work on her website here.

 

Sponsors

KSON’s New Website and Investment Strategy!

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note.

At the Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO), we are a proud partner of the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON), which collaborates with the community and partners within the Klamath Siskiyou Bioregion to promote the restoration and conservation of oak habitats. This week, we have two exciting announcements: a new website (https://oakalliance.org/partnerships/kson/) and The Prairie, Oaks, and People Investment Strategy is now LIVE!

The Prairie, Oaks, and People Investment Strategy offers an action oriented five-year strategy, with $304.2 million of ready-to-implement projects. Developed by partnerships across the Pacific Northwest, this effort brings together tribes, conservation organizations, community groups, private landowners, businesses, and government agencies in a nonpartisan commitment to conserve the oak and prairie landscape while advancing key natural disaster risk reduction strategies. The strategy identifies priority areas for investment, the strategic use of funding to achieve critical outcomes, and key sources of funding support. It highlights these landscapes’ economic, cultural, and ecological values, the importance of working lands and private landowners, elevates tribal priorities, and calls attention to the benefits of collective action and leveraging funding support. The plan includes cost estimates for needed restoration and wildlife risk reduction strategies, land protection, species recovery, and long-term land management capacity, ensuring that investments deliver durable and high impact results.

Both can be found on the new Pacific Northwest Oak Alliance website. 

Upper Rogue Oak Initiative in the Rogue Valley Times

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO Partners, Press Room.

Conifers encroach on an oak tree at Cascade Ranch near Lake Creek east of White City at a site slated for restoration as part of a project known as the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative. Several agencies and organizations are collaborating on a six-year, $13 million project to thin conifers and take other action to aid oak habitat and improve ecosystem health while reducing wildfire risk. Lomakatsi Restoration Project

On February 23rd, Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network was featured in the Rogue Valley Times. You can view the original article written by Shaun Hall here.

$13-million initiative seeks to restore 3,650 acres of oak habitat to aid ecosystem health, reduce wildfire risk

A $13-million effort to restore health to oak tree habitat in the Lake Creek area east of White City and near the Table Rocks north of Medford is in its second year.

So far, the thinning of conifers that were competing with oaks has taken place on about 200 acres near Lake Creek and on 100 acres near the Table Rocks. The community of Lake Creek is located about 12 miles east of White City, near the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

The work, known as the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative, is due to take place on 3,650 acres — nearly 6 square miles — of private and public land, all but 250 acres of it near Lake Creek. Partners include state and federal agencies, along with conservation organizations, functioning under an umbrella group known as the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Initiative.

The project is slated to take six years to complete.

An estimated 25% of historic oak habitat remains in the Pacific Northwest, according to Jaime Stephens, conservation director for the Ashland-based Klamath Bird Observatory, one of the project partners. The work is intended to restore degraded oak habitat, lessen wildfire danger and support wildlife, including birds whose populations are declining.

The work tasks include brush reduction and low-intensity ground fires, along with the reintroduction of native grasses and plants, in an effort to leave behind a landscape more resilient to fire, insects, disease and climate change.

“We’re looking to create a forest that would burn at low severity,” Stephens said Wednesday, after one of the project partners, the Lomakatsi Restoration Project of Ashland, posted updates about the work. Stephens said the project will benefit “wildlife and people.”

About half of the forest-dependent birds in the West are in decline, according to a news release from the observatory.

“This sobering statistic has sounded the alarm that landscape-level conservation actions are needed now more than ever,” according to the news release. “Restoration will remove conifers that are crowding oaks, use prescribed fire where feasible, reduce noxious weeds and reestablish a native understory.”

Indigenous people once used fire that benefited oaks, but the removal of those peoples, followed by encroaching farms, ranches and development and the advent of wildland fire suppression has led to conifers and non-native plants taking over some oak areas.

“Historically, regular burning as part of indigenous stewardship maintained cultural landscapes of oak conifer forests, woodlands and savanna in a more open state, enriching natural resources and biodiversity, and enhancing the structure and quality of critical food and fiber resources,” according to the observatory. “Following European settlement, many oak habitats were converted for agriculture or urban development. Decades of fire suppression during the latter half of the 1900s have allowed less fire-resistant yet faster-growing tree species, such as Douglas-fir, to encroach upon and displace oak trees.”

According to the organization, oak ecosystems support more than 300 vertebrate species.

Lomakatsi, an Ashland-based forest and watershed restoration organization, recently highlighted some of that work in a social media post.

“Restoration treatments will decrease the density of conifers and shrubs that have advanced from years of fire exclusion,” according to the organization. “Partners will also seed native species into treated areas, focused in the blackened footprints of burn piles to support the fresh growth of native plants and reduce the likelihood that non-native plants might establish and spread.”

The restoration work is expected to protect the oaks from unnaturally severe wildfires. Planned treatments include ecological thinning to reduce conifer encroachment and the density of surface and ladder fuels around large, legacy oak trees. That work sets the stage for the reintroduction of carefully applied low-intensity fire and controlled pile burns. Oak restoration also includes the removal of noxious weeds and seeding the understory to establish healthy populations of native forbs and grasses that provide habitat.

Funding for the work includes $7 million awarded two years ago from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board using Oregon Lottery revenue. It also includes $2.78 million from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program known as the America the Beautiful Challenge, plus $3 million in matching funds and donations.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is one of the partners. Oak habitat benefits birds, deer and elk, according to an agency statement.

“Oak habitat loss is a major threat to wildlife species in Oregon including Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-throated Gray Warbler and game animals such as deer and elk,” the agency said in a November 2022 news release announcing the America the Beautiful funding.

Flock to these September KBO events

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Birds & Birding, KBO Education, Trips & Events.

You are not going to want to miss this month’s events

Photo by Peter Thiemann

There is still time to sign up for the free hybrid Great Grey Owl talk by Harry Fuller. This is happening at the KBO office in Ashland on September 22nd at 6 p.m. and via Zoom. He will be selling his Great Grey Owl book and his most recent publication, Birding Harney County.

You can register here.

 

 

The last bird banding outing of the year is happening on September 28th. We will be traveling to the Upper Klamath to witness scientists in action. Fall migration is here, and you aren’t going to want to miss seeing these migrants up close and personal. This is great for bird lovers of all ages. Plus, your $75 donation helps support our intern program, which has hosted over 300 interns from around the world.

You can register here.

 

We are excited to welcome Wyatt Williams, Invasive Species Specialist with the Forest Health Unit of Oregon Department of Forestry, as the guest speaker for the KSON Quarterly meeting on September 21st from 1:00-2:30 (virtual).

Mediterranean oak borer, pest of oaks, arrives to Oregon — Mediterranean oak borer (MOB) is a tiny wood-boring ambrosia beetle that is a known pest of cork oak in Europe. Like other ambrosia beetles, MOB is a “fungus farmer” carrying various species of fungi from tree to tree, where it inoculates the wood in host trees and grows food for its developing larvae. Usually, ambrosia beetles are thought of as beneficial insects, as the decay fungi help break down and recycle large amounts of wood from fallen trees and branches. However, some fungal species turn out to be pathogenic to host trees, and in the case of MOB, one particular fungal associate, Raffaelea montetyii, is capable of killing some species of North American oaks. In 2018, an Oregon Department of Forestry insect trap picked up the first known MOB specimen in Oregon. Simultaneously in 2018, an unknown agent was killing hundreds of valley oak
(Quercus lobata) in central California. In 2019, the culprit was identified as MOB. Since 2019, researchers in California have verified in controlled experiments that the fungal species is capable of killing Oregon white oak. Since 2018, MOB has spread to three counties in California, killing thousands of valley oak. In Oregon, traps set by the Oregon Department of Agriculture confirms that the insect occurs in four counties of the Willamette Valley and earlier in 2023, the first infestation of Oregon white oak was observed at Sandy River Delta near Troutdale. State and federal agencies are on the lookout for additional infested trees. I will go over the signs and symptoms of MOB and its fungal associates, as well as introduce how to report oak trees to state authorities that are suspected of being attacked by MOB. The detection of MOB in Oregon, and indeed North America, is still relatively new, and we have a lot to learn. MOB could
develop into a major pest of Oregon white oak, or it could be another exotic species that will have moderate or low risk to oaks. We need more field data to assess the risk of MOB to Oregon white oak and other related species.

Zoom information follows:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83927418735?pwd=U1NaUUlYYkR1ZnVidmlXZlhmZnB6QT09

Cover photo, flock of least sandpipers, by Frank Lospalluto

A Decade of Collaborative Oak Restoration

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO Partners, KBO Science.

The Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion is a globally significant biodiversity hotspot and area of conservation concern, with some of the most extensive remaining oak ecosystems in the western United States. Oaks in this region are most threatened by conifer encroachment, fire suppression, agricultural development, incompatible grazing practices, non-native species, and severe fire.

The Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) is a regional collaboration between local agencies, tribes, and non-profit organizations that works to conserve oak ecosystems on private and public lands in southern Oregon and northern California. Since 2011, KSON partners have accomplished thousands of acres of strategic ecological restoration to enhance oak habitat, build climate resilience, bolster cultural resources, and reduce wildfire risk to the ecosystem and communities. The handout A Decade of Collaborative Oak Restoration demonstrates the power of collaboration and a decade-plus of successful oak habitat restoration from 2011-2023 with highlights from Table Rock and Colestin Valley projects.

Click here to view the full document.

 

Did you miss the KSON quarterly meeting?

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note.

Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network is a collaborative regional partnership that works to conserve oak habitats on private and public lands in southern Oregon and northern California. This presentation’s speaker was Jena Volpe, a KSON steering committee member and Fire Ecologist with the Medford BLM. She discussed the Integrated Vegetation Management for Resilient Lands Environmental Assessment (IVM-RL EA), which creates a toolbox for the BLM to increase the scope, scale, and pace of proactive treatments over a 10 year period.

Click here to view the recording. 

 

Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network Quarterly Meeting April 28th

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO Science, Trips & Events.

The Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) is holding its second quarterly meeting of 2022 on Thursday, April 28th from 9-10:30 am. This collaborative regional partnership works to conserve oak habitats on private and public lands in southern Oregon and northern California. Our speaker this month is Jena Volpe, a KSON steering committee member and Fire Ecologist with the Medford BLM. She will be discussing the Integrated Vegetation Management for Resilient Lands Environmental Assessment (IVM-RL EA), which creates a toolbox for the BLM to increase the scope, scale, and pace of proactive treatments over a 10 year period. Please email mlm@klamathbird.org for the Zoom link.

Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network to Host Oak Woodland Restoration Field Day

Written by KBO on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO Partners, KBO Science, Press Room, Trips & Events.

<img class="size-full wp-image-2850" src="https://klamathbird.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Acorn-Woodpecker-c-2015-Livaudais-72dpi-3xX.jpg" alt="Acorn Woodpecker (c) 2015 Jim Livaudais" width="216" height="288" title=" Acorn Woodpecker
(c) 2015 Jim Livaudais” />

*** PRESS RELEASE — For Immediate Release ***

On June 27, 2015 the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) will host an Oak Woodland Restoration Field Day, designed to provide an opportunity for landowners and land managers to learn about oak restoration on their lands. This half-day event will be held at several properties in the Colestin Valley between Ashland and Yreka, where a large-scale private lands oak conservation partnership program has been underway for the past decade. A series of presentations by restoration professionals, agency managers, wildlife biologists, and private landowners will highlight current oak restoration and management approaches, the habitat value of oaks for birds and other native wildlife, and how landowners can access technical resources and funding for restoration.

The KSON partnership conserves oak habitats on private and public lands in the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California. KSON partners include non-governmental organizations, local state and federal agencies, Native American tribes, and private citizens. The Oak Woodland Restoration Field Day represents an important part of KSON’S goal to promote oak conservation and restoration by providing opportunities for practitioners and community members to engage on issues affecting threatened oak habitats. KSON members from Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Klamath Bird Observatory, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resource Conservation Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and US Forest Service will be present to offer their unique perspectives on oak restoration. This event will be an excellent opportunity for landowners and managers to meet others who share an interest in habitat conservation and restoration of oak savannas and woodlands, and to discuss the best ways to preserve these precious natural resources into the future.

The Field Day is free, but space is limited and registration is required. This event is planned for 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, and participants will need to provide their own lunch. For more information, including registration and carpool information from Ashland or Yreka, or for more information about KSON, please contact KSON Coordinator Kate Halstead at 541-201-0866 ext 7#, or at keh@klamathbird.org.

INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kate Halstead, Biologist & KSON Coordinator
Klamath Bird Observatory
keh@klamathbird.org
541-201-0866, ext 7#

Click here to view pdf of this press release.

Click here to view event flyer.

Click here to download print quality image of Acorn Woodpecker (c) 2015 Jim Livaudais.

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Klamath Bird Observatory’s Conservation Model

Written by KBO on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO History, KBO Partners, KBO Science.

Klamath Bird Observatory’s collaborative conservation planning approach is fueled with results from partner-driven science programs. These science programs use birds as indicators of the healthy and resilient ecosystems on which we all depend. The science involves three coordinated aspects:

3 sceice tiers

  1. Long-term monitoring that provides information about broad-scaled changes in the condition of our world;
  2. More in-depth theoretical research about how natural and human influences affect our land, air, and water; and
  3. Applied ecology projects that directly address priority natural resource management challenges.

We bring results from our integrated science program to bear through an education and science delivery approach involving partner-driven engagement in conservation planning. With science, we are informing critical decisions being made today that will have lasting influences into the future.

Klamath Bird Observatory Science-based Conservation:
Local, Regional, and International

Klamath Bird Observatory’s award-winning conservation model is applied at local, regional, and international scales.

3 scales

  1. We developed our model locally in the ruggedly beautiful and wildlife-rich Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of northern California and southern Oregon where we maintain intensive science and conservation planning efforts.
  2. We now provide scientific resources and decision support across the Pacific Northwest region through the Avian Knowledge Northwest node of the Avian Knowledge Network.
  3. Our intensive professional education and international capacity building programs expand our influence into Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean where we actively support partners who are applying our model through a network of locally driven programs aimed at protecting birds throughout their breeding, migration, and wintering ranges.

Klamath Bird Observatory Conservation Model Applied:
Restoration for Oak Woodland Birds and Their Habitats

Our work to advance oak woodland conservation provides a classic example of this model in action. Our science provides:

  1. A clear sign that oak woodland bird populations are in decline;
  2. Information about their habitat needs and the possible influence of climate change on their health and distribution; and
  3. Results that tell us what kind of management actions benefit these species.

Armed with this information we identify conservation priorities and projects to benefit oak related species in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America. We offer specific guidance for broad-scaled restoration of oak habitats in the Pacific Northwest. In northern California and southern Oregon we are partnering to design, fund, and evaluate specific restoration projects on public and private lands, ensuring on-the-ground benefits to birds. Our leadership in the Klamath-Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) cultivates partnerships that have resulted in over $6 million for on-the-ground restoration that is driven by our conservation planning approach. KSON oak conservation programs have been highlighted in the last two national State of the Birds reports and received the U.S. Department of Interior Partners in Conservation Award.

The Klamath Bird Observatory
Advancing bird and habitat conservation through
science, education, and partnerships

2013 State of the Birds Report: Bird Populations Depend on Private Lands

Written by KBO on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO History, KBO Partners, KBO Science, Press Room.

A new national report released today by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, and contributed to by local science-based non-profit Klamath Bird Observatory, highlights the considerable extent to which native bird populations in the United States depend on private lands. Significantly, the 2013 State of the Birds Report on Private Lands also demonstrates that conservation action on private lands is not just for the birds; landowners and the general public benefit from conservation actions that result in cleaner air and water and more resilient and productive landscapes.

 

Throughout our nation, some two million ranchers and farmers and about 10 million woodland owners look after 1.43 billion acres, or roughly 60% of the land area of the United States. These private lands support more than 300 forest-breeding bird species, and several grassland birds have more than 90% of their distribution on private lands. Waterfowl also depend heavily on private lands. Innovative conservation partnerships are changing the face of private lands conservation as private landowners see real benefits and neighbors follow suit through so-called “contagious conservation.” 

In our own backyard, Klamath Bird Observatory is partnering with Lomakatsi Restoration Project, US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and private landowners, and using birds to guide restoration on 2,000 acres of private oak woodlands in southern Oregon and northern California. This unique collaboration—the Central Umpqua-Mid Klamath Oak Conservation Project—received the 2012 Department of Interior Partners in Conservation Award and is restoring one of the West Coast’s most imperiled and biologically rich habitats, benefiting Oak Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker, and Black-throated Gray Warbler. (To learn more about oaks ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, download Klamath Bird Observatory and American Bird Conservancy’s Land Manager’s Guide to Bird Habitat and Populations in Oak Ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the supplemental guide that features species accounts.)

 

Klamath Bird Observatory advances bird and habitat conservation in the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion and beyond, and has contributed to the high-profile annual State of the Birds reports since the initial report in 2009. Klamath Bird Observatory believes that bird conservation is relevant to every American because the same landscapes that support diverse and abundant bird communities also provide vital services to humans.

 

John Alexander and Jaime Stephens from Klamath Bird Observatory, and Marko Bey from Lomakatsi Restoration Project, will discuss the 2013 State of the Birds Report on Private Lands on Jefferson Public Radio’s news and information program Jefferson Exchange on Wednesday, July 10th from 9:00am until 10:00am. Tune-in to learn more about what birds tell us about the state of the environment; how these local organizations are working with private landowners to provide benefits for landowners, wildlife, and society; and how America’s famous land ethic—articulated by Aldo Leopold—is being realized.

Access this Press Release in PDF Format by clicking here.  To listen to the Jefferson Exchange interview with John Alexander, Jaime Stephens, and Marko Bey by clicking here.