Local Foods, Local Farms

The Southern Oregon Land Conservancy is dedicated to protecting traditional livelihoods like farming, ranching, and timber production.  That’s because a strong economy and conserved lands go hand-in-hand.  Without careful and strategic conservation, we would not have locally grown food and other agricultural products.  That’s why we’ve made it a priority to protect agricultural lands and working forests in Southern Oregon.

Agricultural Lands
Rogue Valley agriculture remains a fundamental part of our region’s economy and significantly contributes to the scenic character and quality of life important to communities. Orchards and vegetable farms occupy much of the prime irrigated farmland in the valley bottom. Increasingly, vineyards cover the low foothills and slopes around the bottomlands which are less suitable for field crops. Ranches operate on the irrigated pastures and in the oak woodlands and grasslands of the foothills. Small organic and truck farms and other specialty operations also abound in rural locations throughout the Rogue Valley.

However, land that can support these agricultural activities is very limited in Southern Oregon. Much of this land is located in the valley bottoms and adjacent low country along the Rogue, Applegate, and Illinois Rivers, and their larger tributaries. These lands represent a small percent of the total land area of the Rogue Basin, yet they are the same areas where population growth and development is occurring. For example, the Bear Creek Valley, which includes the cities of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Central Point, and Jacksonville, contains one the most extensive areas of
valuable agricultural soils in southwest Oregon, as well as the largest and fastest growing population.

Working Forests
Responsibly managed working forests provide benefit to the public and for the environment through a sustainable supply of wood products, jobs for rural communities, diverse vegetation, wildlife habitat, as well as clean air and water. Private timber companies own many acres of land in the counties with smaller parcels owned by individuals and family partnerships.

Some privately owned forestlands are managed primarily for the inherent economic values that they offer—especially production of forest products such as logs, lumber and other products that support the forest industry. However, private forestlands are increasingly being managed to retain, protect and promote both economic and ecologic values. Most often occurring on non-industrial private small woodland parcels, these types of forestlands have come to be known as working forests.

Goals for working forests often include managing for older larger trees of long-lived species. Goals may also include creation or enhancement of special habitats for a variety of plant and animal species. Healthy forests across landscapes have a diversity of seral stages just as a healthy human population has a diversity of age classes.

Activities in working forests are carefully planned over time with basic guiding principles such as:

• focusing on what will remain (or be created) in the forest after an activity rather than what will be removed;
• maintaining the productive capacity of soils;
• using systems that replicate natural disturbances, such as fire, wherever possible;
• encouraging diversity and growth of species that might naturally occur on that particular site;
• avoiding fragmentation of plant and animal habitat (often caused by roads and large clearcuts); and
• evaluating the site as part of a larger ecosystem with respect to adjacent lands and sensitive areas such as riparian areas.

Conservation goals across landscapes can only be met with the engaged participation of private forest ownerships Common activities in working forests include removing small diameter trees and selected brush to reduce fire danger and enhance growth of preferred species, low intensity underburning through carefully prescribed fires, pruning branches of remaining trees, as well as careful selection of commercially viable trees to be removed within the context of broader more ecologically appropriate goals and objectives.

In the words of ecologist Tom Atzet, “Managing forested ecosystems relies on science and art with a healthy dose of humility.”

Home Page Photo Credit: Thomas Kirchen Photography