Habitat restoration is at the core of much of the work we do, whether in a forest, an urban garden, along a stream, or on a farm. In both urban and rural areas, the District works with landowners to control invasive species, integrate native plants into the landscape, enhance wildlife habitat, improve biodiversity in the soil, and plan and implement conservation projects.
The District pays particular attention to protecting, enhancing and expanding regionally significant habitats such as riparian, oak woodlands and savanna, meadow, wet prairie, upland forest and other wetlands and ponds.
Our habitat restoration efforts occur on urban and rural lands and includes the following programs and focus areas:
Native white oak woodlands and savanna, Healthy Streams, forest management, Planting for Pollinators, urban Meadowscaping, Stormwater Demonstration Projects, Moorages & Marinas, and restoration of privately-owned natural areas, including wetlands.
We are currently working on a large habitat restoration project on the north end of Sauvie Island, the Sturgeon Lake Restoration Project, as well as at a 120 acre conservation easement site along Multnomah Channel.
In partnership with Sauvie Island Habitat Partnership, Scappoose Bay Watershed Council, and Wetlands Conservancy, in September 2018, we created the following publication: Sauvie Island & Multnomah Channel Bottomlands Conservation Opportunities: A Resource for Landowners & Land Managers. The document is the culmination of years of research and is meant to inspire and inform the future management and appreciation of natural resources, habitat and wildlife in this unique area of the Northwest. It offers a natural history of the area and catalogs known plant and wildlife species; summarizes soils, hydrology, plant communities, invasive species, other natural resources, and land uses; and includes maps of land ownership, vegetation cover, conservation projects, soils, hydrology, historic habitats and Oregon white oak presence. It also describes conservation efforts to date and outlines conservation opportunities for the future, such as for pollinators, water quality, community science, and invasive weed control — in oak habitat, riparian areas along canals and other wetlands, meadows and grasslands, hedgerows and on cropland — for soil health and biodiversity. To request a hard copy, contact Renee Magyar at renee@wmswcd.org or (503) 238-4775.
