| Are Juniper trees loving Oregon to death? |
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Western juniper trees can live to be 1000 years or more
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Note: The following article by Arlene Whalen, Oregon Department of Forestry, will appear in the Winter 2005-06 issue of the department's Forest Log publication
To see the twisted, contorted shape of rugged old western juniper trees against the backdrop of a setting sun on a rocky hillside in central or eastern Oregon can be a reassuring sight in a seemingly barren landscape. These beacons have stood the test of changing seasons, changing climates and changing land use year after year, some living as old as 1,000 years or more. Today, however, these weathered grandfathers represent a very small proportion of the juniper found throughout the area—during the last 130 years, juniper trees have rapidly expanded at unprecedented rates.
"Forest Service inventory data from the mid 1930s indicates we had about 420,000 acres of juniper in eastern Oregon," said Tim Deboodt, Oregon State University Extension Agent. "Detailed survey work in the late 1990s estimates that figure is now closer to six million acres. That’s a ten or twelve-fold increase in 70 years—a tremendous rate of expansion."
The land central and eastern Oregon residents have come to know intimately is being transformed. The hilly, clean-shaven grazing lands - once a prominent feature of the landscape due to fire from natural occurrences and Native Americans - have sprouted beards of juniper, disrupting the balance of what was. Besides central Oregon, significant juniper stands are now expanding in Malheur, Baker, Union, Wheeler, Southern Gilliam, Sherman and Harney, Klamath and Lake Counties in Oregon.
Increased soil erosion, reduced soil water storage, disappearing forage and altered wildlife habitat are now putting juniper at center stage as researchers debate over how much their proliferation has impacted the land and way of life for local residents.
Private landowners in affected areas say the junipers are like thieves in the springtime. A study done in 1980 (Buckhouse and Mattison) documented that erosion during a 25-year storm event was ten times greater in juniper woodlands than in adjacent areas occupied by grasses and forbs. "We’re losing our soil base, said John Breese, a Prineville, OR landowner. "You don’t know how many tons (of soil) are washing down off the hillside until you see the grasses slowly dying out and sediment flowing into the streams."
But it’s not just soil disappearing. The Breese family says they witnessed a remarkable well recovery after they removed juniper from a hillside above a homestead that had been abandoned in 1948 because the well had gone dry. When the junipers slowly encroached upon the landscape, no one really put two and two together and recognized the impact they might be having on the watershed. "Forty years later, during a drought period in central Oregon, we started removing the juniper," said Lynne Breese. "During that time, an Oregon State University Range Department class was visiting to do some watershed work. They dug a pit in the area to examine the soil and found subsurface water flowing at 18" (deep,) and there were even earthworms. It was tremendously exciting to see the water back."
Unfortunately, correcting this situation is a little more complicated than just cutting down juniper trees—juniper is stubborn and difficult to eradicate. Landowners have learned, firsthand, how hard it fights back. Like many invasive species, young juvenile trees may readily resprout, growing even more vigorously after cutting or disturbance, and removal of larger trees may increase short-term fire hazards. Prescribed burning appears to be a good remedy, but timing of the burn and how it is done must be carefully considered to improve the chances that desirable vegetation remains unharmed.
The cost to burn the juniper when it is at the seedling/sapling stage is quite a bit less than doing a prescribed burn of mature woodland. However, if the fire is introduced too early (within the first five years after cutting), there is a risk that desirable understory and shrub species won’t survive and noxious weeds will move in instead. By letting downed trees and scattered slash lay for awhile to decompose, landowners help promote conditions favorable to establish and grow understory seedlings.
The biggest problem is knowing "when" to remove downed juniper trees and slash from the landscape. This creates a huge dilemma for landowners and forestry and range management advisors because juniper can also present an increased fire hazard if they are cut and not promptly removed. Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) foresters have seen, first-hand, what happens when fire enters an area of felled juniper that has been left to cure—the fire grows significantly and is more difficult to control. "These trees are loaded with highly volatile oils, and it is an issue that needs to be talked about when we are developing fire plans to address defensible space and fire-safe landscapes," said Deboodt.
Breese adds, "And, unfortunately, with the population surge in central Oregon, we have people moving in that appreciate the junipers for the privacy and screening they provide. They aren’t necessarily thinking about impacts to watersheds or susceptibility to fire."
Gordon Foster, ODF Unit Forester, Prineville, stresses the fire hazard in felled juniper is highest when the foliage is red. "But, even after the foliage has dropped, juniper can contribute to higher fire intensity for many years." He encourages private landowners to contact ODF foresters to discuss various juniper management treatments, such as mechanical removal or prescribed burning. Breese feels it’s especially important for landowners to get guidance from foresters, Extension Service personnel or public rangeland managers to prevent the likelihood they might be liable for causing an "additional fire hazard" on the ground. Should this happen, landowners deemed negligent relative to the additional fire hazard they create are responsible for paying costs to suppress fire. (Juniper harvesting units larger than 120 acres are regulated by the Oregon Forest Practices Act, and lands within a Forest Protection District require a permit to cut juniper and burn slash, which may include a burning permit and/or a power-driven machinery permit. In addition, smoke management requirements may apply.)
Deboodt emphasizes that it’s really important to assess what the goals and objectives are for a particular piece of ground before juniper work is done. "For example, if increasing forage production is the goal, it might be better to address north slopes," said Deboodt. "If reducing soil erosion is paramount, it might be better to focus on south slopes. According to Foster, landowners should consider maintenance, too, prior to removing juniper to ensure long-term success.
And, on a larger scale, Breese emphasizes that folks need to be talking together more to figure out what’s best for the land and the people who depend upon it. "There seems to be a huge leap from forestry to rangeland, and the two don’t talk enough. Forestry needs to see more than just the trees, and rangeland needs to see more than just the range. We have to look at the big picture, beyond tomorrow and into future generations…or we could be jeopardizing our watersheds."
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| Juniper restoration projects |
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Tim Deboodt, OSU Extension Agent
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The changing focus of juniper restoration projects. The restoration emphasis of juniper removal projects has changed over time to reflect increasing knowledge. Initial restoration projects focused on improving wildlife habitat. In the 1960s, anchor chains were dragged behind equipment to pull and rip juniper trees from the ground. Next, grass and shrub seeds were broadcast onto the soil, and then another pass of the chain at a 90 degree angle to the first pass completed the operation. Sometimes "Ely" chains were used, chains that had short sections of by railroad rail welded to them. This helped increase soil disturbance and improved seeding success.
By the 1970s, people realized that juniper control was actually reducing soil erosion into the creeks; therefore, soil erosion became the primary emphasis and chainsaws became the widespread western juniper control tool. Soon after was the realization that there was now less sediment in the streams and flow patterns were changing. Flows were not only longer in duration, but had increased capacity. Springs flowed where none had been recorded before and seasonal wet spots became obvious. Not surprisingly, this changed the focus to watersheds in the 1980s.
By the 1990s, landowners and researchers were working to keep water in the soil in the uplands so that it would spur beneficial plant growth and restore ground water. This, in turn, would slowly release water back into the streams for downstream use. The management mantra of "Capture, Storage and Safe Release of Water" for watershed management was coined: capture water where it falls and reduce overland flow by increasing density of herbaceous plants and vegetation, encourage water’s infiltration into the soil for plant growth and ground water recharge, and release the water safely through ground water recharge of streams, as opposed to the swift release of overland flow. During this time, the use of prescribed fire for juniper control increased.
Today, we’ve come full circle. Researchers are once again considering the effects of juniper on wildlife. Sage grouse, for instance, could potentially become a listed species because of the proliferation of juniper. In Central Oregon, juniper has reduced sagebrush, an important sage grouse habitat. As juniper grows, it kills its host plant, which is almost always sagebrush. Juniper also removes deep-rooted forbs from the landscape, a source of food for the grouse, and birds of prey use juniper trees as perches to search for sagegrouse.
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| The role of fire and juniper |
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Fire historically kept juniper in check. It was fire that kept juniper spread in check on shrub-grassland in the Intermountain West prior to European settlement. Fire is a natural occurrence on rangelands, and Native Americans used fire to manipulate wildlife habitats. When the settlers arrived, the lands were heavily grazed by livestock. This reduced the fine fuel accumulations that played a significant role in decreasing the potential for fire. Researchers believe these reduced fire occurrences, in combination with optimal climactic conditions that promoted conifer growth, were probably the two dominant factors responsible for western juniper expansion. (1) From 1850 to 1916, winters became milder and precipitation increased, as was evidenced from the annual tree ring growth of juniper on several eastern Oregon sites.
Some research also suggests that rising levels of industrially-produced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are aiding the increase of woody species throughout the west and accelerating tree canopy expansion and juniper establishment in some areas. Higher levels of carbon dioxide may be compensating for drought conditions by increasing junipers’ ability to use water more efficiently.
1. Biology, Ecology and Management of Western Juniper, Technical Bulletin 152, June 2005, Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
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| What to DO with that juniper? |
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John Breese stands next to a deck of juniper logs
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To date, the majority of western juniper that’s been harvested over the years has been used for fence posts and firewood, or just burned in place. However, paneling, furniture and specialty products, such as mantelpieces and shavings for animal bedding, have also been crafted. For a number of years, juniper was also commonly used as a source of fuel for power generation. This use has diminished considerably, in part, because laws have been implemented to regulate alternative power purchases.
Ways of realizing profitable returns from the commercial harvesting of juniper are badly needed. Because the wood is small and considered of low mill quality, harvesting costs are high. Transporting the wood to distant mill facilities adds additional expense for landowners. Much of the juniper is also located on rugged slope and ground conditions absent of nearby roadways that make it difficult to access. Once juniper is cut, markets are limited, so most commercial operations are small in scale (rarely exceeding 40 acres).
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| Learn more . . . |
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To learn more about juniper trees visit http://juniper.oregonstate.edu/index.php
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