Wasco County
Request: $50,000
This summer the Grasshopper Fire burned through more than 90,000 acres of habitat in Wasco County, including a nearly 2,000-acre conservation property, “Mt. Hood Oaks,” that provides critical wildlife habitat and recreational connectivity. The burn presents both a challenge and opportunity requiring an urgent response. Without action, non-native annual grasses will proliferate, outcompeting trees and native vegetation, decreasing biodiversity, and permanently altering fire cycles. Planting bareroot seedlings and seeding native perennial bunchgrasses and forbs immediately (this fall-winter) will increase the likelihood of native plant establishment by harnessing post fire nutrients and good seed-soil contact, while helping to secure soils against erosion. Funds will directly support the tree planting component of this fire recovery effort, uplifting ecosystem health, resources for wildlife, and wildfire resilience.
