All-lands Approach to Forest Health
Wallowa Resources coordinates regional, community, and neighborhood partnerships that convene forest owners, workers, managers, agencies and diverse partners under a shared vision of restoring our forestland and watersheds across Northeastern Oregon.
Within each partnership, we seek to identify and implement local solutions to: reduce wildfire risk, increase landscape resilience, improve forest health, protect water quality, support sustainable forestry and natural resource jobs and livelihoods, and increase the public’s understanding of healthy forests and ecosystems.
To achieve these goals, our partnerships employ a blend of placed-based knowledge of those who have lived on and worked our landscapes with sound, best available science; a commitment to collaborative process; and a focus on innovative market solutions and learning together from on-the-ground implementation and experience. Working together is challenging and can be slow, but it works.
Public Forests
Private Forests
Providing leadership and support for the region-wide Northern Blues Forest Collaborative, working in partnership with the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. This collaborative is a group of diverse local stakeholders, helping the Forest Service design and implement projects that promote overall forest resilience, healthy local economies, and vibrant communities that depend on our forests.
A Northeast Oregon partnership working to strengthen the ecological and economic vitality of forests and communities. The partnership connects private forest landowners with the knowledge, skills and markets they need to manage their forests. The partnership aims to empower landowners to become more active land stewards, reducing wildfire risk, improving overall forest health, and protecting water quality across Wallowa, Baker, Union and Umatilla counties. For more information, contact Alyssa Cudmore, My Blue Mountains Woodland Partnership Coordinator, at alyssa@wallowaresources.org.
Firewise Communities
On Saturday, October 12, 2019, the Lostine Canyon neighborhood celebrated becoming NE Oregon’s first nationally recognized “Firewise” community - or a community of landowners coming together to take steps to reduce their collective wildfire risk.
Thanks to the efforts of many partners supporting the Lostine Community including, but not limited to Jerome Natural Resource Consultants, Creative Resource Solutions, Jenny Reinheardt (former Wallowa Community Wildfire Protection Plan Coordinator), Oregon Department of Forestry, Wallowa County Commissioners, Soil Water Conservation District, Lostine Fire Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wallowa Whitman National Forest, American Forest Foundation, My Blue Mountains Woodland Partnership, and Sinclair Brothers Tree Services.
The lion’s share of work was completed by the Lostine Canyon landowners, themselves. The community completed all the requirements to become a nationally recognized Firewise community, including: conducting an assessment of the wildfire risk situation in their community, establishing a landowner-run Firewise Committee, developing a two-year Action Plan to address their community’s specific wildfire risks, and engaging neighbors to voluntarily get involved in Firewise activities.
The Lostine landowners are setting a precedent. Communities of landowners and partners from across Wallowa County and NE Oregon are looking to learn from the path the Lostine Community has paved, and what they will continue to accomplish in the future. Matt Howard, Unit Forester for Oregon Department of Forestry underscored this, “For those of us in wildland firefighting, my hat is off to the folks living in the Lostine Canyon who stepped up to establish the first Firewise community in NE Oregon. We look forward to working with other communities in the County located in high risk areas to also become Firewise communities. It’s a great program that educates your community on how to become more resilient in the face of the increasing risk of wildfires.”
Osborne Panorama Exhibit
Art, history, and science come together in one exhibit that illustrates dramatic forest change across the northern Blue Mountains, how fire can help or harm, and the land management practices that can rebuild forest and community resiliency. The Osborne Panoramas often surprise the viewer, revealing a landscape that isn’t how they thought it should be. Side by side comparisons of 8-10 historical Osbornes with modern imagery reveal marked changes even in Wilderness Areas. 80-100 other photographs capturing specific subjects will be included in the exhbit.
East Moraine Campaign
Photo by: Leon Werdinger
After more than a decade of negotiations, the Wallowa Lake Moraines Partnership - a consortium comprised of Wallowa County, Wallowa Land Trust, Wallowa Resources, and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department - successfully purchased 1,791 acres of the East Moraine. Encompassing approximately 60% of this iconic ice-age landscape, the Partnership had one year to raise $6.6 million to complete the transaction. With this acquisition, a significant portion of the Wallowa Lake Moraines is now publicly owned. The East Moraine now serves as a unique model for local community ownership and stewardship for multiple uses, with sustainable forestry and rangeland management, recreation opportunities, and all the while protecting critical habitat.
We want your input on the management of the East Moraine Community Forest! Learn more here.
