118,847 Trees Planted in Oregon for Clean Water
More Trees Planted in the Pacific Northwest!
Trees destined for Oregon have finally been planted, and thanks to your support, One Tree Planted and our partners put 118,847 trees in the ground in more than 30 locations across the state!
Over the past 20 years, Oregon has suffered considerable deforestation from forest fires, logging operations, and industrial tree plantations. In fact, from 2000 to 2017, Oregon tree coverage loss outpaced its gain by 45%, amounting to nearly 1 million acres of forest during the last 17 years. Unfortunately, 2018 was a particularly bad year as the state experienced its most expensive wildfire season in history, raking up a more than $514 million firefighting bill.
This year, our partners conducted plantings in more than 30 different locations throughout the state to help restore significant sections of Oregon's forests - over 450 acres! They've planted white oak, black cottonwood, big leaf maple, douglas fir, dogwoods, and many other types of native tree species that will thrive on Oregon's hilly landscape.
One planting took place in the Willamette Valley, which is known for its wine country and is home to 70% of the state's population. Here, our partners planted trees to restore the valley's rare prairie and oak habitat.
By planting the trees in riparian zones, this project also serves to enhance chinook salmon and steelhead trout habitat. The shade from the trees' canopy will cool the river's water, giving the fish ideal conditions to lay their eggs. Later on, as the trees mature, woody debris like branches will fall and create areas of slower moving water. Slower currents make the salmon and trout's journey along the river much easier, ensuring hatchlings have a better chance of survival.
Other planting locations in Oregon focused on restoring forests vital for humans. Trees were planted in several places where they will improve water quality by filtering out pollutants from agricultural and industrial run-off; protecting the soil from erosion and stabilizing the river banks; and helping to retain ground water that eventually flows into city wells.
Oregonians recognized how important these trees are to them!
While many of the projects were far from cities and on difficult terrain only accessible by professional tree planters, other projects were happy to have volunteers come out and help get more trees in the ground even faster. Over the course of the planting season, the Oregon community rallied more than 1,000 tree planting volunteers!
Thank you to everyone who got out there and planted trees. And thank you to everyone else who supported this project through One Tree Planted. It could not have happened without you!
If you want to do more tree planting in Oregon, you're in luck! There are a lot more trees needed and we have several projects that support forests in Oregon and other areas around the world, so be sure to check them out.
by Joseph Coppolino
Organic Content Creator & Enviro-fabulist
×
