NPSO 2022 Annual Meeting

May 20 - 22     Spirit Mountain Lodge, Grand Ronde, Oregon

Field Trips

Saturday May 21, 2022    9 a.m. - 4 p.m.                    Field Trip # 21

Difficulty:     Easy to moderate - Ground is uneven but relatively flat.

Elevation:     Minimal

Group Size Limit:     24

Trip Description:     The Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) Plants for People project aims to make culturally important plant species available for restoration projects. In the morning, we will tour the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde (CTGR) native plant nursery and will hike a short trail where these plants are established. In the afternoon, we will visit Champoeg State Heritage Area to tour a prairie under restoration.

The CTGR Nursery is producing species for restoration as well as community engagement. As part of the Plants for People project, raised beds and shrub cutting beds were constructed in 2014. Raised beds are growing large camas (Camassia leichtlinii), Gairdner's yampah (Perideridia gairdneri), crown brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria), narrowleaf onion (Allium amplectens), and barestem biscuitroot (Lomatium nudicaule). Two beds are used to propagate native shrub species, such as Pacific willow (Salix lasiandra var. lasiandra), red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea), and Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus). Other natives grown in pots in the greenhouse include Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasi) and Indian tobacco (Nicotiana quadrivalvis).

The 45-acre Champoeg Prairie is part of the State Heritage Area, a 622-acre property along the Willamette River. Historically, the area was important for trade, gathering, and food harvesting for local tribes. The Prairie is a former agricultural field being restored to native wet and upland prairie. It was seeded in 2007 with native grasses: tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus), Roemer's fescue (Festuca roemeri), California brome (Bromus carinatus), and California oatgrass (Danthonia californica). In 2017, a prescribed burn prepared the ground for seeding and planting with native forbs, grasses, and sedges, many of which bloomed the following year. In fall 2018, camas and yampah grown at the CTGR nursery were planted in the Prairie as part of a cultural event. Eventually, they will be harvested by local tribes.

Appropriate Clothing and Footwear:     Sturdy walking shoes, hiking poles optional.

Special Considerations:     $5 day use parking fee or 12-month parking permit required for Champoeg State Heritage Area

Meeting Place and Time:     Trip # 21 leaves at 9 a.m. from Spirit Mountain Lodge entrance. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before departure time to meet your group and arrange carpools.

Alternate Meeting:     Participants may also meet the trip at 12:30 p.m at Oak Grove Day Use area, Champoeg State Heritage Area, 8239 Champoeg Road NE, St. Paul, Oregon. If you choose this option, be sure to notify your trip leader in advance.

Driving Miles and Time from Spirit Mountain Lodge:     2.7 miles, 5 minutes to CTGR Nursery; 42 miles, 49 minutes from CTGR Nursery to Champoeg State Heritage Area

Driving Directions:     Trip leaders will provide detailed driving instructions.

Leaders:       Jeremy Ojua, Peter Moore, Andy Neill

Nursery: Jeremy Ojua, nursery manager, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

Champoeg: Peter Moore, restoration ecologist, Institute for Applied Ecology. Andy Neill, restoration ecologist, Institute for Applied Ecology.

Plant Lists and Other Information:     Clink on the links below for more information about this trip.

Photo: Kareen Sturgeon
At the CTGR nursery, native plants are grown in beds and pots.

Photo: Jeremy Ouja
Elegant brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans) is grown at the Tribal nursery.

Photo: Peter Moore, Institute of Applied Ecology
Common camas (Camassia quamash) growing at the nursery run by Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde

Map of Champoeg State Heritage Area

Photo: Institute for Applied Ecology
Tribal members roast common camas bulbs (Camassia quamash) the traditional way at Champoeg State Heritage Area.