Learn more about the Backyard Habitat Certification Program and how you can create your own habitat.

Drive down a steep hill in a residential west Portland neighborhood, and one yard stands out among the rest. 

Instead of an expanse of lawn, this yard is filled with native flowers, shrubs, grasses, and trees. During a short visit this spring, a pair of mourning doves made an appearance, a hawk swept by overhead, and a hummingbird stopped to feed on red columbine in bloom. 

Much of the vision behind this patch of habitat comes from 15-year-old Summer Torres. What inspired a teenager to look at her family’s suburban yard and envision the native ecosystem it could be? 

For Summer, it began after noticing a Backyard Habitat Certification Program sign. She had an existing interest in nature, and learning about the program’s mission to create and expand urban and suburban habitats, and native ecosystems led to a growing curiosity about the plants around her. 

“I saw a sign, learned about the program, and realized that I could have habitat in my backyard. And more birds and bugs would visit me,” she said. Eventually, the universe provided an opportunity for Summer to put her dreams into action. A tree began leaning precariously towards their house, and after having it safely removed, as well as some nearby bushes, the family found themselves with a blank slate. 

Summer’s father, Brian Torres, had a vision for a yard that was natural and low-maintenance, which aligned with Summer’s native habitat dreams. They met with Becky Gross from Nuthatch Garden Design and began working on a plan to fill their newly cleared yard with native plants.  

Once they had a general landscape design plan in place, Summer began thinking about which plant species she wanted to incorporate. She found inspiration in many places, like orange honeysuckle growing at her school and oceanspray she spotted on a hike. Red flowing currant is one of her favorite native plants. “The blooms are so bright red,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it was something that grows in the wilderness.” 

As the transformation progressed, the family officially enrolled in the Backyard Habitat Program. When the technician came for their initial assessment, it was clear that Summer had done her homework, and they earned Silver certification on the spot.  

Native plants now happily growing in their yard include Western red columbine, Oregon stonecrop, camas, pearly everlasting, salal, sword fern, oceanspray, evergreen huckleberry, Douglas spirea, and others. 

“This program and the process connects you to this environment in a way that it’s hard to do otherwise,” said Summer. 

The Torres family’s yard sits near a creek and a powerline corridor used by wildlife, and the family has seen a variety of species utilizing their greenspace.  

For Summer, the overall goal is much larger and more important than reaching a certification level. 

“We as humans have become disconnected in a way from the land,” she said. “Having this [native garden] feels like a way to give back. I can be a part of the environment rather than just living in it.” 

The program and connection have also shaped the way Brian sees the yard, and his daughter. “Summer led this process,” he said. “She taught me about native plants and the importance of providing backyard habitats for wildlife. I’m very happy and proud.” 

The Torres family’s native plant garden is just one of more than 14,000 participating yards across the Portland-Vancouver metro area that are helping connect small urban wildlife habitats with larger conserved lands. 

The Backyard Habitat Certification Program supports urban and suburban residents who want to restore native wildlife habitat, manage stormwater, and garden sustainably in their yards and community spaces. Through the program, participants can access technical assistance, resources, incentives, and recognition as they work toward those goals. 

“As a young person, I hear a lot about climate change as a big, unstoppable force that’s going to ruin our future,” said Summer. “But there are ways we can make a difference individually. Sharing the Backyard Habitat program and the benefits of native plants and wildlife habitat with others is really nice because it feels like I’m a connecting force in a web of people that are all trying to help the world.” 

Summer has become increasingly involved with the native plant community, visiting local plant sales, talking with other gardeners, and chatting with people who stop to look at their Backyard Habitat sign and encouraging them to enroll. And this is just the beginning! 

Summer hopes to become a landscape architect, carrying what she’s learned in this little corner of Portland into whatever outdoor spaces she helps shape next.

The Backyard Habitat Certification Program is co-managed by Columbia Land Trust and Bird Alliance of Oregon. To enroll and learn more, please visit https://backyardhabitats.org/.

The post From Lawn to Backyard Habitat appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

Two new side channels will improve fish habitat in the Hood River, thanks to a recent restoration project led by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and the Hood River Watershed Group. Columbia Land Trust has cared for this section of the river within our Powerdale property since 2013, following the removal of the Powerdale Dam in 2010. For years, we’ve been preparing with our partners to restore fish habitat at this site, which is located just below the former dam location and three miles up the Hood River from its confluence with the Columbia River. 

The Hood River is home to an incredible diversity of fish species due to its location, fed by the glaciers of Mt. Hood and flowing into the Columbia River at the transition point between the east and west sides of the Cascade Range. Spring and fall Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, summer and winter steelhead, resident rainbow trout, sea-run and resident cutthroat trout, bull trout, Pacific lamprey, and many other resident fish species rely on this river. All the threatened fish species in the Hood River use or pass through the project reach at least once in their lifespan, making this a critical area for habitat restoration. 

Completed over about eight weeks of construction in July and August, the project created a new perennial side channel that adds about 1/3 of a mile of fish habitat, as well as a new 2,400-foot seasonal channel that will activate during high flows. Together, the excavation of these new channels required moving about 11,000 cubic yards of materials. 

The new perennial side channel is about 25 feet wide at its base for most of its length. Salvaged boulders and wood structures were placed strategically to create pooling areas, reconnect the river with its historic floodplain, and provide important habitat features for salmon and steelhead at multiple life stages. Just upriver, the secondary channel will only fill during high-water events. This feature will slow down floodwaters by spreading the river across more of the historic floodplain. This benefits smaller fish like juvenile salmon and steelhead that would be flushed downstream by strong flows. 

This seasonal channel connects to the top of the new perennial channel, and together they flow 1/3 of a mile downstream before flowing into previously scoured channels and rejoining the mainstem. 

Two inlets were excavated to connect the river to the new perennial side channel. Two large wood structures anchored with boulders were constructed adjacent to the main riverbank, one on the downstream side of each inlet. These structures help direct a portion of the river’s flow into the side channel entrances and were designed to look and function like the natural log jams found on the upstream ends of nearby islands in the Hood River. The root wads that stick out from these structures provide cover for fish and help create deep pools where fish can hide from predators. “There is intention behind both the placement and the material of these structures,” said Javan Bailey, Project Manager for the Hood River Watershed Group.  

The project was engineered by local river restoration firm, Inter-Fluve, Inc. and Aquatic Contracting implemented the design. The challenge was balancing the need to slow down and spread out the river’s flow across the floodplain while ensuring that the Hood River’s glacially-fed, silt and sand-laden waters won’t slow down too much, which would cause the river’s sediment load to drop out and fill the channel that was just created.  

“Opportunities to pursue floodplain restoration like we’ve accomplished in this project are limited in the Hood River watershed,” said Matt Steinwurtzel, Fisheries Habitat Biologist and Hood River Restoration Project Manager with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. “The River Mile 3 project exemplifies the great work that partners in the basin can accomplish when working together on behalf of fisheries. Because this project is located within the lower mainstem Hood River, these actions will benefit virtually all aquatic species that depend on the health of the watershed. The Hood River lies within the ceded lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. Through these efforts, not only are we addressing the key limiting factors to the recovery of winter steelhead, summer steelhead, and Spring Chinook salmon populations, but we are also ensuring that spring Chinook harvest opportunities remain available for Tribal members now and into the future.”  

The lower section of the Hood River, including the River Mile 3 project site, has been impacted by hydropower development since at least 1923 when the Powerdale Dam and the accompanying pipeline were built. In addition to the dam itself, the development of roads, levees to protect the pipeline from flooding, and nearby railroads and bridges all confined the river to a single main channel, cutting it off from most of its former floodplain and side channels. This simplified the available aquatic habitat and removed fish-friendly features like gravel beds for spawning, slow-moving side channels where fish can escape strong flows, and deep, protected pools that provide cover from predators. The goal of the restoration work here is to restore those habitat features to this section. 

“This project elevates Columbia Land Trust’s 13 years of site restoration and stewardship at River Mile 3 to the next level,” said Land Trust Conservation Easement Manager Kate Conley. “A decade ago, we completed an initial phase of floodplain reconnection here and now, thanks to our partners at the Hood River Watershed Group and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, we – and the fish! –  will see the benefits of year-round flow through this historic floodplain. I can’t wait to see what these channels look like when water levels rise this winter.” 

The end of construction is really only the beginning, as Columbia Land Trust will continue to steward this site, and there are years of re-vegetation, weed control, and monitoring ahead. “That is the challenge and the joy of this work,” said Conley. “Our job is never done, but sticking around for the long term means we get to witness improvements that nature makes over time after restoration gives the river more room to move.” 

The post Hood River Mile Three Restoration appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

Columbia Land Trust participates in Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s “Hunt By Reservation” program, which provides hunters with managed access to our conserved lands, such as Kerry Island in the lower Columbia River. As a way to give back to the Land Trust for participating in this program, ODFW is organizing a volunteer stewardship event at Kerry Island on Saturday, August 29^th. 

ODFW will work with volunteers and the Land Trust’s Coast Stewardship team to improve site access and habitat through removal of encroaching vegetation. Gloves, tools, water, snacks, and lunch will be provided. This is a great chance to meet other local hunters while caring for a site with great importance for wildlife including juvenile salmon, Columbia white tailed deer, and more

Date: Saturday, August 29^th, 2026 
Time: 8am – 12pm; late arrival is okay. 
Where: Kerry Island is located in Clatsop County, across the road from 10911 Carver Rd, Clatskanie, OR.
Lunch will be provided!

Visit this ODFW form to register by August 27th, and select Kerry Island for the event location (in the RESTORE category). Please contact events@columbialandtrust.org with any questions.

The post Kerry Island Volunteer Day with ODFW 8/29 appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

For the entirety of Columbia Land Trust’s more than 35-year history, the organization has worked closely with local governments to conserve nature close to home and improve access to nearby outdoor spaces. In the City of Camas, if you’ve ever walked the bustling Lacamas Heritage Trail or paddled at Fallen Leaf Lake you’ve enjoyed a park that Columbia Land Trust helped create! 

As part of this longstanding tradition of partnership, in June the Land Trust transferred a 13.5-acre parcel along the Lacamas Heritage Trail to the City of Camas, as the final step in the property’s conservation journey. The land buffers the beloved trail for nearly a half mile and provides the public with direct access to Lacamas Lake. The Land Trust acquired the parcel in 1999 under a formal agreement with the City of Camas stating that the Land Trust would hold the property on behalf of the city, and support with monitoring, until the city was ready to take ownership. For the next 27 years, Land Trust stewardship staff managed the property in cooperation with the city and Clark County to preserve its public access and natural values. The parcel has already been functioning as part of the popular Lacamas Heritage Trail corridor and now will continue to be maintained for open space, conservation, and recreation. 

The Lacamas Heritage Trail is a wide gravel trail, about 3.5 miles long in one direction (seven miles round trip). It runs from Goodwin Drive near Camas Meadows Golf Club to Lacamas Lake along the south and west side of the lake, offering scenic nature views and multiple points of water access. South of the trail sits Fallen Leaf Lake which Columbia Land Trust helped conserve and transferred to the City of Camas in 2025. The trail is also adjacent to 250-acre Camp Currie, which was one of Columbia Land Trust’s earliest conservation projects. 

The Lacamas Heritage Trail property was originally donated to the Land Trust for conservation by the late Tom Shipler, as part of his vision for a public trail along Lacamas Creek and the south shore of Lacamas Lake. Why did the Land Trust hold it for so long, you might be wondering? Existing conserved lands can often be used to leverage funding for new parks and open space. In this case, the City of Camas strategically deferred taking on ownership to maximize opportunities to obtain grant funding for other conservation projects. 

Founded in Clark County in 1990, Columbia Land Trust serves a diverse region that stretches from east of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, in both Oregon and Washington. To date the Land Trust has conserved about 1,800 acres in Clark County, including portions of beloved Clark County regional parks like Whipple Creek, Daybreak, and Lewisville. Fostering access to nature is a core part of our conservation mission, and projects like these in rapidly developing areas like Clark County work in tandem with our landscape-scale conservation work taking place in more remote areas of the Columbia River region. 

The post Our role in Lacamas Heritage Trail history appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

Wading through shin-deep water, a small team of scientists, volunteers, and Columbia Land Trust staff spread out across the wetlands of Columbia Stock Ranch in search of a rare plant.

Located in Columbia County, Oregon, the 900-acre site is home to a diverse mosaic of wetlands, forests, and open prairie habitats. Beneath the tall grasses, sedges, and shallow wetland waters, this group was searching for Water Howellia (Howellia aquatilis), a species so rare it was once thought to be extirpated from Oregon. Hidden among dense vegetation, the delicate aquatic plant is easy to overlook, making its discovery feel something like a treasure hunt.

One year after Water Howellia was first discovered on the property, Columbia Land Trust staff joined biologist Jason Clinch of Three Creeks Consulting and volunteers Rick Shory and Larissa Huson in a series of return visits to continue a botanical inventory funded by the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts (COLT).

Over three spring days, the team revisited known Water Howellia locations, surveyed areas that had not yet been inventoried, and set out to better understand the rare plant’s distribution and habitat preferences.

These surveys documented Water Howellia growing in several locations beyond where it was initially discovered in 2025. Observations suggest that the population likely includes thousands of individual plants.

“This is exciting because it tells us the population is more widespread than we initially realized,” said Jason.

The discovery of Water Howellia in the first place remains remarkable because the site doesn’t fit the image you might imagine when picturing rare plant habitat. “It’s a surprising location, not what I would consider traditional habitat for the species,” Jason explained.

Before a majority of the site was conserved by Columbia Land Trust in 2012, it was diked and managed as cattle pasture and hay fields. Much of the site lies within the Columbia River floodplain, and today the property includes a rich mosaic of wetlands, forests, prairie habitats, and seasonal grazing areas that support a growing diversity of wildlife and native plants.

Also surprising was the abundance of Water Howellia blooming among dense stands of reed canarygrass, an aggressive non-native species that Land Trust stewardship staff are actively working to control.

Along with the location and abundance of Water Howellia, the survey team recorded associated plant species, water conditions, flowering activity, and seed capsule development to better understand the ecological conditions that support the species here. Numerous flowering plants and developing seed capsules were observed, evidence that the population is reproducing successfully and continuing its life cycle across the site. Data collected will help guide future stewardship decisions at the site and contribute to a broader understanding of one of Oregon’s rarest plants. “The more we know about our properties, the better we can care for them,” said Columbia Land Trust Coast Region Stewardship Manager Austin Tomlinson.

You might have rare plants, but you’re not going to know unless someone goes out and looks for them.”
-Jason Clinch, Three Creeks Consulting

These plant inventories also help fill an important knowledge gap for Columbia County, Oregon, where much of the landscape is privately owned and relatively little botanical survey work has been conducted. Survey data collected through the project is shared with organizations including the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC), Oregon Flora, and other researchers working to better understand plant communities across the state.

As part of this year’s effort, the team collected Water Howellia specimens for preservation at the Oregon State University and Portland State University Herbarium. These samples will help researchers study the species and provide future botanists with valuable records from one of Oregon’s few known current populations.

“They only have a handful of collections, and most of them are 100 years old or more,” said Jason.

This ongoing botanical inventory work was made possible through funding from the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts with support from longtime conservation advocate Jane Hartline. In a fitting twist, Water Howellia was first documented by botanists on Sauvie Island in 1878—the same island where Jane’s native plant nursery operates today.

For Columbia Land Trust, the discovery of Water Howellia at Columbia Stock Ranch serves as both a conservation success story and reminder that nature still has surprises to offer. Last year’s discovery showed us that this rare species had found a foothold in an unexpected place. This year’s surveys suggest that Water Howellia may be more resilient than anyone realized.

The post Rediscovery of Water Howellia: Part II appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

“Behrens Woods may only be 2.34 acres, but this small forest plays an important role in the community,” said Hailey Heath, the City of Vancouver Volunteer Coordinator. “This site is a beautiful example of a Douglas-fir and western hemlock forest, an ecosystem that once covered much of the land west of the Cascades. Healthy urban forests like this are increasingly rare, which makes places like Behrens Woods especially valuable.” 

Since 2022, dedicated neighborhood stewards have coordinated volunteer work parties twice a month. Together they have contributed nearly 2,500 hours working towards Backyard Habitat certification. Certification is achieved by conserving or planting native species, removing noxious species, implementing wildlife stewardship and stormwater management measures, and reducing or eliminating pesticides. So far Behrens Woods volunteers have planted more than 330 native plants, and removed over 325 cubic yards of non-native species that crowd out important natives. Beneath an overstory of Douglas fir, big leaf maple, Oregon ash, and Western red cedar, the park is home to smaller native tree species including vine maple and cascara, tall shrubs such as osoberry and tall Oregon grape, small shrubs such as Cascade Oregon grape and snowberry, and groundcovers like fringecup, inside-out flower, and trillium. 

One of the volunteer stewards leading the restoration effort is Karen Garmine, who works alongside her husband, Fred, to help transform the forest. “Behrens Woods is a great model for what can be done,” said Karen. “Every single tree used to be covered in ivy. The transformation is remarkable, and the park really healed itself. Once the non-native plants were out of the way, the native species came back on their own for the most part.” 

The Backyard Habitat Certification Program is co-managed by Columbia Land Trust and Bird Alliance of Oregon, and in addition to residential yards, the program certifies public community spaces, including parks, natural areas, schoolyards, places of worship, and apartment complexes. Certification criteria are slightly different for these public ‘demonstration sites’, which foster access to nature and inspire visitors by providing accessible examples of naturescaping. At Behrens Woods, there are interpretive plant identification signs and compacted gravel paths that meet U.S. Forest Service Trail Accessibility standards. 

In December 2024, Behrens Woods achieved Backyard Habitat’s Silver certification. Then in June 2026, with a final push from Columbia Land Trust staff ,the park reached Gold certification. And it doesn’t stop there, community stewards and city staff are excited to keep working towards Platinum certification for the entire park! 

The City of Vancouver’s Naturespaces program has been instrumental in supporting the restoration here. “Behrens Woods became part of the city’s Naturespaces program because of its value to nearby residents,” said Hailey, explaining how the park improves air quality and cools temperatures near Highway 14, and provides access to nature close to multifamily housing. Across Vancouver, the goal of Naturespaces is to build environmental stewardship and community engagement, while fostering healthier ecosystems, healthier neighborhoods, and stronger connections between people and nature. 

The post Behrens Woods Goes Gold appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

The beloved Backyard Habitat Certification Program began as a small pilot project in May 2006, founded in southwest Portland by a collaboration of agency, nonprofit, and municipal supporters. In the first year and a half, just over 40 participants enrolled in the program.

The current structure of co-management by Columbia Land Trust and Bird Alliance of Oregon took shape in 2009 and since then, the program has expanded into the urban/suburban areas of Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties in Oregon, and Clark County in Washington.

Yard by yard, we’ve grown a powerful grassroots movement, (except we’re replacing lawns with native plants!) Today more than 14,000 participants are enrolled in the Backyard Habitat program. That large scale matters and is critical to the program’s success, demonstrating the far-reaching positive change when individuals collectively make small, positive changes. The more yards that participate, the more easily birds and pollinators can move throughout the region to find food and shelter, the more water is conserved, and the more native trees and shrubs there are shading and cooling our communities.

“Having a real live human come see my garden and discuss realistic plans, options, and habitat needs was incredibly helpful. It also built my confidence as a new gardener to have an experienced gardener educate, encourage, and guide me.”

-Kiley M.

“So much in our world feels out of my control, so when I realized I can control and make a positive difference on my little plot of land, it was freeing. Once you start naturescaping it’s inspiring to see the tangible difference you are making.”

-Anonymous

Collectively, these greenspaces also create links to larger conserved lands, like those that Columbia Land Trust protects and cares for from the Pacific Coast to the East Cascades. Together, we’re building corridors for wildlife and strengthening ecosystems across the region. We’re also generating local economic activity and building community by encouraging people to spend time outdoors and get to know their neighbors.

Every participant’s naturescaping journey is different and special. Some begin with a nearly blank canvas while others spend years removing ecologically harmful plants to clear space for native plants to thrive. Some thoughtfully tend to a mason bee colony of super pollinators, while others construct catios rivaling luxury apartments in design and sophistication.

Portland-Vancouver metro area communities benefit from increased air and water quality, reduced heat stress, energy savings, and the beauty and peace of additional greenspaces, including those at community sites like schools and places of worship.

“The success of the Backyard Habitat program is due to its strong partnerships and community-focused approach,” said program co-manager Katherine Noble. “The program harnesses folks’ individual passions for plants, birds, pollinators, etc. and transforms that enthusiasm into tangible actions, sending ripple effects through their neighborhood and beyond. We often hear how the meaningful changes participants witness in their own greenspaces inspire them to engage with conservation actions more broadly, and how the program offers a sense of hope for the future we are building together.” Cheers to the next 20 years of Backyard Habitat!

“We are so grateful for this beautiful community. We learned valuable insight at our site visit, by visiting open gardens, from all the resources, and from partner nurseries like Sparrowhawk. Our garden has brought us such peace through the storms of life and we have this community to thank for it.”

-Emily K.

BACKYARD HABITAT BY THE NUMBERS

14,500 households enrolled

3,800 acres enrolled

4,500 certified yards

420,000+ native plants planted

35,000+ actions taken to manage stormwater (restoring soils, caring for large canopy trees, installing raingardens, removing impervious surfaces, conserving water)

26,000+ actions taken to improve wildlife habitat (planting pollinator meadows, installing bird and bat nest boxes, incorporating snags and nurse logs, wildlife water features, keeping cats indoors)

549 metric tons of carbon sequestered and

11.2 million captured gallons of water per year estimated, according to a 2024 study

The post It’s All Connected appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

2025 was an exciting year at Columbia Stock Ranch, a 900-acre site in Columbia County, Oregon. Thanks to financial support from the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, we conducted a complete botanical inventory of a large portion of the property that tallied 259 species of vascular plants. The survey led to the surprising discovery of a robust population of Water Howellia (Howellia aquatilis). This rare species was once thought to be extirpated from Oregon, and the discovery was even more surprising given that the plant was growing in a minor, disturbed swale.

Much of Columbia Stock Ranch is located within the Columbia River floodplain. Prior to being conserved by the Land Trust, it was diked and used as cattle pasture and hay fields. Over the last 12 years it has been grazed seasonally as a temporary strategy to manage vegetation while restoring habitat for Columbian white-tailed deer. 

Jason Clinch of Three Creeks Consulting led the botanical survey team, which included expert volunteers Rick Shory and Deanna Michinski (who was the first to find the Water Howellia).“I remember getting a call from Jason, he was nearly speechless with excitement,” recalled Land Trust Natural Area Manager Austin Tomlinson. “I’m not surprised a rare plant like Water Howellia was found at Columbia Stock Ranch, it’s a really special place!” 

The Discovery 
by Jason Clinch

“Is this Water Howellia,” Deanna asked, holding up stringy bits of pondweed that she had pulled from a mucky pool of water in the middle of a cattle pasture. It was an unusually warm day in late May, and most of the vegetation nearby was non-native grasses with some sedges and rushes mixed in. Water Howellia was not a species we anticipated finding. 

With the scientific name of Howellia aquatilis, one can surmise it inhabits ‘aquatic’ habitats. The genus, Howellia, is monotypic, meaning there is only one species within the genus, and was named after the brothers Thomas and Joseph Howell, early Oregon botanists who first “discovered” the plant on Sauvie Island in 1878. More collections of Water Howellia were made from Sauvie Island, Lake Oswego, and Salem, by different botanists over the next thirty years. Its habitat was generally described as “stagnant ponds in the timber”. Then nearly 75 years went by without it being seen, and it was thought to be extirpated from the state. 

“There’s no way,” I sputtered in response to Deanna’s question, even though my brain was saying “YES!” 

I had seen Water Howellia before, in vastly different habitats than where we were on this day. After it was “rediscovered” in 2013 at Metro’s Peach Cove Fen, I visited the natural area in West Linn. There, the fen occupies a depression within bedrock scoured out by the Missoula Floods. Fens are wetlands fed by groundwater and precipitation, and Peach Cove Fen has a floating peat mat that rises and falls with the water level. Water Howellia was generally found around the shaded, shallow edges of the fen and in nearby wetland ponds. Some describe these geologic features as “kolk ponds”; “kolk” meaning “underwater vortex created by water rushing rapidly by an obstacle”.

Filled with enamor for this plant, I volunteered to monitor the known population at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

At Columbia Stock Ranch, after settling into the realization that Deanna had indeed found this rare species, we celebrated and surveyed the rest of the wetland to document the full extent of the population. We found more Water Howellia co-mingling with other aquatic and emergent vegetation. 

Subsequent visits to Columbia Stock Ranch didn’t turn up additional Water Howellia, although more potential habitat is present. The warm, dry spell in late May and early June 2025 accelerated the growing season and dried things up quickly. Water in the wetland where we originally found the Water Howellia had dropped from a depth of about 16 inches to a scant few inches. 

As exciting as it was to discover a second known extant population in Oregon, the realization that Water Howellia may tolerate a broader category of habitats than just Missoula Flood-related kolks was equally interesting.

ABOUT WATER HOWELLIA
Plant Anatomy
Water Howellia is in the Bellflower family (campanulaceae) but lacks the broad bell-shaped flowers the family is named for. It more closely resembles species found in the Lobelioideae subfamily of Campanulaceae (formerly Lobeliaceae). Water Howellia has two types of flowers; submerged, cleistogamous (self-pollinating) flowers, and emergent, chasogamous (cross-pollinating) flowers. 

Vegetatively, Water Howellia is similar to other aquatic species it sometimes occurs with, particularly Potamogeton (pond weed) and Callitriche (water starwort) species. Its leaves are typically arranged alternately along the stem, arising from a fibrous root system. 

Habitat and Life Cycle
It usually floats in or on top of the water column. As water recedes, Water Howellia begins to decompose, making it harder to identify except for its distinguishing fruits. Eventually, even these disintegrate and release their tiny seeds. 

As an annual, Water Howellia seeds typically germinate in late fall or early winter on bare ground that will eventually become inundated. Seedlings over-winter underwater and mature into fertile plants by late spring as water warms and precipitation slows. Depending on weather conditions, and how fast the water recedes, Water Howellia can be found blooming generally in May and June, but sometimes as late as August. 

The post Rediscovery of Water Howellia, Part I appeared first on Columbia Land Trust.

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Imagine you are walking through a Northwest forest. Scattered sunlight breaks through the tree canopy high overhead, while a diverse and complex understory of native plants grows at ground level. There are snags and dead wood, standing and fallen, to provide habitat. You can hear bird calls, see a network of wildlife trails, and even spot a bear rub tree with clear signs of wear and tufts of fur caught on branches. This sort of older, diverse forest is what we are seeking to achieve with our land management.

Healthy forests benefit water quality, carbon sequestration, and climate and wildfire resilience. Columbia Land Trust is is working to conserve forestland at a meaningful scale to strengthen these vital ecological systems for generations to come.

“It is possible to nudge nature in the right direction,” said Columbia Land Trust Stewardship Director Ian Sinks. “You can change a timber plantation into a healthy forest using silviculture and modern machines. Intentionally harvesting trees on former timberland supports the local economy, increases growth of the remaining trees, releases oaks from conifer overtopping, creates room to plant diverse species, leaves behind snags and downed wood that provide exceptional wildlife habitat, and allows the native plant understory to thrive.

We’ve implemented this strategy at sites across our service area, and a dozen years later, the thinning is imperceptible and you just see a healthy, diverse forest.” Columbia Land Trust’s service area follows the Columbia River for 230 miles, encompassing multiple different forest types. There are many complexities to modern forest management and conservation that include a changing climate, logging history, the removal of fire from fire-adapted landscapes, and the broad variety of social contexts we operate in. The amount of forestland under our care grows as we conserve more land, so our team is constantly working to refine our stewardship capabilities to best achieve our goals. The Land Trust regularly conserves former industrial timberland with the goal of restoring it and accelerating the return of older growth habitat conditions. This requires active management to maximize long-term ecosystem functionality. Two of the most common and effective forest restoration strategies are thinning and prescribed fire.

East Cascades Forests
In the arid East Cascades, our stewardship team completed a forestry assessment of Land Trust sites in Klickitat and Yakima Counties, that will inform our work as we continue to conserve land in this region. It showed that most of the forest stands are in the “young” or “mature” age class (trees that are 28-120 years old). On average oak/ pine forests in the assessment have 420 trees per acre, the dry mixed conifer forests have 350 trees per acre, the pine savanna forests have 204 trees per acre, and the moist mixed conifer forests have 200 trees per acre.

Current forests stands have departed from pre-European settlement conditions, resulting in denser forests with continuous layered canopies, homogeneous structure, more shade-tolerant and fire-intolerant species, and high surface fuel loads and fuel ladders. There is little evidence that current conditions are sustainable, especially in the face of climate change, and they have set the stage for high-severity, stand-replacing wildfires. Other landscapes in similar condition have demonstrated the lasting impacts these megafires have on ecosystems, carbon storage, hydrologic regimes, native biodiversity, and terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Megafires cause large areas to become inaccessible or inhospitable to species that rely on mature forests, leading to support lower wildlife species diversity in the impacted area.

“These problems aren’t unique, we are not alone in this,” said Natural Area Manager Adam Lieberg, explaining that our current forest issues began with the forceful removal of Indigenous peoples (which included curtailment of Indigenous burning practices), followed by decades of industrial forest management. “Fire exclusion and suppression have fundamentally changed dry forests in the East Cascades by increasing tree densities and fuel loads. Fortunately, there are resources available and other organizations, Tribes, and agencies we can learn from and partner with,” he said.

Oak/pine and dry mixed conifer forest types are shown to have high levels of wildfire hazard potential in climate modeling by Washington Department of Natural Resources. Because of this reality, we are actively working to grow the capacity of Columbia Land Trust, and other land managers, to safely and strategically implement prescribed burns in low-elevation dry forests to help mitigate these risks.

The absence of recurring fire also allows conifers to encroach on sun-loving and fire-adapted Oregon white oak trees and eventually overtop the oaks and shade them out. Because of the many habitat and climate resilience benefits they offer, protecting oak habitats in the East Cascades is one of our top conservation priorities, and implementing prescribed fire serves our goal of supporting oak systems.

Like oak trees, large diameter ponderosa pines, with their thick bark, open crown structure, and deep roots, are also well adapted to moderate severity fire. Historic reference photos of forests in the area show high branches and forest floors with less brush and other understory ladder fuels than are often currently present; two factors which increase the risk of high severity wildfire.

“Bowman Creek Natural Area is a great example of how thoughtful stewardship can promote and maintain high quality habitat for wildlife,” said Lieberg, referencing a site where the Land Trust has completed both thinning and prescribed fire restoration projects. “It is one of the last strongholds for endangered western gray squirrels, and one of our biggest concerns is high-severity, stand-replacing fire. Restoring patterns and processes through thinning and prescribed burning treatments is part of responsible and science-based forest management.”

How do you prioritize forest treatment plans?
In the East Cascades we prioritize forest treatment plans based on three criteria, ranking each site against this triple bottom line:

Need: What is the current condition of the landscape and what stressors are impacting ecological integrity and forest health? Are hazardous fuels conditions present?

Access: How difficult will it be to implement fuels reductions treatments here, given the topography and access for people and equipment?

Impact: Consider project size, ability to simultaneously make progress towards other goals, proximity to unique ecological features, and human priorities.

Coastal Forests
In the Coast ecoregion, in addition to our significant work to restore wetland ecosystems and salmonid habitat, Columbia Land Trust manages about 5,000 acres of upland forest, across a variety of age classes and forest conditions. Our priority conservation areas are concentrated around the Columbia River Estuary, the Grays River watershed, and the Willapa Hills. Our long-term forest management goals include accelerating stands toward late successional characteristics, supporting a diversity of species, structure, and habitats, and supporting the regional forestry economy by hiring local contractors and keeping land in the tax base. In coastal forests, thinning is one of the primary restoration strategies we use to work towards these goals.

“Over the last five years we have completed over 130 acres of commercial thinning and over 100 acres of pre-commercial thinning across four Land Trust properties,” said Land Trust Coast Region Stewardship Manager Austin Tomlinson. Our goal with precommercial thinning is early intervention, when trees are 15-20 years in age. This takes a forest with a high number of trees per acre (700-1000) to a low or moderate number of trees (350-450). This lets in more sunlight, reduces stress and competition amongst the remaining trees, and gives us an opportunity to leave specific species like hemlock or spruce, in what would otherwise be a monoculture of Douglas-fir dominant stands. In contrast, with commercial thinning, the forest stand is older and we actively remove specific trees and send them to the mill. This forest enhancement strategy again allows us to create diversity in tree species, age, and structure while also generating revenue that supports additional conservation and stewardship work, and local economic benefits. “We work closely with our contractors to leave snags and trees with other imperfections, since those offer additional habitat diversity,” he continued.

Over the next five years, we are hoping to accelerate and continue this type of thinning work across hundred of additional acres within our Coast stewardship units.

How does this support wildlife habitat?
Our stewardship work generally takes a watershed-scale approach, focusing on big picture ecological function to support a diversity of plant and animal species, but sometimes out of necessity it focuses on a specific species. For example, some of our forestry management near the coast is done specifically to enhance habitat for endangered marbled murrelet (MAMU).

A forest is considered occupied MAMU habitat if a contiguous area has individual trees ≥ 32 inches in diameter at the breast and contains two or more marbled murrelet nesting platforms per acre. More than 100 acres of Land Trust land in the Grays River watershed meet these criteria, as do 20 acres around East Willapa Bay. We also care for another few hundred acres of suitable habitat, where we are working to foster suitable forest conditions.

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