Restoring Pioneer Butte, one stick at a time

By Andrew Esterson

September 2018

Wow, what a day and what a great volunteer crew we had to help with the Institute for Applied Ecology’s (IAE) Pioneer Butte restoration project! First and foremost, thank you to all of the Oregon State University students that volunteered for IAE’s Pioneer Butte project with the Center for Civic Engagement’s Fall into Service Day. You all rocked!

The day started at 9 am a bit ominously, with chilly drizzle and dark gray clouds in the sky. That did not seem to bother the OSU students who had signed up for this event, as I was greeted with big smiles and positive attitudes. I introduced myself to the group of seven volunteers, and we loaded up in their van and headed to Pioneer Butte. Upon unlocking a Forest Service gate for the site, to my surprise three more white vans appeared filled with cheerful, energetic volunteers. Now a group of 27, we were ready to roll!

Pioneer Butte is a mid-elevation prairie owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and is located in the Oregon Coast Range approximately four miles northeast of Marys Peak. Oak prairies provide unique habitat for wildlife and pollinators, and are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Tree encroachment due to wildfire suppression, especially from conifers, are a threat to remaining prairie ecosystems. Historic photographs from 1948 suggest that Pioneer Butte historically was a large prairie, possibly maintained by homesteaders. Due to decades of conifer encroachment, Pioneer Butte has been reduced to two remnant prairies that were collectively less than one acre in 2015. In 2015, the Forest Service began restoration efforts to increase the size of the prairie by cutting down 13-acres of trees. At the same time, IAE joined the project to help turn the encroaching forest back into a meadow, which is no small feat. Part of the process to restore Pioneer Butte is to plant native species. Many of the species we anticipate planting are adapted to fire and need some sort of disturbance every few years. Unfortunately, burning is not permitted, so the next best thing is mowing. Mowing, however, will be quite difficult since there are large pieces of wood and stumps throughout the site that were left behind when the trees were cut. To fix this problem, IAE, the Forest Service and wonderful volunteers have begun removing all the debris, one stick at a time.