Juniper Management - Steens Mountain Loop Road, Oregon
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 42° 45.613 W 118° 43.463
11T E 358901 N 4735629
Group of three Flora and Fauna Signs dealing with testing methods of Juniper control.
Waymark Code: WMAWTE
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/04/2011
Views: 4
Sign #1 Name: Turning Back the Invasion
Sign #1 Text: Along with the Act that created the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area, Congress also designated 3,267 acres as the Wildlands Juniper Management Area. Doing so recognized the importance of proactively managing this venerable tree to restore the balance of juniper to provide healthy watersheds in high desert ecosystems.
The seven two-acre demonstration plots before you are designed to test different techniques for controlling juniper. At the same time, researchers and land managers are measuring each method’s cost effectiveness and impacts on other species. The plots were established in 2006 and are monitored annually.
Sign #2 Name: Plots with a Purpose
Sign #2 Text: 1. Explosives: Explosive cord is wrapped around the tree and detonated, killing the tree. Trees are left standing.
2. Mechanical Cut & Leave: Trees are cut with chain saws and left in place to decompose.
3. No Treatment: This plot serves as the control unit for the study.
4. Controlled Burn: The entire plot is subjected to a controlled burn. Trees are left standing.
5. Hand, Cut & Burn: Trees are hand cut, left to dry for one year and then burned. This method may be suitable in remote wilderness locations.
6. Mechanical Cut & Burn: Trees are cut with chain saws, left to dry for one year, and then burned.
7. Mechanical Cut, Pile & Burn: Trees are cut with chainsaws, piled using machinery and burned in winter when the soil is frozen.
Sign #3 Name: Time and Teamwork
Sign #3 Text: The management and control of juniper is not just an issue on public lands. The juniper invasion affects private lands too. The lessons learned at the Wildlands Juniper Management Area will be shared with audiences across Eastern Oregon and beyond
It will take time and teamwork to reestablish a natural fire cycle to the high desert ecosystem and restore the sage-steppe ecosystem and stands of aspen to more historic levels. The following partners have joined in this effort:
BLM Burns District
Harney County Watershed Council
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Steens Mountain Landowners Group
Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center
Steens Mountain Advisory Council
Crane High School
Private Landowners
You are welcome to explore the demonstration plots and view first-hand the methods being tested. The distance around the perimeter is one mile.