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neck of the woods | community

e in Southern Oregon have the unique privilege
of a national park in our backyard, Crater Lake
National Park. It’s a doable day trip, although
Wyou might wish to stay longer. People go mostly
to view the volcanic lake, the deepest in the United States, and
famous for its intense blue color and water clarity. Though spectacular,
however, the lake is only one aspect of the 183,000+-acre park.

A visit might include Rim Drive dotted with overlooks, The Pinnacles,
the lodge, visitors’ centers, and more. Behind the scenes, scientists
and myriad individuals work to protect and preserve the park’s natu-
ral resources. They work in the field—living laboratories—but also
spend time analyzing data, assuring compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act, and state and national laws regarding pro-
tection of birds and animals. Currently, the East Rim Road is in poor
condition, in need of complete reconstruction. Data gathered from
various studies will help mitigate damage created by this project.

Sean Mohren, a terrestrial ecologist, manages the department that
oversees the wildlife and plant side of the park’s ecosystem. Whether
building and maintaining trails or roads or conducting proscribed
burns, it is imperative to study potential impact on plant and wildlife.
For example, chainsaws disrupt nesting birds, and proscribed burns
alter habitat. Special consideration is given to endangered or threat-
ened species such as the spotted owl, the gray wolf, Sierra Nevada red
fox, and the fisher.

Sean focuses on the wildlife branch. As part of current efforts to better
understand park wildlife, he conducts acoustic and field crew surveys
for birds and wildlife. Game cameras are set out to track carnivores
and ungulates, while acoustic samplings monitor bats. Sometimes they
discover animals they weren’t aware were in the park, such as rac-
coons. A current study is showing a potential shift in mule deer popula-
tions caused by fires and a warming climate with less snow. When one
species relocates, other species and plant life are affected.

Jen Hooke, a botanist, heads a team involved in plant restoration pro-
grams, such as the removal of invasive, non-native plant species that
can take hold and devastate native flora. Seeds are brought in on the
soles of people’s shoes, on car tires, by construction vehicles, or borne
on the wind. Milder winters and less snow may also help invasive
plants proliferate.

An ongoing and urgent concern is white pine blister rust, a disease
caused by a fungal pathogen that’s ultimately deadly, imperiling white-
bark pine trees from British Columbia and Alberta to Montana and
Wyoming to California’s southern Sierras. First, whitebark pine trees
that appear strong and disease free are identified, then their cones col-
lected and sent to a lab where seedlings are grown and infected with
blister rust. The infected trees are studied for five years to determine
their level of resistance to blister rust. Cones from those resistant trees
are collected and their seedlings planted, with the idea of increasing
the number of disease-resistant trees within the park. The park’s resist-
ant parent trees are treated each season with bark beetle repellant.

A third project involves revegetation and restoration where there has

50 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | summer 2020