Oak Management Pathway
Start Here: Manage Oak Habitats
Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Author of Braiding Sweetgrass
Managing Oaks in the East Cascades
The relationships between people, land, and life are vastly complex. A great place to start is to know yourself— what you value and desire, and to know your land— what is growing there, who is using it, and what it can support. Only then can you make informed decisions about how to receive what you need from the land and give back, too.
With input from diverse partners, we are tracking resources and providing guidance specific to the place we live— empowering everyone to protect, conserve, and thrive in this unique oak landscape.
A History of Reciprocity
Our core goal is to help people interact with the oak landscape in a reciprocal way— behavior modeled by our tribal partners. Investing in tribal partnerships is one way we can facilitate healing of land and people, building trust between tribal and non-tribal communities, and bringing to bear indigenous traditional ecological knowledge alongside science produced by academia. Together we will navigate emerging landscape-scale challenges precipitated by the removal of indigenous lifeways, by management uncertainties, and by climate change.
Where Do I Start?
It can be challenging to know where to begin, especially if you are new to caring for land. We’ve got you! ECOP partners practice an adaptive management approach shown below, which can help you get your bearings if this is new to you.
This website has support resources that can help you move through this process. Watch for this illustration throughout the website. It will show you where you are in the adaptive management process.
Jump into Step 1
Are you ready to get to know your site? Assess the soil, water, weather, plants, and animals interacting at your site. How has each responded to past management decisions? How might they respond to future decision or to natural events?