March 05 2021
Margo Craig is a St. Johns-area resident and a tree lover. She writes that we should better use our tree resources.
The latest winter storm claimed at least one of Portland s oldest residents, an Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana), Heritage Tree No. 200. The departed was about 250 years old, one of several old oaks that tower over Willamette Cove from the bluff of North Portland.
The elder oak was a vestige of Oregon s oaky past, when Indigenous burning practices maintained great swaths of oak woodlands and savannah. It was for good reason: oak trees are more resilient to fire than conifers. Scientists call White Oak habitat magnets, that support birds and plants. Indigenous people took advantage of this, as well as the elk and deer that oak attracted. Oak trees will provide essential housing for the animal kingdom s inevitable climate refugees.