Clarno Harvest #1

About the place

This project takes place on the traditional lands of the Northern Paiute, Wasco and Warm Springs people. Many Indigenous peoples live in Oregon’s high desert region today, including members of the Burns Paiute Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Wasco, Warm Springs and Paiute), the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin) and the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe.

The Clarno Nursery, officially named the Clarno Hardwood Propagation Facility, is a collaborative project between the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Up to 50,000 willows, cottonwoods and other native trees are harvested annually from this facility for restoration projects around the northwest. ONDA has been working with the Clarno Nursery for almost a decade and we’re keeping the cooperative spirit alive with annual winter trips to harvest materials to be used on ONDA restoration projects throughout eastern Oregon. Located along the banks of the John Day River, the Clarno Nursery is picturesque as well as important to ecological restoration efforts.

About the stewardship work

The focus for this event will be cutting and collecting lengths of willow and cottonwood for ONDA’s riparian restoration projects on the South Fork Crooked River. The plants that we harvest will be cut into four-foot-long sticks, bundled in plastic bags for easy transportation and storage, then stored in a Forest Service cooler until planting season begins in April. On the planting trips, these sticks are stuck in the ground, and in a few months, you can have a nice little shrub! For this trip, volunteers can perform three different tasks: cutting the plants; collecting and transporting the plants; and preparing the plants for storage. With assembly-line efficiency, we hope to prepare well over a thousand planting sticks all while having a great time and enjoying the beautiful outdoor setting!

Trip timeline

• Saturday, February 25 (10 a.m.): Meet at the Clarno Nursery which is about a two-hour drive from Bend.
• Saturday, February 25 (4 p.m.): We’ll work until 3:30 p.m. then clean up and head home.

Difficulty

Level 1: Easy

The physical demands of this trip are light. Work involves squatting or bending over, carrying light-weight armfuls of sticks, cutting sticks with loppers, and gripping stick bundles to tie them up. The work area is flat and the greatest challenge is to avoid tripping on the small stumps once the trees have been harvested. Everyone will be able to work at their own pace and we will rotate jobs so that everyone gets a chance to learn each task. There will be some moderate tasks of lifting the bundles into the truck, we’ll work together to do this safely. Cold and breezy weather is possible, but heavy rain or snow would postpone the event.

Participant responsibilities

Participants are responsible for their own food and water/beverages. Sturdy hiking boots are recommended, close-toed shoes are required (no sandals). These plots have very dense trees and likely some muddy areas so eye protection and appropriate footwear are essential.

Gear provided

ONDA will provide all the tools necessary for the work as well as extra gloves and extra eye protection if needed.

Registration

An ONDA registration application and medical form are required for this trip.

Apply Now

You will receive a confirmation e-mail within two weeks of submitting your form. The confirmation e-mail will provide information regarding which trips you are on the “participant list” for, and which trips are full, and therefore you have been placed on the “wait list.”

Six weeks before the start of the trip, the trip leader will send out an RSVP to make sure everyone is still able to participate. Based on RSVPs, open spaces will be backfilled with people from the waitlist.

Three weeks before the trip start date, registered and confirmed participants will receive driving instructions, maps, carpooling options, and additional information in an email sent by the trip leader.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact the trip leader.