Oak savannas and woodlands provide important habitat for almost 200 wildlife species.

Oaks serve as excellent locations for cavity nesting birds including the Acorn woodpecker, chipping sparrow, and white breasted nuthatch and a range of small mammals. They also are an important source of shade or cover in the summer. And acorns are an important food source for a number of species.

One reason that oaks are so significant for their wildlife value is their presence in areas such as agricultural fields and rangelands and other forestlands. They provide a burst of biodiveristy in these habitats.

Prior to settlement and colonization, Indigenous People of this region commonly used fire to manage oak and prairie systems to create conditions that provided them with important resources including acorns and camas bulbs.

The use of frequent and low intensity fires helped to keep conifers from establishing and maintained relatively open landscapes that were helpful for hunting game such as deer and elk.

Prairie-oak landscapes are part of the ancestral homes for many tribes in Oregon including the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and the health of these systems are an integral part of their cultural identity.


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