by John Sparks Forty years ago, Sarah Sloane was scratching around for a dissertation topic that would take her to to the Chiricahua Mountains (southeast Arizona), where her husband had already decided to work on his dissertation on forest ecology. A comparative study of three species of wren was the initial idea, but she decided […]
Bushtits: A Lifelong Passion Read More »
by John Sparks In 1959, the City of Portland acquired most of what is now Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. In the ensuing three decades, the City floated various plans to develop the bottomland, while environmental organizations, including the Audubon Society of Portland (now the Bird Alliance of Oregon), The Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, and
The Creation of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge: An Interview With Mike Houck Read More »
by John Sparks Saturday, December 6th witnessed Friends of Oaks Bottom’s last work party of the year. We convened at Tadpole Pond after rain sprinkles ended and patches of blue sky expanded overhead. The actual task was to get 150 red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) starts in the ground as a first stab at mitigating
Dealing With Dogwood: A Planting at the Bottom Read More »
by John Sparks In April 2025, Oregon Health Authority experts tested the waters of Wapato Marsh at Oaks Bottom and found a “concerning” level of microcystins at 191 μg/l (micrograms per liter). (Microcystins are toxins produced by cyanobacteria; the other major cyanotoxin is cylindrospermopsin.) Accordingly, in May, warning signs were posted on the trails at
Harmful Algae Blooms at Oaks Bottom Read More »