OTE - Oregon Travel Experience

Pseudotsuga menziesii

The Valley of the Giants is a 51-acre parcel of land containing a stand of old-growth Douglas-fir and hemlock trees. Because of the increasing rarity of such large trees in the Coast Range, a wave of public support for their protection was begun in the early 1970’s by Maynard Drawson of Salem, Oregon. In 1976, the trees were officially recognized as “Oregon’s Bicentennial Grove” and the Bureau of Land …

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Pinus lambertina

When settlers crossed on the Applegate Trail, sugar pine trees dominated this landscape. Native Americans had seasonal camps and have purposefully managed the sugar pine, including using a hook-ladder to move up the tiered branches to reach the pinecones. Settlement pressures, needs and practice may have contributed to its decline here. The largest sugar pine in the area is located in the wash across the road from the tubs.

Tree …

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Populus x canescens

This grey poplar, Trysting Tree II, is a clone of the original. The tree was named for its popularity as a romantic meeting spot in the early 1900s. It has become a symbol of Oregon State University (OSU), memorialized in the alma mater, “.I love to wander on the pathway, Down to the Trysting Tree.” OSU is one of only two Land, Sea, Space and Sun grant colleges …

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Pseudotsuga menziesii – Douglas fir

Between 1949 and 1973, an army of volunteers helped plant an estimated 72 million trees to reforest the Tillamook Burn-one of the largest forest replanting efforts in history. Here, in the area of Cedar Creek Flat, the new forest was planted entirely by school children from Tillamook, Forest Grove and Portland. Students arrived by the busload and were met by foresters who provided Douglas-fir seedlings, tools, …

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Jurglans regia – English walnut

This remnant English walnut orchard is an example of the thousands of acres of walnuts planted in western Oregon in the early 20th century when walnuts were heavily promoted as the perfect crop for high returns. However, wet fall weather and late harvests meant California was more competitive for holiday markets. After the 1962 Columbus Day Storm toppled many of the trees, walnuts never recovered, and …

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Quercus garryana

This grove of Oregon white oaks is believed to have been the site of a seasonal camp used by Kalapuya Indians who gathered acorns and camas here. When the State Fair was established in 1862, visitors came in wagons and camped in the oak grove continuing the tradition of historic use. Camping at the Fair became an annual event and evolved into a system with streets and designated campsites. …

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Pinus jeffreyi

In Oregon, Jeffrey pines are found only in the state’s southwest corner. They are especially adapted to local dry, infertile, serpentine soils as seen in the surrounding flat lands and distant mountains. These trees resist fire kill through a variety of adaptations like thick, insulating bark and open crowns. During construction of the Siskiyou Smokejumper base, this Jeffrey pines was likely spared for use as a telephone pole and …

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Juglans nigra – Black Walnut

This black walnut is a remnant of a larger grove, planted around 1865, that marks the farthest navigable point on the Coos River. Before S. Coos River Lane was built in the 1920s, people and goods unloaded atthis community landmark and popular meeting place. The Smith Farm Walnut is an example of how treeswere often used as important landmarks for navigation before the advent of electricity …

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