Earth Day Event at Washougal Oaks Natural Area

Veteran Conservation Corps

The Washington Department of Natural Resources is partnering with the Veterans Conservation Corps (VCC) for an Earth Day volunteer workday at Washougal Oaks Natural Area. On April 17th members of the VCC and the public will gather at one of the largest remnant Oregon white-oak forests in Western Washington to help pull invasive English ivy. Volunteers will also help plant native shrubs in areas where the invasive Himalayan blackberry has been controlled. This work will help protect the rare oak ecosystem and the species that depend on it. The site protects habitat for the rare slender billed white-breasted nuthatch, a bird that is found mostly in oak forest and is known from only three locations in Washington. Several rare plant species are also protected on the site.

The mission of the VCC is to give veterans opportunities to work in habitat conservation projects. The VCC is administered by the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs and has partnered with hundreds of partners across Washington on similar restoration projects.

The DNR Natural Areas Program is the single largest conservator of native ecosystems, plant communities and habitat for rare species in Washington. Currently, the program protects more than 132,000 acres in 83 natural areas throughout the state.

For more information contact DNR natural areas manager Carlo Abbruzzese at (360) 575-5056, Doug Robberson at (360) 909-2999, Wade Enos (WSU - Vancouver) at (369) 487-9270, or Alex Strong (Clark College) at (503) 975-7318.