161 New Acres Preserved in Evans Creek Watershed
Supporting healthy forests and waterways
SOLC’s newest easement is on 161 acres of mixed evergreen forest, oak woodland, chaparral, and riparian habitat owned by Tish Manley in the Evans Creek Watershed. Tish and her husband Stretch, purchased a portion of the property in the late 1970s, seeking refuge from the Montana winters where they lived previously, and also with the intent of securing a sustainable firewood supply for winters in the Rogue Valley.
At the time, Jackson County zoned the land as Open Space Development and many parcels around them were in the process of being divided off for home sites on smaller acreages.
“The longer we lived here, as more and more houses went in and access to undeveloped areas was fenced off, I felt that it was important to have an area that was relatively untouched, selfishly, mainly for me to enjoy, but also as a gift to the neighbors and (especially) the wildlife,” says Tish.
They sought advice and took classes in forest management through the OSU extension service. In the 1980s, they bought an adjacent 80- acre parcel that bordered public lands and a private timber operation. The parcel previously had been divided into nine tax lots for development.
The legacy Tish would like to leave is the careful stewardship and protection of the land she has restored and improved during the past 40 years. She continues fuel reduction activities and propagates forest trees for replanting. Recently, she partnered with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to do thinning and fuels work on the property.
Forester Marty Main, who worked with Tish on a Forest Stewardship Plan for the property, says, “I’ve had the good fortune to work with many wonderful people over my career. Tish is a wonderful person. I’ve come to believe that the most powerful force for sustainable land management is someone who cares. That’s what it takes to integrate multiple values to care for the land. Tish epitomizes that.”
We hope that Tish, and the people and wildlife of the Evans Creek Valley, will continue to enjoy her gift of conservation for decades to come.
Photo credits: Banner photo of manzanitas, mushroom photo, and forests in above gallery by Tish Manley. Purple Mouse Ears by Kristi Mergenthaler. Snake by Spencer Riffle.
