Friends of Trees EUGENE CHAPTER Summer, 2013; Vol. 3, No.2 The Trees of Pioneer Cemetery By Whitey Lueck miles to the northeast, ris- One of the aspects of Eugene Pioneer Cemetery that ing abruptly appeals most to the casual visitor is its landscape dominated from the val- by large conifers. Few visitors, however, are aware of the ley floor, were site’s landscape history, and how dramatically it has changed the relatively since the cemetery’s inception in 1872. lofty summits At that time, not a single tree stood on the present site. of the Coburg And it’s not because all of the trees that had once grown Hills. there were cut down by early settlers. Rather, this site—like One of most of present-day Eugene—had been treeless for millen- the first tasks nia due to the cultural practices of the area’s aborigines who that cemetery set fire to the valley floor on a nearly annual basis, thus pre- caretakers had venting trees from getting established. was getting Although the cemetery site itself was originally treeless, trees estab- a visitor could have seen trees in the distance, as the banks lished. Most of of the Willamette River were heavily wooded with maple, the trees that cottonwood, alder, and Douglas-fir. And on the nearby local nurseries hillsides, widely spaced oaks—both Oregon white and Cali- at that time fornia black— could be seen, as well as scattered conifers raised were including valley ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir. Pioneer Cemetery, circa 1936 fruit- and nut- bearing trees It’s hard to imagine these days, but the view from the that provided food. And more exotic trees, even if they were early cemetery must have been magnificent, since there available, required a degree of care and summer watering that likely was unavailable. So all of the trees in the initial plant- ings were local conifers which were adapted, of course, to our Whitey Lueck Whitey area’s summer drought, and were readily available and easy to transplant. Perhaps, too, conifers were chosen because of their more stately or formal form or silhouette. Broad-leafed trees such as oaks and maples were apparent- ly not part of the early plantings or, if they were, they failed to get established. The native oaks are relatively difficult to transplant, and our lovely native bigleaf maples, although easy to transplant, would have had difficulty getting estab- lished on the more droughty “hill soils” such as those at the cemetery, unlike the deep, fertile river loam of downtown Eugene, where the maples thrived and were very popular. Douglas-firs (left and right sides of photo) and incense-cedars (center) line The first aerial photograph of the cemetery site was a cemetery path. taken in 1936 and shows clearly the formal design of the early plantings. Rows of conifers—mostly Douglas-firs, but were no trees to impede it! From the grass- and wildflower- also quite a few incense-cedars—in the shape of a perfect covered mound, one could see from what we now call the square outlined the northern part of the current cemetery. South Hills, all the way to the Coast Range in the west. And double rows of conifers marched toward the center of Skinner Butte lay just a mile or so away. And less than ten the square from the midpoint of each of the square’s sides. Continued on page 2 Continued from page 1 Trees of Pioneer Cemetery Whitey Lueck Whitey These double rows or allées of trees terminated just before reaching the open area in the square’s center. Later plantings began to fill in other parts of the initial square and extended somewhat toward the southwest por- tion of the site. Interestingly, the southeast part of the cem- etery remained largely treeless until fairly recently. These days, conifers still dominate the site—with most of them, of course, well over a century old—but a few broad- leafed trees have moved in on their own, as well. They include bigleaf maples, English oaks (probably brought in by scrub jays from the oaks in Memorial Quad north of Knight Library), madrones, a lovely eastern black walnut in the cemetery’s southwest sector, and even a single Oregon white oak near the intersection of 18th and Potter. Planting the next generation of trees is essential for maintaining the ceme- tery’s tree canopy in the coming decades. Across the U.S., many cemeteries halted tree plantings years ago, because trees, beautiful as they were, had come to wildlife that call the cemetery home. be seen as liabilities. There were always leaves to rake—in So it’s heartening to see that a dozen or so Douglas-firs cemeteries where broad-leafed trees dominated—and fallen have been planted within the past decade in the south- branches to remove. In addition, there was occasional storm eastern part of the site, so Oregon’s state tree is likely to cleanup and removal of trees that had died. With increas- continue to grace the cemetery grounds for many decades ingly limited budgets, trees were one of the first amenities to come. In planning for the future, the cemetery might to be axed, so to speak. These days, it’s all some cemeteries consider putting together a management plan for its tree can do just to mow the grass. canopy, which would outline the on-going care of existing But because a single powerful storm could fell dozens of trees, as well as how new trees will be incorporated during the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery’s older trees, it is essential the coming decades. that the next generation of trees be already in the ground and growing, to help ensure that the cemetery will always Whitey Lueck is a horticulturist and naturalist, and an instruc- provide a canopy which can provide both shade for visitors, tor with the University of Oregon’s Department of Landscape and habitat for the many birds, beneficial insects, and other Architecture. Become a Neighborhood Coordinator We all know that urban street and yard trees augment A short training is required for this role. Our training air and water quality, improve neighborhood livability, help will be held in early fall in Eugene. If you are unable to mitigate stormwater, boost property values, and help beau- make this training, please let us know and we can schedule tify neighborhoods. But we can’t plant them without our an alternate training with you. Neighborhood Coordinators (NCs)—our most vital con- We need Neighbor- nection to the neighborhoods where we plant trees. hood Coordinators in NCs are volunteers who are absolutely critical to the every neighborhood of Trees of Friends mission and success of Friends of Trees and work closely Eugene and Springfield. with staff members to help answer questions from tree pur- Without them, it is much chasers, create outreach strategies, and organize planting more difficult for us to day logistics. NC’s organize plantings in their neighbor- plant trees here. hoods, form tree committees, go door to door to sign up If you’re interested neighbors for trees, and help organize the staging area, in this role, please fill refreshments, and potluck for the planting. The most out our NC Training important piece of the equation is the willingness to com- Registration Form at municate with your neighbors, get excited about having http://bit.ly/13sm98i and more trees in your neighborhoods—and, of course, have fun we’ll be in touch with doing it! more information soon! 2 Native cultures value the wood and bark of the blue oak, Blue Oak as well. They use the wood for basketry and utensils, and Quercus douglasii the bark can be processed to create dyes and medicines. One native culture boils the inner bark and drink the By Aaron Lesan resulting brew as a way to relieve arthritis. The oak also In our previous newsletter, we began a series that spot- makes excel- lights trees we think might thrive in warming climates in lent firewood. Eugene-Springfield. Last issue featured the splendid canyon While the live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), a tree whose range extends blue oak is not into the warmer parts of Southern Oregon but is more com- considered to mon in the California Coast Ranges. This time around, be a large tree we’ll introduce the blue oak (Quercus douglasii), species compared to with many appealing characteristics that dominates the many other foothills surrounding the Central Valley of California. oaks, it can The blue oak (also called the California blue oak, or grow to consid- mountain oak) is the Douglas-fir of hardwoods in Califor- erable size and nia. Blue oak woodlands cover 3 million acres in California. age given the To put this in perspective, that’s 50 percent of all oak-cov- right condi- ered lands in the state. It is the most abundant hardwood tions. A look at forest type in the state, occurring in nearly pure stands in the California dense woodland or savanna, and is the dominant tree in Registry of Big mixed stands. Its native range extends from the Central Trees shows the Valley foothills into the interior valleys of southern National Champion grows southeast of Fresno in the town California. of Three Rivers. This tree is a respectable 112 feet in height (tall for an oak), and its diameter at 4.5 feet off the ground This ubiquitous oak is deciduous, with an average height is well over 7 feet. of 20-60’, and some trees reaching 90’ or more. Its crown is rounded, and the branches tend to be short and fairly stout, But the true value of these trees lies not in their size, at times reaching the but their importance to the landscapes they inhabit.