Agricultural Working Lands and Wildlife: Biological Responses to Conservation Efforts on Working Farms in the Calapooia Watershed, Oregon
Webinar Details
When:
May 8, 2014 2:00 pm US/Eastern
Length: 00:53 (hh:mm)
Advance Registration NOT required.
View now on-demand.
Reviewed for Continued Content Relevance: 04/2017
Presenter(s):
- Bruce D. Dugger, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
CEU Credits/Certificate Offered:
- Certificate of Participation
- Conservation Planner (CP) - 1.5 hour Conservation Planning Credit
- The Wildlife Society - Certified Wildlife Biologist®/Professional Development Certificate Program - 1.5 hour TWS Category 1 Credit
Virtual Event Format:
Group Viewing Available:
Join Dr. Bruce Dugger, associate professor in Oregon State University’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, for an engaging exploration of over two decades of collaborative research on ecology and wetland conservation. This NRCS-hosted webinar highlights how science, agriculture, and conservation intersect through long-term partnerships between OSU, USDA agencies, and Oregon grass seed farmers. Dr. Dugger shares insights from studies focused on intermittent stream habitats and wetland landscapes shaped by farming, revealing the crucial role that agricultural lands can play in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem health. Whether you're a conservationist, land manager, or agricultural professional, this webinar offers practical and inspiring perspectives on integrating conservation goals with working landscapes.
Discover how 20+ years of collaborative research in Oregon’s Willamette Valley has helped bridge agricultural practices with wetland conservation. Join Dr. Bruce Dugger to learn how science and partnerships with farmers are shaping a more sustainable landscape. This webinar dives into the science, partnerships, and real-world conversations that are helping bridge the gap between ecological conservation and agricultural productivity. Learn how farmers, researchers, and agencies are collaborating to create win-win solutions for both the environment and the economy. Whether you're in natural resources, agriculture, or simply passionate about conservation, this session will leave you inspired by what's possible when science meets stewardship.
Land conversion for agriculture has resulted in the loss of 99% of native wet prairie habitats in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. However, intermittent streams and vernal pools remain on working agricultural lands in the form of seasonally flooded fields and side-channel habitat, but their value to wildlife is unclear. As part of a USDA ARS Conservation Effects Assessment Project study of the Calapooia River watershed, we quantified linkages between conservation practices on grass seed farms (conservation buffers and tillage management) and aquatic wildlife in the Calapooia River watershed in the Willamette Valley. Compared to the mainstem of the Calapooia River, the fish community in intermittent streams favored native species over exotics. Native fish used these intermittent habitats as winter refuge and for reproduction, and abundance was greater with increasing stream habitat complexity. At the sub watershed scale, the diversity of amphibians in wetlands was directly correlated with the percent of the sub watershed in conservation tillage. In vernal pools, aquatic invertebrate diversity was lower in agriculture wetlands compared to reference sites, and was similar between tillage practices on working farms. However, aquatic invertebrate biomass was higher in wetlands in fields with reduced tillage. Though working agricultural farms represent highly altered habitats, results indicate they contribute to regional biodiversity and that implementation of conservation practices on grass seed farms provides a means for increasing the value of these lands to fish and aquatic wildlife.
This webinar is sponsored by the USDA NRCS National Wildlife Team located at the Central National Technology Support Center.
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