Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve
Easement
The McKenzie River Trust purchased a conservation easement on the property. Funding was provided by the Bonneville Power Administration and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program. The landowners, Doug and Linda Carnine, also donated a portion of the easement value.
Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve (Chalamali) provides a home for iconic Oregon white oak trees and Willamette Valley ponderosa pine, native birds, elks, deer, and more.
Meet Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve (Chalamali)
Why Its Important
The Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve (Chalamali) easement protects 294 acres of oak savannah and in the Long Tom River watershed. Seasonal creeks, rocky outcroppings, and a special forest management area provide a home for iconic Oregon white oak trees and Willamette Valley ponderosa pine, native birds, elks, deer, and more.
Wildlife on the property
The oak woodlands on the property make it a great home for many species of wildlife native to the Willamette Valley. Because of the loss of most of the oak savannah habitat in the region, the remaining oaks like those found on Chalamali Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve (Chalamali) are increasingly important. Critical species on the property include acorn woodpecker, chipping sparrow, yellow-breasted chat, western bluebird, slender-billed nuthatch, Western gray squirrel, shaggy horkelia, and Hitchcock’s blue-eyed grass. Deer, bobcat, cougar, bear, rattlesnake, and many species of migratory birds also visit or make their homes on the property.
Bringing Good Fire Back to the Land at Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve (Chalamali)
Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve (Chalamali) in the News
Dedicated to Andy
Andrew “Andy” Reasoner, the preserve’s namesake, was McKenzie River Trust’s first Conservation Director from 2005 to 2007. Andrew’s enthusiasm for life extended to his community, family, and work as McKenzie River Trust’s first-ever Conservation Director from 2005 to 2007. A warm, energetic, and caring person, Andy could connect with anyone, from the youngest child to the most skeptical landowner. Andy’s friend Darin Stringer has worked with the Carnine family for over a decade to support the restoration of their land. Andy lived next door to the property and often hiked there. “He was such an avid outdoorsman,” said Darin. As a neighbor, “he was really interested in seeing the property conserved.”
Andy passed away in 2007 after battling cancer. When Darin suggested that the Carines dedicate the preserve to Andy, it seemed a fitting tribute. That is even more true now, as the conservation easement will forever protect a place that Andy loved.
