Lost Forest Research Natural Area
Encyclopedia
The Lost Forest Research Natural Area is a designated forest created by the Bureau of Land Management
to protect an ancient stand of Ponderosa pine
in the remote high desert county of northern Lake County
, in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state
of Oregon
. Lost Forest is an isolated area of pine trees separated from the nearest contiguous forest land by forty miles of arid desert. There are no springs or surface water in Lost Forest, and much of the southwest portion of the natural area is covered by large shifting sand dunes
that are slowly encroaching on the forest.
flows laid down during the Pliocene
and Pleistocene
epochs. After a period of intense faulting during the middle Pleistocene, a large basin area was created by erosion
and sedimentation
. This basin filled with water during the wet climatic periods of the Pleistocene and post-Pleistocene. Over the past 3,200 years, the surface water in the Christmas Lake Basin has completely dried up, leaving an arid high desert environment.
Today, the Lost Forest area is generally flat with gentle swales. The base elevation is 4400 feet (1,341.1 m) above sea level. However, there are a number of basalt outcrop
pings that rise 100 to 230 ft (30.5 to 70.1 m) above the surrounding terrain. There are also large moving sand dunes in the southwest corner of the natural area. These dunes are made up of lacustrine
sediments, Aeolian deposits, and alluvial materials with large amounts of volcanic pumice
and ash
mixed into fine sand. Most of the dunes occurred west and south of the Lost Forest; however, there has been some shifting of sand from the dry lakebed of Fossil Lake through portions of the pine and juniper stands in the southwest section of the natural area. Some trees have been killed and others partially covered and then uncovered later as the sand moved through the area. While the dunes kill some trees, they do not appear to threaten the forest in general.
, 40 miles (64.4 km) from the nearest contiguous pine forest. The Bureau of Land Management considers 4153 acres (1,680.7 ha) to be prime forest land with large old-growth trees dominating the stands. Lost Forest is a remnant of an ancient ponderosa pine forest that covered much of central Oregon
thousands of years ago, when the climate was cooler and wetter. Today, the Lost Forest pines survive on half the annual precipitation normally required for their species. This is possible because of the unique soil and hydrologic
properties of the Lost Forest area.
The natural area's deep sandy soil has helped the Lost Forest ponderosa pines survive in the arid high desert environment. The Lost Forest soil was formed from lake sediments and alluvial materials. Pumice sands from Mount Mazama
and Newberry Crater appear in the surface soils throughout the Lost Forest area. The post-Pleistocene lake environment formed the ash sediments from Mount Mazama into porous ground soil. The soils are underlain by hard calcium carbonate caliche
layer several inches thick. This subsurface layer is impervious to water drainage and is seldom penetrated by roots. As a result, ground water is held near the surface. The local Ponderosa pines make use the moisture held in the porous soil above the caliche barrier. In addition, scientists have found that the pine seeds from the Lost Forest trees germinated more quickly than other ponderosa pine seeds, suggesting a local adaptation to the arid environment is now a common characteristic of the Lost Forest ponderosa pine community.
In addition to its ponderosa pines, the Lost Forest also supports a plant community that includes big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, and other shrubs as well as a number of desert grasses and flowering plants. Western juniper are also common in many parts of the natural area.
Ponderosa pines dominate the Lost Forest Research Natural Area, typically growing in open stands rooted in sandy soils. In some parts of the natural area, western junipers are sparse, covering less than one percent of the land. However, much of Lost Forest is characterized by co-dominance of ponderosa pine and western juniper. Some of the older junipers are very large. One specimen is the largest known western juniper in Oregon, reaching a height of 68 feet (20.7 m). Bark beetle
attacks and drought in the 1920s and the 1930s resulted in high juniper mortality from which the population has not fully recovered.
Understory shrubs are dense in some areas, sparse in other areas, and entirely absent in areas where sand dunes have encroached on the forest. The most abundant large shrub species are large sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), and yellow rabbitbrush
(Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus). Among the smaller shrubs little sagebrush
(Artemisia arbuscula), spreading phlox
(Phlox diffusa), granite prickly phlox
(Leptodactylon pungens), and littleleaf horsebrush
(Tetradymia glabrata) are common. Curl-leaf mountain mahogany
(Cercocarpu ledifolius) is found on some of the basalt outcroppings. There are a number of perennial grasses common throughout the Lost Forest. These include Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Sandberg bluegrass
(Poa sandbergii), Thurber's needlegrass (Stipa thurberiana), needle and thread grass
(Hesperostipa comata), Indian ricegrass
(Oryzopsis hymenoides), bottlebrush squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix), and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum). Perennial flowering plants found in the natural area include lupin
(Lupinus), cushion buckwheat
(Eriogonum ovalifolium), lemon scurf-pea
(Psoralea lanceolata), common wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum), and Townsend daisy
(Townsendia florifer).
, pronghorn antelope, badger
, gray fox
, red fox
, coyotes, bobcat
, and cougar. Among the smaller animals, Black-tailed Jackrabbit
, Pygmy Rabbit
, Mountain Cottontail
, Long-tailed Weasel
, and porcupines are all found in Lost Forest. Rodents include Yellow-pine Chipmunk
s, Least Chipmunk
s, Townsend's Ground Squirrel
s, Ord's Kangaroo Rat
s, Bushy-tailed woodrat
s, Great Basin pocket mice
, deer mice, western harvest mice
, northern grasshopper mice, and Northern Pocket Gopher
s. There also thirteen bat
species that live in or near Lost Forest.
Lost Forest is home to a number of bird species as well. They include Pinyon jay
, black-billed magpie
, red-shafted flicker, Brewer's blackbird
, American robin
, mountain bluebird
, western tanager
, sage sparrow
, loggerhead shrike
, and sapsucker
. There are also birds of prey such as prairie falcon
, red-tailed hawks, and golden eagles.
in the area. The settlers cleared the land of sagebrush for farming, and used the pine and juniper in Lost Forest to construct houses, corrals, and farm buildings. Wood from the forest was also used for heating and cooking. The Lost Forest area was also used for grazing sheep, cattle, and horses. Due to the harsh high desert conditions, most of the homesteaders had abandoned their land by the early 1920s. A prolonged drought in the 1920s and 1930s put an end to dry farming in the region.
Some irrigated farming continued in Christmas Lake Valley, usually as part of a larger cattle ranching operation. Lost Forest is part of the View Point Ranch grazing allotment; however, lack of water kept grazing on that unit to a minimum. Nevertheless, grazing did have a long-term impact on the vegetation. For example, bluebunch wheatgrass
which is good for grazing is now extremely rare in Lost Forest while it is a very common plant in ungrazed areas of central Oregon. No grazing has occurred in Lost Forest since about 1968.
During World War II, the Christmas Lake Valley including Lost Forest was used for military training exercises. Military units from Camp Abbot
bivouacked and conducted battle maneuvers throughout the area. This activity was particularly intense in 1943 during the Oregon Maneuver, involving over 100,000 army troops.
The Bureau of Land Management authorized timber sales in 1949 and 1955 to remove trees that were vulnerable to insects and disease. A total of 522000 board feet (1,231.8 m³) were cut in 1949, and another 1599000 board feet (3,773.2 m³) were removed in 1955. The site of a portable milling operation is in the area. After the logging was done, slash was piled and burned. The mill site and logged areas were seeded with crested wheatgrass.
In 1972, the Lost Forest Research Natural Area was established by the Bureau of Land Management in order to preserve the unique ponderosa pine environment and associated vegetation and wildlife. In 1983, the Bureau of Land Management joined Lost Forest, the neighboring Christmas Valley Sand Dunes
, and Fossil Lake into a single Area of Critical Environmental Concern
. In 1989, the Lost Forest was designated as an Instant Wilderness Study Area, which increased the area's protection. Nevertheless, off-road vehicle
use in the area around Lost Forest remains a concern. The Bureau of Land Management is assessing the impact on the natural areas and considering how off-road activities can be effectively controlled.
highlighted long-term climatic changes that have occurred in the region. Additional tree ring studied were conducted in 1938 and 1964 expanded that knowledge. The sedimentary geology of nearby Fossil Lake was studied in 1942, 1945, and 1954. The area's fossil birds were described in a 1946 study. Two studies in the mid-1940s, found some evidence of prehistoric man in areas around Lost Forest. In 1963, the Bureau of Land Management conducted a comprehensive study of Lost Forest vegetation. That study also included soil descriptions and noted unique aspects of ponderosa pine reproductive physiology. Another vegetation study was conducted in 1973, and a health assessment of Ponderosa pine stands in the Lost Forest was completed in 2007. Today, a number of studies in the Lost Forest Research Natural Area are on-going.
and 80 miles north of Lakeview
in straight-line distance. The small unincorporated community of Christmas Valley
is 26 miles from the natural area on rough desert roads. From Christmas Valley, visitors travel east on the Christmas Valley-Wagontire Road for 8 miles to the second cattle guard. Turn north and follow the rough dirt road 8 miles to a T-intersection. At the intersection, turns east. The entrance to Lost Forest is approximately 10 miles from the intersection.
Inside the natural area vehicles must stay on existing roads, in order to prevent damage to tree roots and to avoid soil disturbance. Within the natural area, camping
is permitted in designated sites only. Camp sites are very primitive and there is no water available in Lost Forest.
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
to protect an ancient stand of Ponderosa pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
in the remote high desert county of northern Lake County
Lake County, Oregon
Lake County is a county in the high desert south central region of the U.S. state of Oregon, so named for the many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Abert, Hart Lake Reservoir, and Goose Lake. While Lake is among Oregon's largest counties, it is sparsely populated with 7,895...
, in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Lost Forest is an isolated area of pine trees separated from the nearest contiguous forest land by forty miles of arid desert. There are no springs or surface water in Lost Forest, and much of the southwest portion of the natural area is covered by large shifting sand dunes
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
that are slowly encroaching on the forest.
Geology
Lost Forest is located at the northeastern corner of the Christmas Lake Basin in south central Oregon. The bedrock beneath the area was created by basaltBasalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
flows laid down during the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
and Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epochs. After a period of intense faulting during the middle Pleistocene, a large basin area was created by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and sedimentation
Sedimentation
Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration...
. This basin filled with water during the wet climatic periods of the Pleistocene and post-Pleistocene. Over the past 3,200 years, the surface water in the Christmas Lake Basin has completely dried up, leaving an arid high desert environment.
Today, the Lost Forest area is generally flat with gentle swales. The base elevation is 4400 feet (1,341.1 m) above sea level. However, there are a number of basalt outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
pings that rise 100 to 230 ft (30.5 to 70.1 m) above the surrounding terrain. There are also large moving sand dunes in the southwest corner of the natural area. These dunes are made up of lacustrine
Lacustrine plain
Some lakes get filled up by the sediments brought down by the rivers and turn into plains in the course of time. Such plains are called lacustrine plains...
sediments, Aeolian deposits, and alluvial materials with large amounts of volcanic pumice
Pumice
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. It can be formed when lava and water are mixed. This unusual formation is due to the simultaneous actions of rapid...
and ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
mixed into fine sand. Most of the dunes occurred west and south of the Lost Forest; however, there has been some shifting of sand from the dry lakebed of Fossil Lake through portions of the pine and juniper stands in the southwest section of the natural area. Some trees have been killed and others partially covered and then uncovered later as the sand moved through the area. While the dunes kill some trees, they do not appear to threaten the forest in general.
Environment
Lost Forest covers approximately 9000 acres (36.4 km²). It is a self-sustaining stand of Ponderosa pines growing in the arid high desertHigh Desert (Oregon)
The Oregon High Desert is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the Cascade Range and south of the Blue Mountains, in the central and eastern parts of the state. Divided into a southern region and a northern region, the desert covers most of five Oregon counties and averages above...
, 40 miles (64.4 km) from the nearest contiguous pine forest. The Bureau of Land Management considers 4153 acres (1,680.7 ha) to be prime forest land with large old-growth trees dominating the stands. Lost Forest is a remnant of an ancient ponderosa pine forest that covered much of central Oregon
Central Oregon
Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the Columbia River, eastward towards Burns, or south...
thousands of years ago, when the climate was cooler and wetter. Today, the Lost Forest pines survive on half the annual precipitation normally required for their species. This is possible because of the unique soil and hydrologic
Hydrogeology
Hydrogeology is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust, . The term geohydrology is often used interchangeably...
properties of the Lost Forest area.
The natural area's deep sandy soil has helped the Lost Forest ponderosa pines survive in the arid high desert environment. The Lost Forest soil was formed from lake sediments and alluvial materials. Pumice sands from Mount Mazama
Mount Mazama
Mount Mazama is a destroyed stratovolcano in the Oregon part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range. The volcano's collapsed caldera holds Crater Lake, and the entire mountain is located within Crater Lake National Park....
and Newberry Crater appear in the surface soils throughout the Lost Forest area. The post-Pleistocene lake environment formed the ash sediments from Mount Mazama into porous ground soil. The soils are underlain by hard calcium carbonate caliche
Caliche (Mineral)
Caliche is a sedimentary rock, a hardened deposit of calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate cements together other materials, including gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It is found in aridisol and mollisol soil orders...
layer several inches thick. This subsurface layer is impervious to water drainage and is seldom penetrated by roots. As a result, ground water is held near the surface. The local Ponderosa pines make use the moisture held in the porous soil above the caliche barrier. In addition, scientists have found that the pine seeds from the Lost Forest trees germinated more quickly than other ponderosa pine seeds, suggesting a local adaptation to the arid environment is now a common characteristic of the Lost Forest ponderosa pine community.
In addition to its ponderosa pines, the Lost Forest also supports a plant community that includes big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, and other shrubs as well as a number of desert grasses and flowering plants. Western juniper are also common in many parts of the natural area.
Ponderosa pines dominate the Lost Forest Research Natural Area, typically growing in open stands rooted in sandy soils. In some parts of the natural area, western junipers are sparse, covering less than one percent of the land. However, much of Lost Forest is characterized by co-dominance of ponderosa pine and western juniper. Some of the older junipers are very large. One specimen is the largest known western juniper in Oregon, reaching a height of 68 feet (20.7 m). Bark beetle
Bark beetle
A bark beetle is one of approximately 220 genera with 6,000 species of beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae. Traditionally, this was considered a distinct family Scolytidae, but now it is understood that bark beetles are in fact very specialized members of the "true weevil" family...
attacks and drought in the 1920s and the 1930s resulted in high juniper mortality from which the population has not fully recovered.
Understory shrubs are dense in some areas, sparse in other areas, and entirely absent in areas where sand dunes have encroached on the forest. The most abundant large shrub species are large sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), and yellow rabbitbrush
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the daisy family known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush. It is native to western North America, from British Columbia to California to Nebraska, where it grows in sagebrush and woodland habitat. It grows easily in...
(Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus). Among the smaller shrubs little sagebrush
Artemisia arbuscula
Artemisia arbuscula is a species of sagebrush known by the common names little sagebrush, low sagebrush, or black sagebrush....
(Artemisia arbuscula), spreading phlox
Phlox
Phlox is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants found mostly in North America in diverse habitats from alpine tundra to open woodland and prairie. Some flower in spring, others in summer and autumn....
(Phlox diffusa), granite prickly phlox
Polemoniaceae
Polemoniaceae are a family of about 25 genera with 270-400 species of annual and perennial plants, native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity in western North America, especially in California.Only one genus is found in Europe, and two in Asia, where they...
(Leptodactylon pungens), and littleleaf horsebrush
Senecioneae
Senecioneae is the largest tribe of the Asteraceae, or the sunflower family, comprising approximately 150 genera and 3,000 species. Almost one-third of the species in this tribe are placed in the genus Senecio...
(Tetradymia glabrata) are common. Curl-leaf mountain mahogany
Cercocarpus ledifolius
Cercocarpus ledifolius is a species of mountain mahogany known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany.-Description:This is a large, densely-branching shrub or a tree which may reach 10 meters in height. Its leathery, sticky, dark green leaves are up to 4 centimeters long and lance-shaped,...
(Cercocarpu ledifolius) is found on some of the basalt outcroppings. There are a number of perennial grasses common throughout the Lost Forest. These include Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Sandberg bluegrass
Poa
Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass , bluegrass , tussock , and speargrass. "Poa" is Greek for fodder...
(Poa sandbergii), Thurber's needlegrass (Stipa thurberiana), needle and thread grass
Hesperostipa comata
Hesperostipa comata, commonly known as needle-and-thread grass, is a species of grass native to North America, especially the western third. It has a wide distribution spanning from northern Canada to Mexico.-Description:...
(Hesperostipa comata), Indian ricegrass
Indian ricegrass
Oryzopsis hymenoides is a perennial cool-season bunchgrass. It is native to western North America east of the Cascades from British Columbia and Alberta south to southern California, northeastern Mexico, and Texas...
(Oryzopsis hymenoides), bottlebrush squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix), and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum). Perennial flowering plants found in the natural area include lupin
Lupin
Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins or lupines , is a genus in the legume family . The genus comprises about 280 species , with major centers of diversity in South and western North America , and the Andes and secondary centers in the Mediterranean region and Africa Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins...
(Lupinus), cushion buckwheat
Eriogonum ovalifolium
Eriogonum ovalifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name cushion buckwheat. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it is a member of many plant communities in varied habitats...
(Eriogonum ovalifolium), lemon scurf-pea
Psoralea
Psoralea is a genus in the legume family . Although most species are poisonous, the starchy roots of P. esculenta and P. hypogaea are edible...
(Psoralea lanceolata), common wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum), and Townsend daisy
Townsendia
Townsendia is a genus of daisies known commonly as Townsend's daisies. These annual, biennial and perennial wildflowers are native to western North America, frequently at high elevation sites. A number of taxa are tall, erect plants, like typical daisies. Meanwhile, others form small, dense, leafy...
(Townsendia florifer).
Wildlife
The animal population is limited by the size and isolation of the Lost Forest area. However, there is still a wide range of native animals present in the natural area. The larger mammals include mule deerMule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, pronghorn antelope, badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, gray fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
, red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, coyotes, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, and cougar. Among the smaller animals, Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
The black-tailed jackrabbit , also known as the american desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level to up to...
, Pygmy Rabbit
Pygmy Rabbit
The Pygmy Rabbit is a North American rabbit, and is one of only two rabbit species in America to dig its own burrow...
, Mountain Cottontail
Mountain Cottontail
The Mountain Cottontail or Nuttall's Cottontail is a species of mammal in the Leporidae family. It is found in Canada and the United States.- Description :...
, Long-tailed Weasel
Long-tailed Weasel
The long-tailed weasel , also known as the bridled weasel or big stoat is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central America and into northern South America.-Evolution:The long-tailed weasel is the product of...
, and porcupines are all found in Lost Forest. Rodents include Yellow-pine Chipmunk
Yellow-pine Chipmunk
The yellow-pine chipmunk is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in Canada and the United States....
s, Least Chipmunk
Least Chipmunk
The least chipmunk is the smallest chipmunk in North America. It is also the most widespread species of chipmunk in North America occurring across north-central and western United States and from British Columbia and southern Yukon to western Quebec in Canada...
s, Townsend's Ground Squirrel
Townsend's Ground Squirrel
The Townsend's ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in high desert shrublands in several areas of the United States.-Distribution:...
s, Ord's Kangaroo Rat
Ord's Kangaroo Rat
Ord's Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii, is a kangaroo rat that is native to Western North America, specifically the Great Plains and the Great Basin with its range extending from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico....
s, Bushy-tailed woodrat
Bushy-tailed Woodrat
The Bushy-tailed Woodrat, Packrat, or Woodrat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found in Canada and the United States....
s, Great Basin pocket mice
Great Basin Pocket Mouse
The Great Basin Pocket Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is found in British Columbia in Canada and the western United States.-Taxonomy:...
, deer mice, western harvest mice
Western harvest mouse
The Western Harvest Mouse is a small neotomine mouse native to southwest British Columbia, most of the western United States extending continuously to west Texas, northeast Arkansas, northwest Indiana, southwest Wisconsin, the interior of Mexico to Oaxaca...
, northern grasshopper mice, and Northern Pocket Gopher
Northern Pocket Gopher
The Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys talpoides, was first discovered by Lewis and Clark on April 9, 1805 at the mouth of the Knife River, North Dakota. These animals are often rich brown or yellowish brown, but also grayish or closely approaching local soil color and have white markings under chin...
s. There also thirteen bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
species that live in or near Lost Forest.
Lost Forest is home to a number of bird species as well. They include Pinyon jay
Pinyon Jay
The Pinyon Jay is a jay between the North American Blue Jay and the Eurasian Jay in size. It is the only member of the genus Gymnorhinus, . Its overall proportions are very Nutcracker-like and indeed this can be seen as convergent evolution as both birds fill similar ecological niches...
, black-billed magpie
Black-billed Magpie
The Black-billed Magpie is a bird in the crow family that inhabits the western half of North America. It is notable for its domed nests, and for being one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length The Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) is a...
, red-shafted flicker, Brewer's blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
The Brewer's Blackbird is a medium-sized New World blackbird, named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer....
, American robin
American Robin
The American Robin or North American Robin is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family...
, mountain bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
The Mountain Bluebird is a medium-sized bird weighing about 2-5 ounces, with a length from 15–20 cm . They have light underbellies and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter beneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast,...
, western tanager
Western Tanager
The Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family...
, sage sparrow
Sage Sparrow
The Sage Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow of the western United States and northwestern Mexico.Sage Sparrows are indeed often tied to sagebrush habitats, although they can also be found in brushy stands of saltbush, chamise, and other low shrubs of the arid Interior West.The most widespread...
, loggerhead shrike
Loggerhead Shrike
The Loggerhead Shrike is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related Northern Shrike occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic....
, and sapsucker
Sapsucker
The Sapsuckers form the genus Sphyrapicus within the woodpecker family Picidae. All are found in North America.As their name implies, sapsuckers feed primarily on the sap of trees, moving among different tree and shrub species on a seasonal basis...
. There are also birds of prey such as prairie falcon
Prairie Falcon
The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...
, red-tailed hawks, and golden eagles.
Human use
The first settlers arrived in the Christmas Lake Valley around 1865. However, it was not until around 1906 that large numbers of settlers began to homesteadHomesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
in the area. The settlers cleared the land of sagebrush for farming, and used the pine and juniper in Lost Forest to construct houses, corrals, and farm buildings. Wood from the forest was also used for heating and cooking. The Lost Forest area was also used for grazing sheep, cattle, and horses. Due to the harsh high desert conditions, most of the homesteaders had abandoned their land by the early 1920s. A prolonged drought in the 1920s and 1930s put an end to dry farming in the region.
Some irrigated farming continued in Christmas Lake Valley, usually as part of a larger cattle ranching operation. Lost Forest is part of the View Point Ranch grazing allotment; however, lack of water kept grazing on that unit to a minimum. Nevertheless, grazing did have a long-term impact on the vegetation. For example, bluebunch wheatgrass
Bluebunch wheatgrass
Pseudoroegneria spicata is a species of grass known by the common name Bluebunch Wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is known by the scientific synonyms Elymus spicatus and Agropyron spicatum. The grass can be found from Alaska to Texas. It occurs in many types of...
which is good for grazing is now extremely rare in Lost Forest while it is a very common plant in ungrazed areas of central Oregon. No grazing has occurred in Lost Forest since about 1968.
During World War II, the Christmas Lake Valley including Lost Forest was used for military training exercises. Military units from Camp Abbot
Camp Abbot
Camp Abbot was a United States Army training center located south of Bend, Oregon, United States. The center was used to train combat engineers during World War II. A large part of site has now been developed as Sunriver Resort. The rest has been incorporated into the Deschutes National Forest. ...
bivouacked and conducted battle maneuvers throughout the area. This activity was particularly intense in 1943 during the Oregon Maneuver, involving over 100,000 army troops.
The Bureau of Land Management authorized timber sales in 1949 and 1955 to remove trees that were vulnerable to insects and disease. A total of 522000 board feet (1,231.8 m³) were cut in 1949, and another 1599000 board feet (3,773.2 m³) were removed in 1955. The site of a portable milling operation is in the area. After the logging was done, slash was piled and burned. The mill site and logged areas were seeded with crested wheatgrass.
In 1972, the Lost Forest Research Natural Area was established by the Bureau of Land Management in order to preserve the unique ponderosa pine environment and associated vegetation and wildlife. In 1983, the Bureau of Land Management joined Lost Forest, the neighboring Christmas Valley Sand Dunes
Christmas Valley Sand Dunes
Christmas Valley Sand Dunes are a natural sand dune complex covering of public lands east of Christmas Valley in Lake County, Oregon, United States, about southeast of Bend. The area is accessible via the Christmas Valley National Back Country Byway. The dunes are up to high. It is the largest...
, and Fossil Lake into a single Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern is a conservation ecology program in the western United States, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The ACEC program was conceived in the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act , which established the first conservation ecology mandate for the BLM...
. In 1989, the Lost Forest was designated as an Instant Wilderness Study Area, which increased the area's protection. Nevertheless, off-road vehicle
Off-road vehicle
An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...
use in the area around Lost Forest remains a concern. The Bureau of Land Management is assessing the impact on the natural areas and considering how off-road activities can be effectively controlled.
Research history
Lost Forest offers the opportunity to study isolated plant and animal populations in a unique environment. As a result, researchers have been looking at various aspects of the Lost Forest for well over one hundred years. Early settlement patterns, geology, and natural resources of Lost Forest and Christmas Lake Valley were initially documented in 1884, 1889, and 1908. In 1937, analysis of tree ringsDendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
highlighted long-term climatic changes that have occurred in the region. Additional tree ring studied were conducted in 1938 and 1964 expanded that knowledge. The sedimentary geology of nearby Fossil Lake was studied in 1942, 1945, and 1954. The area's fossil birds were described in a 1946 study. Two studies in the mid-1940s, found some evidence of prehistoric man in areas around Lost Forest. In 1963, the Bureau of Land Management conducted a comprehensive study of Lost Forest vegetation. That study also included soil descriptions and noted unique aspects of ponderosa pine reproductive physiology. Another vegetation study was conducted in 1973, and a health assessment of Ponderosa pine stands in the Lost Forest was completed in 2007. Today, a number of studies in the Lost Forest Research Natural Area are on-going.
Location
The Lost Forest Research Natural Area is located in a very remote area of northern Lake County, Oregon. It is approximately 65 miles southeast of BendBend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
and 80 miles north of Lakeview
Lakeview, Oregon
Lakeview is a city in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,294 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. Although it is an incorporated city, the municipal government refers to the community as "The Town of Lakeview", and bills itself as "Tallest Town in Oregon"...
in straight-line distance. The small unincorporated community of Christmas Valley
Christmas Valley, Oregon
Christmas Valley is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The community was named after nearby dry Christmas Lake, east of the present townsite and the site of the former Lake post office, which ran from 1906 until 1943. Real estate development around a planned...
is 26 miles from the natural area on rough desert roads. From Christmas Valley, visitors travel east on the Christmas Valley-Wagontire Road for 8 miles to the second cattle guard. Turn north and follow the rough dirt road 8 miles to a T-intersection. At the intersection, turns east. The entrance to Lost Forest is approximately 10 miles from the intersection.
Inside the natural area vehicles must stay on existing roads, in order to prevent damage to tree roots and to avoid soil disturbance. Within the natural area, camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
is permitted in designated sites only. Camp sites are very primitive and there is no water available in Lost Forest.