The Ten Mile Creek Sanctuary near Yachats is close to expanding its acreage.
The conservation group, Portland Audubon, is finalizing the $150,000 purchase of two parcels of forest land from the Shotpouch Foundation that’ll bookend the existing acreage of the sanctuary. Once done, the sanctuary will go from 220 to 340 acres, a growth of 42%.
Paul Engelmeyer is the manager for the Ten Mile Creek Sanctuary. He said a number of endangered and vulnerable plant and animal species call this area home.
“You’ve got a suite of species that are connected to these older forest conditions. The marbled murrelet, that’s our strategy species here, though.”
Other notable inhabitants of this old growth forestland include the Humboldt Marten and spotted owl. While the sanctuary is not open to the general public, special tours can be arranged with Engelmeyer that highlight the area’s ecological significance.
The purchase is expected to be completed by month’s end. Three anonymous donors contributed towards the deal.
In a release posted on its website, Portland Audubon says: “Ten Mile Creek Sanctuary was first acquired by National Audubon in 1990 at the peak of the battles to protect Oregon’s old-growth forests and protect old-growth-dependent species like the Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet. Longtime forest activist Paul Engelmeyer approached Portland Audubon and National Audubon about a 120-acre parcel of land along Ten Mile Creek that included an old homestead and native old-growth forest that was slated for harvest. Paul argued that acquiring this parcel would give Audubon a more powerful voice as a stakeholder in the ancient forest battles and would help catalyze grassroots efforts to protect the largest tract of coastal temperate rainforest left in the lower 48 states, in which Ten Mile is embedded.”
Other sanctuaries owned and managed by Portland Audubon are their headquarters adjacent to Forest Park, Pine Tree Sanctuary, and the Miller Sanctuary near Mt. Hood’s Bull Run.
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