in the Willamette Valley: Steps to Success

Establishing a riparian planting is not easy. Seedling survival and growth are often poor. Competition from weeds can be high. Animal damage is common. Soil texture on a site can vary from coarse sand to dense clay. Planting sites may flood frequently in winter yet become very dry each summer. Management tools such as irrigation, machinery, and herbicides may be regulated or restricted. Particular challenges in the Willamette Valley include summers that are hotter and drier than in the adjacent Coast Range and Cascades foothills and streams that run through highly modified agricultural and urban areas (figure 2).