A LAND TRUST FOR THE
Willamette River System’s Rivers, Wet Prairies, Oak Woodlands and More.
Conserving Our Water, Wildlflowers and Wildlife
New Property — The Ookow Preserve
The Willamette River Preservation Trust is happy to announce the donation of a wonderful conservation property to the Trust. Brimming with wildlife and water, it is 80 acres near Yamhill/Gaston. We are calling it the Ookow Preserve.
The Ookow (Dichelostemma congestum) is a native wildflower that blooms in May and June, and is found on this site (see image below). If you are uncertain of the flower’s pronunciation, think of it as “oo” (like boo, rhymes with chew), cow.
The site has a gorgeous mix of creek habitat, a bit of meadow, conifer woodland and more.
Over the last year the Trust has worked with the former owners who are long-time supporters of the Trust, toward the donation of the property. Over the months we’ve explored the creek, the vibrant floodplain, the expansive stands of fir, oak and other native trees and more. This new protected place is a wonderful addition to the Trust’s conservation lands, and we are excited as heck.
Like many sites there are invasive plants to work on, yet we also saw the ecological resiliency of the site with native rushes and sedges found along portions of the creek, an array of ferns, young oaks, and of course the Ookow flower. The bird life is also fantastic, with migratory songbirds, raptors, owls and more.
Stay tuned in the months ahead for opportunities to volunteer at the site, and also to see it and explore it.
The Wildflowers of Spring Have Arrived!
Below are just a few of the images we’ve taken recently at our three wet-prairie conservation sites, as well as our educational walks at these sites. This spring has been amazing!
A Sweet Series of Winter Walks!
The Trust held its first Nature Walk of 2026 on Jan. 31st, at Mountain Prairie - the first ever there. We also held a walk in February at Ancient Prairie. Then, just last weekend we conducted a walk at the Santiam Wetland Preserve. It was truly great for our newish land trust to see friends new and old joining us to see these amazing places, even in Winter! We look forward to a series of additional walks starting this month to welcome the season of wildflowers. Three of our sites are wet prairie, and they all have amazing native wildflowers, and each site has its own interesting story.
They are all truly extraordinary sites, with amazing and resilient wildflowers that have been at home in Oregon for millennia. See our Gatherings link above to see the walks, and register! Below are a few photos from our recent trips.
Stay tuned for our emails and our Gatherings section which will have additional trips added soon for late April, and Early May.
The Trust Closed on the Ancient Prairie Property this Winter!
The Trust was able to close on the 114-acre Ancient Prairie Property this past week on January 9th, 2026. Thanks to everyone who supported this effort!
This conservation property is just fantastic. It supports species of wildflowers that occur naturally in only a handful of other places in the Willamette Valley. This place is simply very special, and it is emblematic of why land trusts work to protect land in perpetuity.
We look forward in the weeks and months ahead to providing many opportunities for you to experience the property through our guided walks. Stay tuned to our website, or better yet, email updates for the dates. We will publish those by February 1st.
CONSERVING
Creeks, Rivers, Oak Woodlands, Upland Forests, & More…
