Art and Anita Johnson have spent the last 20 years working to restore ecological function to their land. The fruits of their labor are now preserved with a conservation easement on 152 acres north of Fern Ridge Reservoir near Eugene.
The Johnson family has a long, deep connection to Coyote Oaks; it’s been in the family since 1939. They have enjoyed managing it. Under the conservation easement terms, they will continue on with help from the McKenzie River Trust.
The Coyote Oaks conservation easement adds oak riparian corridor, wet prairie, forested and open water wetlands, and grasslands to a growing conservation complex in the Lower Coyote Creek Conservation Area (LCCCA).
Along with the McKenzie River Trust, the Long Tom Watershed Council, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Army Corps of Engineers have all chipped in, working towards a vision for the 1,500-acre LCCCA. The Coyote Oaks property will benefit many priority habitats and species identified in the Oregon Conservation Strategy, Willamette Valley Synthesis, and the USFWS Recovery Plan for Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington. These include Willamette daisy, Western Meadowlark, Slender-billed Nuthatch, cutthroat trout, and western gray squirrel. The area also supports waterfowl, river otter, elk, and bobcat.
The Johnsons’ vision is that their property adds to the complex of land between Kirk Pond and Franklin Road, protected through public ownership or voluntary private land conservation for the long run. The Johnson family has given decades of hard work and thoughtful planning to their commitment to the land. The easement is the culmination of that work, and a new permanent anchor site for fish and wildlife.