Miller Woods

Miller Woods will be closed June 30th and July 1st for invasive plant treatment.

We have also recently had a couple of bear sightings at Miller Woods recently. Keep the safety tips below in mind when you're hiking!

🚨 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 – 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞! 🚨

Yamhill County Sheriff's Office has received reports of several bear cubs on private property in the Dopp Rd / Bayley Rd / North Valley Rd area. While these magnificent animals are part of our local wildlife, interactions with humans can be dangerous so we wanted to provide a few reminders about dealing with bear encounters:

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺:
✋ Do not approach or feed the bear. Keep a safe distance.
🗑 Secure trash, pet food, and bird feeders. Bears are attracted to easy food sources.
🐕Keep pets and children indoors until the bear leaves. Be aware of surroundings when outdoors.
📢Make noise from a safe distance to encourage the bear to move along.

𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭:
☎️ 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 / 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁: Call 911 if the bear poses an immediate threat to human safety.
📞𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Report sightings to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) at (503) 947-6000.

Let’s keep both humans and wildlife safe! 🐻👫

Proceeds from these plant sales support Miller Woods. (And this particular sale is hosted at Miller Woods, so stop by before or after your hike!)

If you haven't quite had your fill of native plants, we have another pop-up sale coming up! Plants are priced from $2 to $10 each depending on size. If you have ash trees, you may be eligible for a coupon to help support your underplanting project. Contact Riparian Conservationist Rachel Kato at [email protected] or 971-241-9479 if you have questions about the ash coupons. A list of available species is available: yamhillswcd.org/earth-day-sale

Check out this neat native wildlife! Miller Woods has a lot of wildlife, much of which likes to stay hidden during the day. But if you lift up the cover boards like Dakota did recently, you might find critters like this rubber boa!

We just have a couple more favorite wildflowers to share! Barbara shares a favorite with Josh, from the district staff - Camas! This patch, including a white-flowered camas of the same species, wasn't photographed at Miller Woods. But there are some camas patches around, just at the end of their bloom now. Go check them out!

We're approaching the end of National Wildflower Week, but we still have time to highlight a couple more favorites! Josh's favorite, Common Camas, is a beautiful spring flower than can be found in wet meadows and prairies. While it is typically a shade of purple from light to dark, every once in a while, it blooms in a creamy white.

National Wildflower Week might be over, but we still have more volunteers with favorite wildflowers to show off! Jerry's favorite is Oregon Grape, this particular example being Cascade Oregon Grape. These shrubs flower early, sometimes starting in January or February, which makes them an important nectar source for early pollinators and overwintering hummingbirds. And who would complain about a bright pop of yellow in the gray winter months?!

National Wildflower Week might be drawing to a close, but we have more to show off! This one, Fairy Slipper, is Patsy's favorite. This species can be found in coniferous (evergreen tree) forests. It usually only blooms for a couple of weeks, making it all the more special. Plus - can't you just imagine a fairy wearing this slipper out and about?

Back to National Wildflower Week! Here we have Fringecup, Brooke's favorite. Though the flowers may be small, they still have a certain charm! Hummingbirds have been known to visit this little flower. It's been blooming for a while in shady areas at Miller Woods, so look closely at the stems! Occasionally the flowers will have a little pink.