Three Things: A new tree, a head start and a hometown connection

A bur oak tree found a new home Friday afternoon in front of Philomath Community Library, replacing the American elm that once held the distinction of being the first tree nominated under the city’s Heritage Tree program.

Testing in late 2025 confirmed the well-loved elm was infected with Dutch elm disease and it was removed earlier this year. The loss wasn’t easy for everyone to accept.

“When we took the elm down, that was a pretty sad moment for us as a community,” Public Works Director Garry Black said. “To see the support for this new tree, I mean, there could have been a negative feeling but people seem to be pretty excited about new growth, new tree and new beginnings.”

Black said the city’s Tree Board evaluated several candidates before settling on the bur oak. Blue Heron Nursery, located just outside Corvallis, supplied the tree.

“The elm was a beautiful tree. We hated to lose it but the health on it just wasn’t there,” Black said.

Graham Seaders, who has a background in tree care and sits on the Tree Board, told those gathered that bur oaks are relatively rare in Oregon — he’s seen only a handful statewide. More common in the East and Midwest, the species is known for its extreme environmental resilience and capacity to provide extensive shade.

Seaders encouraged the crowd to think long-term when looking at the young tree.

“I want you to imagine this tree 40-feet tall, 50-feet tall and then just spreading over the parking lot here, creating shade for both the Sunday market — as long as it’s here — and any other events,” Seaders said. “It might not be in our lifetime but it will be eventually.”

Black said the tree will begin leafing this year, though the first season will be an adjustment period. He expects noticeable canopy growth over a limited area within two or three years.

Mayor Christopher McMorran acknowledged the significance of the location being replanted.

“We know that was a really important tree for the community and we wanted to take seriously the role of replanting a new tree and keeping this important spot for the community alive,” McMorran said.

Among those in attendance was Catherine Biscoe, the former Philomath city councilor who originally nominated the American elm as Philomath’s first Heritage Tree. McMorran and Biscoe were among the first to throw shovels of dirt around the base of the new tree, joined by several others including young children.

The ceremony also included the presentation of an Oregon Urban and Community Forestry Award to Bill Dunn, owner of Philomath-based Dunn & Company Tree Services. Jennifer Killian, an urban forestry specialist with Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, presented Dunn with the individual honor, which is given annually by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the nonprofit Oregon Community Trees.

“What really sets Bill apart is his commitment to community,” Killian said. “He has generously donated his time and expertise to help the city of Philomath build its urban forestry programs from the ground up, contributing to their Urban Forestry Plan and helping guide species selection for major planting efforts.”

Dunn, who has been a regular participant in the city’s Arbor Day activities and has worked with the Oregon Department of Forestry on timber-falling operations during fire emergencies, stressed the team approach to urban forestry in Philomath when he addressed those gathered.

Philomath also earned the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA designation for the 32nd consecutive year.

“That’s a role that we take seriously — being a Tree City USA — beyond just doing ceremonial things like this,” McMorran said. “Our crew plants trees in our parks and along our streets every year.”

Within the past year, the city launched a pilot program to encourage local citizens to plant trees in their own yards.

2. Head start on replanting

A mild winter with spring-like temperatures has given Oregon’s reforestation efforts a boost this year with the state Department of Forestry already having roughly 2 million seedlings in the ground — and ahead of schedule.

“This has been a great planting season with no shutdowns due to weather,” said John Walter, ODF’s State Forests silviculturist. “All our districts are done or will be this month.”

The only exception is the Klamath Lake district, which typically plants into May and has about 60,000 seedlings remaining.

ODF contracted with nine Northwest nurseries to supply 2.3 million seedlings this year. Douglas fir dominates the mix at 74% with hemlock at 17% and smaller shares of western red cedar, noble fir, grand fir, Sitka spruce and ponderosa pine rounding out the plantings. Hardwoods like alder and bigleaf maple naturally seed in later, producing a species mix typical of western Oregon forests.

Most of the planting is done by private contractors — work that Reforestation Forester Bill Sayers describes as demanding.

“The terrain can be steep and slippery, especially with a pack of 200 or so trees on your back and a shovel in your hand,” said Sayers, who monitors crews working in Tillamook State Forest. Some planting there is also carried out by adults in custody from the South Fork Forest Camp, a joint facility run by the Department of Corrections and ODF.

ODF ended up with nearly 300,000 extra seedlings this year, which will be sold or donated to watershed groups, nonprofits and Oregon tribes.

Once seedlings are in the ground, survival hinges largely on weather and competing vegetation. ODF uses herbicide treatment in select units to reduce competition for moisture and evaluates each planting area individually.

3. Philomath native in new job

A Philomath native is taking her experience in transitional pastoral ministry to a broader stage. The Rev. Heidi Bolt has been named a ministry relations officer for the Presbyterian Foundation, serving the Northwest Region — a territory that spans Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Bolt, who now lives in Salem, spent years serving in interim pastoral roles and teaching classes on transitional ministry before stepping into the foundation position. In an article published last week by the Presbyterian News Service, Bolt said the timing reflects a growing need she witnessed firsthand in congregations.

“Coming out of COVID and in the current church landscape, churches are having to re-evaluate their use of space and their fundraising strategies,” Bolt is quoted as saying in the article. “As an interim, I’ve had the chance to walk with several congregations intimately through how they begin to discern and answer those questions.”

Bolt, daughter of David and Lynn Grube, graduated with Philomath High’s Class of 1993 (she was one of five co-valedictorians).

Bolt’s background includes fundraising work, Peace Corps service in Kazakhstan and co-pastoral work in Minnesota before returning to Oregon. She earned her master of divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary and is nearing completion of doctoral studies at Claremont School of Theology.

(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).