Allen Throop/Venture contributor Hikers get a picturesque view of Marys Peak to the west from Beazell Memorial Forest, near Kings Valley.

Heavenly habitat

New Beazell Memorial Forest is culmination of a family's dream

By ALLEN THROOP
venture contributor

KINGS VALLEY — The owl sat patiently in the tree as if aware of our scrutiny.

The bird seemed eager to display its characteristic features as four birdwatchers alternately peered through binoculars and checked field guides.

First we noticed the distinctive profile and the prominent black streaks on the belly; next, someone spotted the long tail jerked prominently to the side.

Finally, as the owl turned, we located the eye-like spots on the back of its head.

As we agreed that we were watching a Northern pygmy owl, the bird got tired of the game and flew away. We then shifted our attention from the oak tree in the field in front of us to Marys Peak on the western horizon.

We were enjoying a beautiful day near the high point of Benton County's newest public open space, the 586-acre Beazell Memorial Forest. The property contains a wide variety of habitats including riparian areas along Plunkett Creek, oak savannas, Douglas fir forests and grassy hilltop meadows.

Fred and Dolores Beazell were not well-known in the county while they were living. They moved to the property after Fred retired from his California job in 1989 to live quietly in their Kings Valley home.

Since I had the privilege of knowing Fred Beazell, I'm excited to see his dream of turning the property into a county forest come true.

Soon after I was introduced to Fred, I realized that ill health prevented him from giving his dog Fritzie much exercise. Fritzie and I became friends as we explored the far corners of the property.

My favorite hike was to head up to a grassy bald that can't be seen from the road.

From Fred's house, the dog and I would head out through some of the abandoned pastures that he had planted with fir trees. We then passed among large oak trees that had been over-topped by Douglas firs.

As the hill grew steeper, the oaks gave way to pure fir forest. After working our way through some serious poison oak, we came to the bottom of a long, steep, grassy meadow.

Occasionally, I would stop to catch my breath and enjoy the view, at first no more than the tree canopy behind us. As we climbed higher, I could peer down into a steep drainage to the north or look at the forest-covered hillside across the valley.

Finally, from the top of the bald I could see Kings Valley beneath me and Marys Peak on the skyline. Fritzie would disappear into the grass exploring his own world but occasionally come back to see that I was OK.

Beginning in 1966, the Beazells bought cut-over forestland and abandoned pastures.

Fred had a passion for planting trees. As he planted more and more trees, Fred began to picture the old-growth forest that could evolve on his land.

Charlie Ross, a former Oregon State University extension forester and visionary behind the protected open spaces around Corvallis, nurtured the idea of leaving the Beazell Forest as a memorial to Fred's wife, Dolores.

Fred and Jerry Davis, director of Benton County's Open Space and Parks Department, worked out details for a self-sustaining forest managed primarily to promote healthy diversity while generating sufficient revenue through timber harvests to maintain the forest, a day-use area and trails.

Since Fred's death in 2000, Benton County Open Space and Parks Department has been busy trying to fulfill his vision. They have documented the condition of existing vegetation, wildlife, and streams; developed a management plan for the property; stabilized deteriorating buildings; and undertaken preparations for public use of the site.

On arrival, visitors will first see the Plunkett house, one of the oldest dwellings in Kings Valley. The exterior has been restored to its approximate appearance prior to 1900.

Behind the house is a massive barn constructed in the 1930s using logs cut on the property. Plans call for using the barn as an education center. An old orchard south of the barn is one more reminder of the years the Plunkett family labored to farm the land.

Restrooms, a parking lot, drinking fountain, picnic tables and an information kiosk now nestle between the two buildings.

New trails give visitors access to much of the property. More are planned.

A picturesque curved wooden bridge upstream from the barn leads to a junction of two gentle trails. To the right, a trail leads up Plunkett Creek along an old logging road.

Solitude characterizes this trail now as light filters down through big-leaf maples. With time, a re-grown forest now masks evidence of the chainsaws, bulldozers, and log trucks that once echoed through the valley.

Other trails will eventually branch from the old road toward the hilltops on both sides of the valley.

The trail to the left from Plunkett Creek Bridge follows the old road almost to the highway. At the junction with the lane to the Beazell house (currently occupied by a caretaker and not open to the public), the trail enters a meadow.

This trail — the Bird Loop — starts in a second-growth forest where overgrown fences give mute testimony to the long-gone pastures and the cattle that once grazed here. A round trip on either of these first two trails is about 1¼ miles long.

Two trails also go to the south.

A half-mile interpretive trail will be a showplace of land management on the property. The trail follows a road built in the summer and reclaimed before the winter rains came, which allowed construction with no culverts, ditches, or gravel.

Two years ago, the trees adjacent to the road were so dense that no sunlight reached the barren forest floor. After thinning, the more open forest will allow faster tree growth and a diversity of vegetation and wildlife beneath the trees.

In places, fir trees, which were shading out the older but smaller oaks, have been killed to encourage the oaks. Some firs were topped to become wildlife trees.

Income from sale of the timber removed, dedicated to upkeep of the property, will allow Beazell Forest to be operated at no cost to Benton County taxpayers.

The South Loop Trail is steeper and, at over two miles, longer than the others. The route passes through the area covered by the interpretive trail, reaches a large bald, continues across the meadow into more trees and makes a loop over a ridge top.

Trees were cut along the ridge allow a view over Plunkett Creek to the rest of the property and out into Kings Valley.

Near the overlook, three or four large fir trees stand in stark contrast to Fred's surrounding plantings. Someday I hope to learn the story of those gnarled giants.

Beazell Forest opens to the public on July 1, with grand opening ceremonies scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 26. The Forest is located near Kings Valley on state highway 223 approximately five miles north of Wren. The entrance, on the east side of the highway, is marked with a new wooden fence and sign.

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