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Michael Dunne: I’m Michael Dunne. Being situated among two rivers has made the soil in the Willamette Valley nearly perfect for farming, and our community has a rich history of agriculture. That’s been great for feeding Oregonians, but not always great for the environment. Converting natural land into farms meant scraping the landscape of native trees and plants and harming countless animals and birds. Today on the show, you’ll hear how conservationists have been slowly returning nature to its original settings.
One key natural laboratory is Green Island, a preserve purchased by the McKenzie River Trust that has been reclaimed from its farming past and is slowly being returned to its original wild splendor. Carved out by the McKenzie River, this large island is now a true oasis for fish, birds, plants and trees. Today we bring you a conversation with two of the trust’s leaders from the grounds of Green Island, where river otters often play. We talk with Joe Moll, executive director of the McKenzie River Trust, and Holly McRae, its outreach manager. First, McRae tells us how Green Island came to be.…