Bull Flat: The Gateway to Skyline Forest
The Bull Flat Area
The land of the Upper Tumalo Reservoir known as Bull Flat is a beautiful natural area west of the rural community of Tumalo. Here, the sagebrush and juniper spotted high desert landscape gives way to the green foothills of the Cascades, attracting equestrians, bird watchers, and hikers alike.
Bull Flat has also been a popular access point for Skyline Forest over the years. Note: Skyline Forest remains closed to all public access at this time.
The area is part of the Tumalo Winter Range Cooperative Closure. This seasonal closure prohibits unauthorized motorized vehicle travel in an effort to minimize human disturbance and improve the seasonal quality of habitat for mule deer, elk, and other wildlife. The closure extends from December 1 through March 31, and it is essential that we all observe the requirements.
For reasons not entirely known, the Bull Flat area is also able to sustain a rare plant called Astragalus Peckii - or “Peck’s Milkvetch.”
Peck’s milkvetch
Bull Flat’s rare plant species
Peck’s Milkvetch
Peck’s Milkvetch was named for Morton Peck, one of Oregon's most famous botanists.
It is listed as a rare and threatened plant with a global population of only 360,000 specimens; one-third of these plants grow in about 10 square miles around Tumalo.
This hardy plant has an important role in improving our nutrient-poor, pumice-rich acidic soils: it can take nitrogen directly from the air and add it to the soil and so supports the growth of other plants.
The population on the Bull Flat wildlife area is important not only because it is rare but also because it has been extensively studied over several decades by scientists from Oregon State University, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Central Oregon Community College and by students from Cascade Middle School.
Save Skyline Forest
Photo: James Parsons
Skyline Forest is central to our region’s quality of life. In addition to offering close-to-town outdoor access for all kinds of recreation, Skyline contains seasonal streams that are vital to our water quality, provides critical habitat for mule deer and elk, and offers stunning Cascade Mountains views from Central Oregon’s cities and towns.
A decade from now, we hope to walk through Skyline Forest and see a healthy, intact landscape that Central Oregonians enjoy, treasure, and care for. It’s time to work together to find a conservation-focused acquisition and management solution for Skyline Forest that addresses these issues.
Do you want to see sustained public access and improved wildfire safety at the heart of Skyline Forest’s future? Urge our elected leaders to work together to help find solutions that protect this place and address these issues.