I do love juniper trees. I feel sad when people call them weed trees, though by some definition they may be. They spread into land that has been disturbed by man and animals and have doubled their range since the early 1900s. And they are not a commercially viable lumber on a large enough scale to get respect.
Juniper trees have been around this area for a long time, with their being much more widely distributed 2,000 to 4,000 years ago. It is figured that 400 years ago their range was around what it is in our present time, and that the decline began about 200 years ago. They get quite ancient, hundreds of year old.
Their berries are a major winter food source for many birds including robins and grosbeaks, as well as being a medicinal and a culinary herb. They flavor gin. The bark can make baskets. The lumber is beautifully grained and is used as a specialty item. My mother, Margaret Meritt, a local artist, used juniper scenes as on of her favorite subjects and found them quite successful.
I was impressed to see that their value is beginning to be recognized. The Pronghorn Development, a golf community on Powell Butte Road that is situated in a beautiful juniper forest, is digging and potting the junipers that are in their way. They put them in huge lumber pots, to be replanted later. Good job.
