Meeks Table RNA

Meeks Table Research Natural Area (RNA) was established to represent ponderosa pine forest in as nearly virgin conditions as could be found in Washington and Oregon. The RNA includes an isolated flat-topped butte rising above surrounding rolling terrain.  Cliffs with talus slopes surround the butte. The Columbia needlegrass (Achnatherum nelsonii)-spreading phlox (Phlox diffusa)-stiff sagebrush (Artemisia rigida) community dominates the RNA. Columbia needlegrass, pinegrass (Calamagrostis rubescens), and Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) are the predominant grasses while sedum (Sedum spectabile) is the predominant forb and spreading phlox (Phlox diffusa) is the predominant halfshrub. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a dominant tree species while Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), western larch (Larix occidentalis) and grand fir (Abies grandis) are also common. Pinegrass and elk sedge (Carex garberi) dominate the understory with heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia) as a dominant forb.