Turning of the tamarack

Numerous backroads take autumn motorists through stands of changing tamarack.

“We should have at least another week of fall color unless we have a big wind storm,’’ said Judy Wing, the public affairs officer for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

Wing said that this has been a good autumn for fall color in Northeast Oregon, better than some expected. She said some foresters feared that dry summer conditions would hurt the fall foliage. Late summer and early fall rains prevented any dimming of leaf colors.

People looking for fall foliage in Northeast Oregon are advised to take routes that follow creek and river bottoms, areas where many deciduous trees such as cottonwoods and maples are.

Outside of creek and river bottoms travelers can find autumn hues displayed by western larch, which is also called tamarack. It is  one of the only coniferous (cone bearing) trees that annually sheds its needles. The needles turn golden before falling.

Some people falsely assume the trees are dead or dying when the needles turn yellow, when actually they are alive and well.

“We sometimes receive calls from people telling us they think we have a lot trees that are dying,’’ Wing said.

Often those trees turn out to be western larch.

The confusion concerning these trees and their health in the fall became readily apparent several years ago when a yellow western larch was a prominent part of an Oregon license plate design. Many people complained about Oregon having a “dead tree’’ on its license plate, so the color was quickly changed to green, according to an article on the Oregon Department of Forestry’s website by Jeri Chase.

Northeast Oregon travelers who want to see western larch and other trees in autumn dress are advised to drive the following routes:

• Highway 244 from Hilgard State Park to the Starkey area and beyond.

• the Catherine Creek Loop of the Grande Auto Tour. The loop runs on Highway 203 from Union to Catherine Creek State Park, to Medical Springs and Telocaset. Motorists return to Union on this route via Highway 237.

• the Elkhorn Drive from North Powder to Anthony Lakes and then to Sumpter and Baker City.

• Joseph to Halfway on the Wallowa Loop Road.

All of the routes listed are clear now but drivers are urged to be prepared for winter driving conditions, Wing said. Several stretches of the routes listed above are not plowed when snow hits.