Pueblo Mountain – State Wildlife Action Plan

Geographic boundaries of the COAs were updated for the 2026 State Wildlife Action Plan and the associated COA profiles are intended to provide additional information. Content of each COA profile is being refined and will be updated to reflect current conditions when feasible. Please help us by submitting information on Local Conservation Actions, Plans, or Potential Partners to: OCS.revision@odfw.oregon.gov.

This COA encompasses the southern Oregon Pueblo Mountains from Cottonwood Creek in the north to the Monument Basin in the southwest and then east across the Pueblo Valley towards the foothills of the Trout Creek Mountains. It includes the Pueblo Mountain Wilderness Study Area; the Tum Tum Lake Research Natural Area, and the Pueblo Hills Research Natural Area. Portions of this COA were burned by the Denio Basin Fire in 2014 and the Upper Mine Fire in 2017.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Control spread of Western Juniper to maintain habitat values in sagebrush, riparian, and wetland habitats
Maintain or restore Aspen forests and woodlands
Manage sagebrush habitats to achieve and maintain habitat goals of the Oregon Sage Grouse Strategy
Promote early detection and removal of invasive plants with an emphasis on unique high quality grasslands

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

Sage Grouse Low Density Core Habitat Areas
This area is widely recognized as having significant biological value for plants and animals, resulting in many rare and endemic species.

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID NBR-09 (Alvord Lake Basin)
2006 COA ID NBR-09 (Pueblo Mountains)

Protected Areas

Pueblo Foothills Research Natural Area
Pueblo Mountains WSA | Bureau of Land Management https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-washington/pueblo-mountains-wsa
Tum Tum Lake Research Natural Area

Specialized Local Habitats

Active and Stabilized Dunes
Ash Beds
Cliff and Rim Rock
Native Perennial Bunchgrasses

Ecoregions

Northern Basin and Range

The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion covers the very large southeastern portion of the state, from Burns south to the Nevada border and from the Christmas Valley east to Idaho. It is largely a high elevation desert-like area dominated by sagebrush communities and habitats.

Key Habitats

Aspen Woodlands

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) woodlands are woodland and/or forest communities dominated by aspen trees with a forb, grass, and/or shrub understory. Aspen woodlands also occur within conifer forests.

Natural Lakes

Natural lakes are relatively large bodies of freshwater surrounded by land that were formed through geological processes, such as glacial scouring, tectonic movements, volcanic activity and river meander cutoffs. In Oregon, natural lakes are defined as standing water bodies larger than 20 acres, including some seasonal lakes. Depth is not a reference for characterization of …

Flowing Water and Riparian Habitats

Flowing Water and Riparian Habitats include all naturally occurring flowing freshwater streams and rivers throughout Oregon as well as the adjacent riparian habitat.