Silver Creek Area – State Wildlife Action Plan

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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.

Located at the southern edge of the Blue Mountains Ecoregion, just west of the Silvies River. Area includes ecologically significant stretch of Silver Creek and its surrounding habitat.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Initiate or continue wet meadow conservation and restoration efforts
Restore and maintain riparian habitats
Use fire and thinning to restore and enhance Ponderosa Pine habitat

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Eastern Oregon Bird Conservation Plan
Greater Sage-grouse Conservation Assessment and Strategy

Potential Partners

Bureau of Land Management
The Nature Conservancy

Special Features

General

Area contains significant coverage of the ecoregion's Ponderosa Pine Habitat
Includes part of Continental Zone Highlands subregion

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID BM-08 (Silver Creek - Emigrant Creek)

Protected Areas

Delintment Lake
Dry Mountain Research Natural Area
Malheur National Forest
Prineville District
Silver Creek

Ecoregions

Blue Mountains

Located in NE Oregon, the Blue Mountains ecoregion is the largest ecoregion in the state. It provides a diverse complex of mountain ranges, valleys, and plateaus that extend beyond Oregon into the states of Idaho and Washington.

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

Grasslands

Grasslands include a variety of upland grass-dominated habitats, such as upland prairies, coastal bluffs, and montane grasslands.

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 …

Ponderosa Pine Woodlands

Ponderosa pine woodlands are common in Oregon’s eastside ecoregions. While dominated by ponderosa pine, these woodlands may also have lodgepole pine, western juniper, aspen, western larch, grand fir, Douglas-fir, mountain mahogany, incense cedar, sugar pine, or white fir, depending on ecoregion and site conditions. Known for their open forest structure, these woodlands generally have fewer …

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.