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 an area south of US Highway 78 that spans Malheur and Harney Counties from the Sheepshead mountains in the east to Burnt Flat and Comegys Lake on the northern flank of Steens Mountain.
Ecoregions
Key Habitats
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.
Sagebrush Habitats
Sagebrush habitats include all sagebrush steppe- and shrubland-dominated communities found east of the Cascade Mountains.
Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Alvord Chub (Observed and Modeled)
Siphateles alvordensis
American Avocet (Observed and Modeled)
Recurvirostra americana
American Goshawk (Modeled)
Astur atricapillus
American Pika (Modeled)
Ochotona princeps
American White Pelican (Observed and Modeled)
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Black-backed Woodpecker (Modeled)
Picoides arcticus
Black Rosy-finch (Modeled)
Leucosticte atrata
Black Tern (Observed and Modeled)
Chlidonias niger
Brewer’s Sparrow (Observed and Modeled)
Spizella breweri breweri
California Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis californicus
Canyon Bat (Modeled)
Parastrellus hesperus
Caspian Tern (Observed)
Hydroprogne caspia
Chipping Sparrow (Observed and Modeled)
Spizella passerina
Columbia Spotted Frog (Modeled)
Rana luteiventris
Common Nighthawk (Observed and Modeled)
Chordeiles minor
Desert Horned Lizard (Observed and Modeled)
Phrynosoma platyrhinos
Ferruginous Hawk (Observed and Modeled)
Buteo regalis
Franklin’s Gull (Observed)
Leucophaeus pipixcan
Fringed Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis thysanodes
Golden Eagle (Observed and Modeled)
Aquila chrysaetos
Great Basin Collared Lizard (Observed and Modeled)
Crotaphytus bicinctores
Greater Sage-Grouse (Observed and Modeled)
Centrocercus urophasianus
Hoary Bat (Modeled)
Lasiurus cinereus
Kit Fox (Modeled)
Vulpes macrotis
Lewis’s Woodpecker (Modeled)
Melanerpes lewis
Little Brown Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis lucifugus
Loggerhead Shrike (Observed and Modeled)
Lanius ludovicianus
Long-billed Curlew (Observed and Modeled)
Numenius americanus
Long-legged Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis volans
Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (Modeled)
Gambelia wislizeni
North American Porcupine (Modeled)
Erethizon dorsatum
Olive-sided Flycatcher (Observed and Modeled)
Contopus cooperi
Pallid Bat (Modeled)
Antrozous pallidus
Pygmy Rabbit (Modeled)
Brachylagus idahoensis
Sagebrush Sparrow (Observed)
Artemisiospiza nevadensis
Short-eared Owl (Observed and Modeled)
Asio flammeus flammeus
Silver-haired Bat (Modeled)
Lasionycteris noctivagans
Snowy Egret (Observed and Modeled)
Egretta thula brewsteri
Spotted Bat (Modeled)
Euderma maculatum
Sullivan’s Sulphur (butterfly) (Observed)
Colias occidentalis sullivani
Swainson’s Hawk (Observed and Modeled)
Buteo swainsoni
Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Observed and Modeled)
Corynorhinus townsendii
Trumpeter Swan (Observed and Modeled)
Cygnus buccinator
Western Bluebird (Observed and Modeled)
Sialia mexicana occidentalis
Western Burrowing Owl (Modeled)
Athene cunicularia hypugaea
Western Grebe (Observed and Modeled)
Aechmophorus occidentalis
Western Long-eared Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis evotis
Western Meadowlark (Observed and Modeled)
Sturnella neglecta
Western Rattlesnake (Modeled)
Crotalus oreganus oreganus
Western Small-footed Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis ciliolabrum
Western Snowy Plover (Modeled)
Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus
Western Toad (Modeled)
Anaxyrus boreas
White-tailed Jackrabbit (Modeled)
Lepus townsendii
Willet (Observed and Modeled)
Tringa semipalmata inornata
Willow Flycatcher (Modeled)
Empidonax traillii
Wilson’s Phalarope (Observed and Modeled)
Phalaropus tricolor
Yuma Myotis (Modeled)
Myotis yumanensis