Breitenbush River – 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.

The Breitenbush River COA (73 mi²) extends from the edge of the Opal Creek Wilderness eastward into the Cascades, up toward Potato Butte. This area contains mid to high elevation managed forest and tributaries of the North Santiam River. This COA is adjacent to the Mt Jefferson Wilderness, North COA.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Identify and remove barriers to fish and amphibian movement.
Improve and maintain forest health; use prescribed fire and silviculture to attain desired future condition.
Improve in-stream habitat complexity for fish and wildlife.
Increase vegetated buffers on non-fishing bearing streams to protect water quality and micro-habitat for sensitive amphibians. Minimize road construction near these streams to reduce impacts on amphibians.
Protect and restore riparian and wetland habitat, headwater streams, protect and enhance amphibian breeding sites, replace culvert that impede amphibian passage.
Maintain and protect instream flows.
Manage riparian areas to develop shade and stand species diversity.
Protect and maintain grassland and rock features.

Manage public use and recreation to minimize disturbance to sensitive species.

De-commission unused roads to decrease sedimentation and improve wildlife movement potential.

Promote early detection and removal of invasive plants.

Retain and protect forest openings and meadows for wildlife habitat diversity.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

This COA serves as an important connector habitat between the Bull of the Woods, Opal Creek, and Mount Jefferson Wilderness Areas.
This area contains forest designated as Critical Habitat Units for Northern Spotted Owl recovery efforts.
Several rare plant species present within this COA.
This area was the site of a spring chinook salmon reintroduction effort.
This area was heavily impacted by the 2020 Lionshead Fire, which burned severely over the greater portion of the COA. Smaller portions of this COA had been burned previously in 2017 as well (Little Devil Fire, Clagett Fire and Scorpion Fire). The 2020 high-intensity fire dramatically changed the landscape of this COA, resulting in increased prevalence of invasive and noxious plants as the area began to revegetate. As native vegetation starts to return, these forests also provide important early-successional forage for ungulate species.
The Breitenbush and North Santiam River Watershed was selected as a Beaver Emphasis Area for ODFW’s South Willamette Watershed in 2023. ODFW and partner groups have been conducted beaver surveys within the watershed since then to better understand beaver prevalence in the area.
Following the 2020 fires, the North Santiam Watershed Council has begun a Stage 0 restoration of the North Fork Breitenbach River, funded with USFS and ODFW.

Protected Areas

Breitenbush Hot Springs
Bull of the Woods Wilderness
Mount Hood National Forest
Mount Jefferson Wilderness
Willamette National Forest

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- WC-04 (Bull of the Woods area)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: -5.0 mi²(6% decrease)

Specialized Local Habitats

Forest openings / Meadows
Headwaters, Seeps, Springs (Hot and Cold)
Rock outcrops, talus

Ecoregions

West Cascades

The West Cascades ecoregion extends from east of the Cascade Mountains summit to the foothills of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys, and spans the entire length of the state of Oregon. It is largely dominated by conifer forests, moving into alpine parklands and dwarf shrubs at higher elevations.

Key Habitats

Grasslands

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

Late Successional Mixed Conifer Forests

Late successional mixed conifer forests provide a multi-layered tree canopy, including large-diameter trees, shade-tolerant tree species in the understory, and a high volume of dead wood, such as snags and logs.

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.