Clackamas River and Tributaries – State Wildlife Action Plan

Clackamas River Area — Photo Credit: Susan Barnes, ODFW

The Clackamas River and Tributaries COA (59 mi²) extends from the confluence with the Willamette River area upstream to Estacada and includes the associated floodplain, tributaries, and upland habitats of the lower Clackamas River. This COA is adjacent to the Lower Willamette River Floodplain COA.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain and enhance in-channel watershed functions, connection to riparian habitat, water flow and water quality.

Improve side channel and off-channel habitat, increase aquatic connectivity and fish passage.
Maintain and restore existing habitat and ecological function, ensuring sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Special Features

General

The Clackamas Partnership is a collaboration of organizations dedicated to improving watershed health through focused prioritized restoration. The Partnership is working under an Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Focused Investment Partnership (FIP) grant and has improved floodplain access to 4.1 miles of side channel, 120 acres of off-channel wetlands and improved 18 miles of instream habitat within the Clackamas mainstem floodplain under the FIP grant.
The lower Clackamas River runs through a landscape that is both very urban and agricultural. As such, this area faces threats from municipal, road, and farming runoff and water treatment facility releases into the river. Despite this, the area still provides important habitat refugia for many fish and wildlife species.
This area was impacted by the Riverside Fire in 2020. The majority of severe burn occurred upstream of this COA in the Mount Hood National Forest, but the effects to the river downstream were felt by fish and wildlife, including increased sedimentation in the river.

Protected Areas

Barton Park
Clackamette Park
Eagle Fern Park
Feldheimer Road Boat Ramp
Foster Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank
High Rocks Park
Milo McIver State Park
Orchard Lake Open Space
Orchard Summit Open Space
Park Place Park
Riverside Park
Timber Park

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- WV-07 (Clackamas River area)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: +2.0 mi²(4% increase)

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.

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley ecoregion is bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. This long mostly level alluvial plain has some scattered areas of low basalt, and contrasts with productive farmland and large urban areas. It has the fastest-growing human population in the state resulting in challenges due to land-use changes.

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 …

Example of Oak Woodlands, which is a Strategy Habitat within the State Wildlife Action Plan

Oak Habitats

There are several oak habitat types in Oregon, where oaks comprise most of the canopy. These can include oak woodlands, oak forest, oak chaparral, and riparian oak. Oak savanna is covered in the Grasslands Key Habitat. Oaks may also co-dominate a canopy in oak/fir, oak pine, and oak hardwood habitats.

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.