Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge Area – 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.

Just east of Hermiston and extending to include a small stretch of the Columbia River. Includes Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Reestablish floodplain forests
Restore and maintain complex, continuous sage habitat
Restore wetland and wet meadow habitats
Reduce risk of future high-severity fire

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Bureau of Land Management
US Fish and Wildlife Service

Special Features

General

Provides significant Grassland, Riparian, and Sagebrush habitat

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID CP-07 (Lower Umatilla area)

Protected Areas

Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge
McNary National Wildlife Refuge

Ecoregions

Columbia Plateau

The Columbia Plateau ecoregion was shaped by cataclysmic floods and large deposits of wind-borne silt and sand earlier in its geological history. It is dominated by a rolling landscape of arid lowlands dissected by several important rivers, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Cascades Mountains, south and east from the Columbia River to the Blue Mountains.

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 …

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.