Little North Santiam River 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.

The Little North Santiam River COA (45 mi²) extends from Silver Falls State Park eastward into the Cascades toward the Willamette National Forest boundary. The area primarily consisted of mixed conifer forest and includes the headwaters of North Santiam and Pudding Rivers. It is comprised of a matrix of private industrial forest and both state and federal public recreational areas. This COA is adjacent to the Santiam Confluences COA.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Create quality in-stream rearing habitat for salmonids, enhance side channel habitat
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.
Protect, enhance and expand grassland habitats.
Protect, enhance and expand Oregon white oak habitats.
Reduce inputs of herbicides, fertilizers and other chemicals

Promote early detection and removal of invasive plants.

Remove barriers to fish and amphibian movement.
Retain and protect forest openings and meadows for wildlife habitat diversity.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

A portion of Elkhorn Creek that runs through this COA is designated as a Scenic Waterway.
This COA is adjacent to Opal Creek Wilderness Area.
This COA serves as an important habitat connector between the West Cascades and the Willamette Valley.
This area provides habitat for many cold water fish and amphibian species, as well as mature forest-associated wildlife species.
This COA was almost entirely burned in the Beachie Creek Fire of 2020. The only unburned portion falls within Silver Falls State Park. This 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.

Protected Areas

Bear Creek County Park
Elkhorn Creek Wild and Scenic River
Elkhorn Valley Recreation Site
Elkhorn Woods Park
Little North Santiam Recreation Area
North Fork County Park
Santiam State Forest
Silver Falls State Park
Willamette National Forest

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- WC-04 (Bull of the Woods area)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: -40.0 mi²(47% decrease)

Specialized Local Habitats

Headwaters / Springs / Seeps
Meadows / Forest Openings
Old-growth Douglas fir
Rock outcrops, cliffs, 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.

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.