Middle Willamette River Floodplain – State Wildlife Action Plan

The Middle Willamette River Floodplain COA (102 mi²) extends along the mainstem Willamette River from Willamette Falls to the confluence with the Calapooia River near Albany (river miles 26 to 120). This COA includes the river’s floodplain and adjacent uplands. This COA is adjacent to the Lower Willamette River Floodplain, Upper Willamette River Floodplain, Pudding River, Salem Hills – Ankeny NWR, Santiam Confluences, and Lukiamute River and Tributaries COAs.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Focus invasive species education at public access areas.
Improve in-stream channel complexity.
Manage public access and recreation to minimize conflict with habitat restoration goals.
Protect amphibian breeding sites.
Protect and create suitable turtle nesting and rearing habitat.
Protect and enhance off-channel and backwater sloughs habitats for both fish and wildlife.
Protect, restore and expand Oregon white oak habitats.
Reconnect mainstem to floodplain through removal of levees and dikes.
Reduce water temperatures, run-off from agricultural fields, and inputs of chemical contaminants.
Restore riparian habitat; expand where feasible.
Restore wet prairie and grassland habitats.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department owns and manages significant portions of the Willamette River Greenway, which is a corridor or parks and natural areas along the river. This greenway provides numerous recreational opportunities for the public, along with crucial habitat for fish and wildlife species.
This COA runs through a landscape that is both very urban and agricultural, running right through the Willamette Valley. The COA faces threats from municipal, road, and farming runoff and water treatment facility releases into the river.

Protected Areas

American Bottom Landing Willamette River Greenway
Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge
Beardsley Bar Landing Willamette River Greenway
Bernert Landing
Black Dog Landing Willamette River Greenway
Boones Ferry Marina
Boones Ferry Park
Canby Landing Conservation Easement (WWMP Property)
Canemah Park
Champoeg State Heritage Area
Coalca Landing Willamette River Greenway
Darrow Bar Access Willamette River Greenway
Darrow Rock’s Landing Willamette River Greenway
Doaks Ferry Access Willamette River Greenway
Edgewater Open Space
Eldridge Bar Landing Willamette River Greenway
Emergency Watershed Protection Program – Floodplain Easement
Eola Bend
Fish Eddy Landing
French Prairie Access Willamette River Greenway
Gail Achterman Wildlife Area (Hayden Island) (WWMP Property)
Grand Island Willamette River Greenway
Hall’s Ferry Access Willamette River Greenway
Hebb Park
Hess Creek Landing Willamette River Greenway
Holman State Wayside
Homeowners Association Open Space
Independence Bar Access Willamette River Greenway
Jackson Bend Landing Willamette River Greenway
Keizer Falls
Lincoln Access Willamette River Greenway
Little Rock Island
Luckiamute State Natural Area
McLane Island Landing Willamette River Greenway
Memorial Park
Mid Valley Wetland Mitigation Bank
Minto-Brown Island
Minto Island Conservation Area (WWMP Property)
Molalla Landing Willamette River Greenway
Molalla River State Park
Old Canemah Park
Palma Cia Park
Parrett Mountain Access Willamette River Greenway
Peach Cove Landing Willamette River Greenway
Pete’s Mountain Landing Willamette River Greenway
Rivergreen Open Space
Rivers Edge Park
Rock Island Landing Willamette River Greenway
San Salvador Access Willamette River Greenway
Sidney Access Willamette River Greenway
Simpson Lakes Access Willamette River Greenway
Willamette Bluffs Conservation Easement (WWMP Property)

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- WV-03 (Willamette River Floodplain)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: No change

Specialized Local Habitats

Off-channels and oxbow lakes
Riverine islands
Shoreline and sandy beaches

Ecoregions

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.

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.