Molalla River – State Wildlife Action Plan

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The Molalla River COA (38 mi²) extends along the Molalla River corridor from Mulino upstream to the Dickie Prairie area, and includes the associated floodplain, tributaries, and upland habitats. This COA is adjacent to the Missouri Ridge COA.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain and enhance in-channel watershed functions, connection to riparian habitat, water flow and hydrology.
Install large wood instream and in adjacent floodplains to benefit both fish and wildlife.
Maintain and restore existing habitat and ecological function, ensuring sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

The Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District has implemented stream restoration efforts along Milk Creek, a major tributary of the Lower Molalla River, since 2012. Restoration efforts have included improving in-stream habitat for juvenile salmonids, improving in-stream habitat complexity, slowing flow velocities during high flow events, reducing bank erosion by replanting native vegetation, and more.
The lower Molalla River runs through a landscape that is both very urban and agricultural. As such, this area faces threats from municipal, road, and farming runoff. Despite this, the area still provides important habitat refugia for many fish and wildlife species in the area.

Protected Areas

Camp Adams (WWMP Property)
Feyrer Park
Wagon Wheel Park

Previous COA Associations

Size Change from 2016 boundaries: +2.0 mi²(6% 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.