Necanicum River – State Wildlife Action Plan

The Necanicum River in Oregon's Coast Range. Photo Credit: Herman Biederbeck, ODFW

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 Necanicum River COA (26 mi²) extends along the Necanicum river corridor from Seaside up into the Coast Range. This watershed provides critical habitat for many coastal plant and animal communities. Floodplains and associated wetland and riparian ecosystems provide important flood protection for downstream communities and act as corridors allowing wildlife to move along and between suitable habitats. Management of the area promotes this connectivity and corridor through the landscape. This COA creates a contiguous chunk of habitat along with the Clatsop Plains, Necanicum Estuary, Saddle Mountain and Tillamook Head COAs.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Restore ambient streamflow, fish passage, riparian vegetation, floodplain connectivity, and in-stream structure.
Plan future habitat change to maintain key ecological functions and habitats.
Maintain and restore existing habitat and ecological function, ensuring sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

North Coast Land Conservancy

Special Features

General

The City of Seaside and North Coast Land Conservancy acquired land within this COA and established a conservation estuary within the Necanicum Estuary Natural History Park. The goal of this park is to “maintain ecological functions, provide appropriate public access, and support public engagement in the context of the North Coast Region and its cultural history.”
The Necanicum Estuary and adjacent riparian habitat serve as important habitat for migratory birds and fish.

Protected Areas

Elmer Feldenheimer State Natural Area
Klootchy Creek County Park
Necanicum Forest Habitat Reserve
Neawanna Estuary Habitat Reserve
Neawanna Wetland Habitat Reserve
Seaside Mill Ponds Habitat Reserve
Shangrila Wetland Habitat Reserve
Thompson Creek and Stanley Marsh Habitat Reserve

Previous COA Associations

Size Change from 2016 boundaries: – 9 mi²(26% decrease)

Ecoregions

Coast Range

Oregon's Coast Range, known for its dramatic scenery, is extremely diverse, with habitats ranging from open sandy dunes to lush forests and from tidepools to headwater streams. It follows the coastline and extends east through coastal forest to the border of the Willamette Valley and Klamath Mountains ecoregions

Key Habitats

Estuaries

Estuaries are broadly defined as partially enclosed coastal bodies of tidally influenced water with one or more inputs of freshwater, and with a free or intermittent connection to the open sea. Estuaries typically occur at locations where freshwater from rivers, streams, or creeks meets saltwater from the nearshore ocean, creating a tidal basin that experiences frequent …

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.

Ducks on a wetland in Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area, Oregon

Wetlands

Wetlands are habitats that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support vegetation typically adapted for life in sodden soil conditions. While dominated by periods of inundation, the natural ecological cycle may also include dry intervals. Permanently wet habitats include backwater sloughs, oxbow lakes, peatlands, …