Pelican Butte-Sky Lakes Area – State Wildlife Action Plan

Cherry Creek Photo Credit: William Tinniswood, 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.

At the ecoregion boundary adjacent to the East Cascades, and immediately adjacent to the Upper Klamath Lake COA in the East Cascades.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain or enhance Grassland habitats
Maintain or enhance wetland and wet meadow habitat

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

American Fisheries Society Aquatic Diversity Area
Important Bird Areas of Oregon

Potential Partners

Ducks Unlimited (Wetlands America Trust)
US Forest Service

Special Features

General

Adjacent to Pelican Butte Wilderness Area and circling Mountain Lakes Wilderness Area,
Area contains a significant percentage of the ecoregion's grasslands, wetlands and wet meadow habitats
Provides habitat for ESA Listed Lost Sucker

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID EC-09 (Upper Klamath Lake area)
2006 COA ID WC-11 (Pelican Butte-Sky Lakes area)

Protected Areas

Cherry Creek Basin Research Natural Area
Crystal Creek
Fremont-Winema National Forest
Los Conversion Withdrawal Case
Mountain Lakes Wilderness
Mountain Lakes Wilderness Study Area
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
Sky Lakes Wilderness
West Side Klamath Recreation Area

Ecoregions

East Cascades

The East Cascade ecoregion extends from the Cascade Mountains' summit east to the warmer, drier high desert and down the length of the state. This ecoregion varies dramatically from its cool, moist border with the West Cascades ecoregion to its dry eastern border, where it meets sagebrush desert landscapes.

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.

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.

Ponderosa Pine Woodlands

Ponderosa pine woodlands are common in Oregon’s eastside ecoregions. While dominated by ponderosa pine, these woodlands may also have lodgepole pine, western juniper, aspen, western larch, grand fir, Douglas-fir, mountain mahogany, incense cedar, sugar pine, or white fir, depending on ecoregion and site conditions. Known for their open forest structure, these woodlands generally have fewer …

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.

Species of Greatest Conservation Need

American Avocet (Modelled)

Recurvirostra americana

American Goshawk, © Ben Meredyk/iNaturalist, some rights reserved (CC-BY)

American Goshawk (Modelled)

Astur atricapillus

American Pika (Modelled)

Ochotona princeps

American Three-toed Woodpecker (Modelled)

Picoides dorsalis

American White Pelican (Modelled)

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Black-backed Woodpecker (Modelled)

Picoides arcticus

Black Tern (Modelled)

Chlidonias niger

Brewer’s Sparrow (Modelled)

Spizella breweri breweri

California Mountain Kingsnake (Modelled)

Lampropeltis zonata

California Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis californicus

Cascades Frog (Modelled)

Rana cascadae

Caspian Tern (Modelled)

Hydroprogne caspia

Chipping Sparrow (Modelled)

Spizella passerina

Clouded Salamander (Modelled)

Aneides ferreus

Coastal Tailed Frog (Modelled)

Ascaphus truei

Common Nighthawk (Modelled)

Chordeiles minor

Flammulated Owl (Modelled)

Psiloscops flammeolus

Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (Modelled)

Rana boylii

Fringed Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis thysanodes

Golden Eagle (Modelled)

Aquila chrysaetos

Great Gray Owl (Modelled)

Strix nebulosa

Hoary Bat (Modelled)

Lasiurus cinereus

Hutton Spring Tui Chub (Modelled)

Siphateles bicolor oregonensis

Kit Fox (Modelled)

Vulpes macrotis

Klamath Largescale Sucker (Modelled)

Catostomus snyderi

Lewis’s Woodpecker (Modelled)

Melanerpes lewis

Little Brown Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis lucifugus

Loggerhead Shrike (Modelled)

Lanius ludovicianus

Long-billed Curlew (Modelled)

Numenius americanus

Long-legged Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis volans

Lost River Sucker (Modelled)

Deltistes luxatus

North American Porcupine (Modelled)

Erethizon dorsatum

Northern Red-legged Frog (Modelled)

Rana aurora

Northern Spotted Owl (Modelled)

Strix occidentalis caurina

Northwestern Pond Turtle (Modelled)

Actinemys marmorata

Olive-sided Flycatcher (Modelled)

Contopus cooperi

Oregon Spotted Frog (Modelled)

Rana pretiosa

Oregon Vesper Sparrow (Modelled)

Pooecetes gramineus affinis

Pacific Fisher (Modelled)

Pekania pennanti

Pacific Marten (Modelled)

Martes caurina

Pallid Bat (Modelled)

Antrozous pallidus

© JD Flores, some rights reserved (CC-BY)

Pinyon Jay (Modelled)

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Ringtail (Modelled)

Bassariscus astutus

Short-eared Owl (Modelled)

Asio flammeus flammeus

Shortnose Sucker (Modelled)

Chasmistes brevirostris

Sierra Nevada Red Fox (Modelled)

Vulpes vulpes necator

Silver-haired Bat (Modelled)

Lasionycteris noctivagans

Snowy Egret (Modelled)

Egretta thula brewsteri

Swainson’s Hawk (Modelled)

Buteo swainsoni

Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Modelled)

Corynorhinus townsendii

Trumpeter Swan (Modelled)

Cygnus buccinator

Western Bluebird (Modelled)

Sialia mexicana occidentalis

Western Gray Squirrel (Modelled)

Sciurus griseus

Western Grebe (Modelled)

Aechmophorus occidentalis

Western Long-eared Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis evotis

Western Meadowlark (Modelled)

Sturnella neglecta

Western Purple Martin (Modelled)

Progne subis arboricola

Western Rattlesnake (Modelled)

Crotalus oreganus oreganus

Western Small-footed Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis ciliolabrum

Western Snowy Plover (Modelled)

Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus

Western Toad (Modelled)

Anaxyrus boreas

White-breasted Nuthatch (Pacific) (Modelled)

Sitta carolinensis aculeata

White-headed Woodpecker (Modelled)

Dryobates albolarvatus albolarvatus

Willet (Modelled)

Tringa semipalmata inornata

Willow Flycatcher (Modelled)

Empidonax traillii

Wilson’s Phalarope (Modelled)

Phalaropus tricolor

Yellow Rail (Modelled)

Coturnicops noveboracensis

Yuma Myotis (Modelled)

Myotis yumanensis

American Goshawk (Observed)

Astur atricapillus

American Pika (Observed)

Ochotona princeps

American Three-toed Woodpecker (Observed)

Picoides dorsalis

American White Pelican (Observed)

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Black-backed Woodpecker (Observed)

Picoides arcticus

Black Tern (Observed)

Chlidonias niger

California Myotis (Observed)

Myotis californicus

Cascades Frog (Observed)

Rana cascadae

Caspian Tern (Observed)

Hydroprogne caspia

Chipping Sparrow (Observed)

Spizella passerina

Common Nighthawk (Observed)

Chordeiles minor

Flammulated Owl (Observed)

Psiloscops flammeolus

Fringed Myotis (Observed)

Myotis thysanodes

Golden Eagle (Observed)