Rogue River – 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.

This area contains habitat along the mainstem of the Rogue River including portions of the Wild and Scenic area.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Acquire instream water rights to augment streamflows downstream of areas with high coho rearing densities, such as Taylor Creek, to produce more fish.
Conduct remote camera surveys to examine Ringtail occupancy and collect genetic samples.
Promote the development of mature riparian habitat in natural bar or floodplain areas in the mainstem Rogue River to improve junvenile Fall Chinook habitat.
Restore ambient streamflow, fish passage, riparian vegetation, floodplain connectivity, and in-stream structure.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Conservation Plan for Fall Chinook in the Rogue Species Management Unit
Klamath Mountain Province Steelhead project summary
ODFW Coho Expert Panel Summary
Oregon Native Fish Status Report
Rogue River Spring Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan

Potential Partners

Bureau of Land Management
Oregon Department of Forestry
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
US Forest Service
Wild Rivers Land Trust
Rogue River Keepers

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID CR-38 (Cape Blanco area)
2006 COA ID KM-03 (Rogue area)
2006 COA ID KM-04 (Kalmiopsis area)
2006 COA ID KM-05 (Taylor Creek area)

Protected Areas

Bobby Creek
Illinois River
Lower Rogue River
Rogue River
Rogue River State Scenic Waterway
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
Wild Rogue Wilderness

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

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains ecoregion covers much of southwestern Oregon, including the Klamath Mountains, Siskiyou Mountains, the interior valleys and foothills between these and the Cascade Range, and the Rogue and Umpqua river valleys. Several popular and scenic rivers run through the ecoregion, including the Umpqua, Rogue, Illinois, and Applegate rivers. Historically, this ecoregion is known …

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.

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, …