Sauvie Island-Scappoose – State Wildlife Action Plan

The Sauvie Island – Scappoose COA (54 mi²) extends along the westside of the Columbia River from Saint Helens to the southern tip of Sauvie Island. This COA contains a mosaic of tidally influenced sloughs, wetland and ponds, along with cottonwood galleries and bottomland hardwood forests. The area includes Sauvie Island, Multnomah Channel, Scappoose Bay and the easternmost slopes of Forest Park along Highway 30. This COA is adjacent to the Forest Park and Lower Willamette River Floodplain COAs.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Avoid/minimize mosquito control in wetlands.
Encourage / promote American beaver activity.
Restore and maintain habitat and ecological function for sensitive species, including Columbian white-tailed deer.
Improve grassland habitats for grassland associated species.
Maintain wetlands and open water areas for the benefit of waterfowl, shorebirds, turtles, amphibians and bats.
Manage public access and recreation with fish, wildlife and habitat in mind.
Protect and expand Oregon white oak habitat.
Protect and improve habitat for turtles, amphibians, and bats.
Protect and restore wetlands (seasonal and perennial).
Re-establish juvenile salmon rearing areas.
Re-establish natural hydrology.
Reduce road mortality for amphibians and other wildlife crossing Highway 30.
Restore disconnected floodplains.
Conservation action for freshwater muscles and lampreys.
Continued enforcement action against sturgeon and salmonid poachers, to protect these sensitive fisheries.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Special Features

General

This COA is considered one of the most important stop-overs in the Pacific Flyway, providing valuable habitat and food resources to thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds each year.
The tidal wetlands, sloughs, ponds and channels present throughout this COA provide important resting and movement corridor for salmonids.
This COA includes the entirety of the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area (~12,000-acres), owned and managed by ODFW. This property supports a rich diversity of habitat, especially for ducks and geese in the fall and winter. There is very heavy recreational use of the beaches in the summertime, resulting in conflict between humans and wildlife utilizing the same spaces.
A large number of restoration projects have occurred in this area in the past 20 years, working to restore connectivity between the Columbia River and the many sloughs, wetland, and additional habitats present. This has included habitat restoration, in-stream work, as well as property acquisition by conservation partners.
A restoration project along Dairy Creek was completed in 2018. This project reconnected Sturgeon Lake to the surrounding wetland system, restored the tidal channel out to the Columbia River, replanted native vegetation, and installed in-stream habitat features for fish.
In 2024 construction was completed on an underpass at Palensky Wildlife Area, to allow amphibians safe passage across Hwy 30. The underpass connects Northern red-legged frog summer habitat to their breeding habitat in the Multnomah Channel.
A MOTUS tower was constructed within the Sauvie Island Wildlife area in 2024, helping to track radio-tagged wildlife that pass through the area. Information from MOTUS towers such as this one help us to better understand migratory patterns and habitat use by wildlife species.

Protected Areas

Flight’s End Property
Howell Territorial Park
John R. Palensky Wildlife Area
Sauvie Island Wildlife Area
Scappoose Landing Willamette River Greenway

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- CR-09 (Portland’s Forest Park)
- WV-01 (Columbia River Bottomlands)
- WV-03 (Willamette River Floodplain)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: +4.1 mi²(5% increase)

Specialized Local Habitats

A mosaic of tidally influenced sloughs, wetlands, and ponds
Cottonwood gallery / bottomland hardwood forest
Shallow lakes with mudflats

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

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.