Scoggins Valley-Mount Richmond – State Wildlife Action Plan

Fender's Blue Butterfly on lupine in the Mount Richmond conservation easement. Photo Credit: Amie Loop-Frison, Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District

The Scoggins Valley – Mount Richmond COA (41 mi²) is located in the foothills of the Coast Range, extending from Henry Hagg Lake south to Moore’s Valley. The area includes the Upper Tualatin-Scoggins Watershed, portions of the North Yamhill River and headwater tributaries, Mount Richmond, and the Oak Ridge / Moore’s Valley area. This COA is adjacent to the Tualatin River COA.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Work with industrial forest managers to ensure that timber harvest does not impede restoration of other portions of the forest (e.g., reducing landslide potential at recent clearcuts).

Maintain and enhance in-channel watershed functions, connection to riparian habitat, water flow and hydrology for steelhead and other fish species.
Maintain and restore existing habitat and ecological function, ensuring sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.
Work with partners to minimize habitat loss, especially of intact oak habitat.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

This area includes the Mount Richmond Conservation Easement (550 acres) which is managed for sustainable forestry products and natural resources values.
This COA provides habitat for several populations of Fender’s blue butterfly and Kincaid’s lupine – both federally protected species.
Several private properties in this area are enrolled in US Fish & Wildlife Service conservation programs (Safe Harbor Agreements and Partners for Fish and Wildlife): Moore’s Valley (32 acres), Oak Ridge (134 acres) and Oak Ridge (9 acres). There are also multiple private conservation easements: Moore’s Valley (170 acres) and Mount Richmond – Turner Creek (284 acres).

Protected Areas

Menefee County Park
Mt. Richmond Conservation Easement
Scoggins Valley Park/Henry Hagg Lake

Previous COA Associations

Size Change from 2016 boundaries: -2.0 mi²(5% 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

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.