Smith-Bybee Lakes and Columbia Slough – State Wildlife Action Plan

Smith-Bybee Lakes and Columbia Slough area — Photo Credit: Elizabeth Ruther, 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 Smith-Bybee Lakes and Columbia Slough COA (7.5 mi²) is located along the northern edge of the Portland metropolitan area. The Columbia Slough flows out of Fairview Lake and along the northern edge of Fairview, Maywood Park and Portland through a series of regulated levees. The Columbia Slough eventually connects to the wetland system located at Smith-Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, which is adjacent to the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. This is an incredibly impacted area, with many environmental concerns due to nearby development. Despite this, it also contains a mosaic of habitats that support native fish and wildlife including bottomland hardwood forest, mudflats, off-channel habitats, Columbia sedge meadows, and sandy beaches. This COA is adjacent to the Lower Willamette River Floodplain COA.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Control invasive plants and animals.
Expand Columbia Sedge meadow at Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area.
Identify movement barriers and improve fish and wildlife passage.
Improve riparian habitat conditions.
Manage the former St. Johns Landfill for grassland associated species and turtle nesting habitat.
Manage water levels to benefit fish, migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, amphibians, and turtles.
Manage local beaver activity to improve wetland values and functions, but within the confines of the existing levee systems.
Protect and enhance habitat for turtles, in particular nesting and basking habitats.
Protect and improve quality of surface water and ground water.
Reduce human disturbance to protect fish and wildlife habitat.
Restore natural hydrology and stream conditions where feasible.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

This area contains the largest known remaining population of western painted turtles in Oregon.
This COA is located in an extremely urban area, right along the northern edge of the Portland metropolitan area. This area includes the former St Johns landfill site. The Columbia Slough is an urban waterway, which has experienced historic dumping issues but has more recently been the focus of growing cleanup and restoration efforts by local conservation partners – including invasive plant removals, habitat replanting, and stream bank stabilization efforts.
The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services has conducted multiple restoration projects in this region, within the range limits of anadromous fish.
This COA contains important bottomland hardwood forest and Columbia sedge meadows.

Protected Areas

Big Four Corners Natural Area
Delta Park West
Johnson Lake Natural Area
Moore Island City Park
Kelley Point Park
Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area
Whitaker Ponds Natural Area

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- WV-04 (Smith-Bybee Lakes)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: No change

Specialized Local Habitats

Aquatic vegetation beds
Bottomland hardwood forests
Columbia sedge meadows
Intertidal mudflats
Off-channel habitats
Sand spits, sand bars and sparsely vegetated islands

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.

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.