South Fork Umpqua River and Tributaries – State Wildlife Action Plan

The South Fork Umpqua River and Tributaries COA (224 mi²) follows the winding course of the South Umpqua River and many of its tributaries. Area boundaries occur near the towns of Roseburg, Winston, Dillard, Riddle, and Tiller. This area is a priority for coho recovery, with many collaborative stream and water quality restoration projects occurring in the area. This COA is adjacent to the Umpqua Headwaters, North Umpqua River Area, and Umpqua River COAs.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain or enhance in-channel watershed function, connection to riparian habitat, flow and hydrology.
Maintain or restore riparian habitat, wetland habitat, and ecological function; improve water quality throughout the watershed.
Maintain and restore existing habitat and ecological function, ensuring sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.
Maintain and enhance existing oak woodland habitat through means such as controlled fire.
Improve habitat connectivity along transportation and transmission line corridors.
Restore ambient streamflow, fish passage, riparian vegetation, floodplain connectivity, and in-stream structure for coho and other salmonids.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

Fire and intensive agriculture have been major impacts. Hemp production and other agriculture has impacted connectivity and water availability/quality in this area.
South Umpqua Coho population is in significant decline with very low returning adult spawners in recent years. The South Umpqua River is a coho recovery priority area. There is an action team developing a Strategic Action Plan and multiple agencies currently developing stream and water quality restoration projects.

Protected Areas

Beatty Creek
Cow Creek Reservation
Steward Park
Umpqua National Forest

Previously Associated With

Previously Associated with (2006 COAs)
- KM-01 (Umpqua River area)

- WC-09 (Umpqua Headwaters)

Size Change from 2016 boundaries: +40 mi² (22% increase)

Specialized Local Habitats

Forest openings

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 …

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.

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, …