Upper Willamette River Floodplain – State Wildlife Action Plan

The Upper Willamette River Floodplain COA (168 mi²) extends long the mainstem Willamette River from the confluence with the Calapooia River to Lookout Point Lake south of Springfield (river miles 120 to 203). This COA includes the river’s floodplain and adjacent uplands, as well as Dexter Reservoir and Lookout Point Lake. This COA is adjacent to the Middle Willamette River Floodplain, Calapooia Rive, Corvallis Area Forests and Balds, Finley-Muddy Creek Area, McKenzie Creek Area, West Eugene Area, and Middle Fork Willamette River COAs.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Breach, lower, and remove dikes and levees to improve connectivity.
Ensure sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.
Improve water quality by identifying sources of and reducing sedimentation and by implementing stormwater management plans for urban areas and roads.
Maintain and enhance off-channel habitat, wetlands, ponds, and associated uplands to support northwestern pond and western painted turtle habitat.
Maintain or enhance in-channel watershed function, connection to riparian habitat, flow and hydrology.
Maintain or enhance oak savanna and grassland habitats and their connection to adjacent habitats.
Maintain or restore riparian habitat and ecological function; ensure sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife.
Maintain or restore riparian habitats and ecological function including river and floodplain interactions.
Promote early detection and suppression of invasive species.
Protect remaining high-quality off-channel habitat from degradation and improve habitat complexity.
Restore or create off-channel habitat and/or access to off-channel habitat.
Restore wetland, wet prairie, and riparian forest habitats.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

This is a large and diverse area including floodplain, river confluences, gravel bars, islands, bottomland hardwood forest, wetlands, wet prairies, sloughs, Oregon white oak, and conifer forest habitat.
The floodplain wetlands provide valuable habitat for large numbers of wintering waterfowl. It also includes habitat for reproducing populations of red-legged frog northwestern pond turtle and western painted turtle. In-channel habitat is also critically important for migrating salmonids. Many heron rookies also exist along the riverbank, which are critically protected breeding grounds (goal 5).
This COA runs through a landscape that is both very urban and agricultural, running right through the Willamette Valley. The COA faces threats from municipal, road, and farming runoff and water treatment facility releases into the river. As such, there is high restoration opportunity in this area.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department owns and manages significant portions of the Willamette River Greenway, which is a corridor or parks and natural areas along the river. This greenway provides numerous recreational opportunities for the public, along with crucial habitat for fish and wildlife species.
The section of this COA from the McKenzie River north to the Calapooia River has great potential to return natural river function along the mainstem Willamette River. This extensive reach supports the greatest aquatic biodiversity, with actively moving channels and extensive floodplain and forests. This reach has the largest acreage of hydric soils which could be potentially be restored to high quality wetland and riparian habitats. There is also significant value for numerous rare and endangered species including nesting bald eagles, northwestern pond turtles, and red-legged frogs, and important seasonal habitat for salmon and steelhead. Ninety percent of the remaining rearing habitat for native spring chinook salmon is found between the McKenzie River confluence and Harrisburg.
There are ongoing large-scale habitat restoration and protection efforts for the Willamette river floodplain, wetland, riparian, and associated upland habitats in this area. Conservation easements and land purchases are critical for restoration efforts in this area. These efforts are supported and carried out by Greenbelt Land Trust, McKenzie River Trust and many other partners at a variety of sites including: Little Willamette (199 acres), Horseshoe Lake (236 acres), Harkens Lake (389 acres), and Green Island (1055 acres).

Protected Areas

Alton Baker
Anderson Park
Beacon Landing Willamette River Greenway
Blue Ruin Island Willamette River Greenway
Blue Ruin Landing Willamette River Greenway
Bowers Rock State Park
Brown’s Landing Willamette River Greenway
Buckskin Mary Landing Willamette River Greenway
Christensen’s Boat Ramp Willamette River Greenway
Clearwater Landing
Delta Ponds
Dexter Reservoir
Dexter State Recreation Site
Dorris Ranch
East Alton Baker
East Bank
Eastgate Woodlands/Alton Baker Park
Elijah Bristow State Park
Fall Creek Park
Fall Creek Reservoir
Franklin
Georgia-Pacific Property
Glass Bar Access Willamette River Greenway
Gravel Bar Landing Willamette River Greenway
Green Island Landing Willamette River Greenway

Green Island (WWMP Property)

Half Moon Bend Landing Willamette River Greenway
Half Moon Bend Upstream Willamette River Greenway
Halsey Willamette River Greenway

Harkens Lake Conservation Easement (WWMP Property)

Harkens Lake North Landing Willamette River Greenway

Harkens Lake South Access Conservation Easement (WWMP Property)

Harkens Lake South Landing Willamette River Greenway
Hileman Park
Hoacum Island Landing Willamette River Greenway

Horseshoe Lake (WWMP Property)

Hyak County Park
Irish Bend County Park
Island Park
Jasper Bridge Access Willamette River Greenway
Jasper State Recreation Site
Kiger Island Landing Willamette River Greenway

Little Willamette Conservation Easement (WWMP Property)

Log Jam Access Willamette River Greenway
Log Jam Landing Willamette River Greenway
Lookout Point Lake
Lowell Covered Bridge
Lowell State Recreation Site
Marshall Island Access Willamette River Greenway
Marshall Island Landing
Maurie Jacobs
McCartney Park
Millrace Park
Mount Pisgah Park
Owen Rose Garden
Pengra Access Willamette River Greenway
Peoria Park
Pisgah Landing Willamette River Greenway

Railroad Island (WWMP Property)

Rasor
River House
River Jetty Landing Willamette River Greenway
River Road
Riverside Landing Willamette River Greenway
Roger’s Bend Landing Willamette River Greenway
Sam Daws Landing Willamette River Greenway
Scandia Landing Willamette River Greenway
Seavy Landing Willamette River Greenway
Skinner Butte Park

Sorenson (WWMP Property)
Thurston Hills (WWMP Property)

Turtle Flats (WWMP Property)
Willamette Confluence Preserve (Wildlish) (WWMP Property)

Previous COA Associations

Previously Associated with (2006 COA IDs)
- WC-07 (Middle Fork Willamette River)
- WV-03 (Willamette River Floodplain)
Size Change from 2016 boundaries: +46.5 mi²(38% increase)

Specialized Local Habitats

Aquatic Vegetation Beds
Balds and Bluffs
Forest Openings
Off-Channel Habitat
Spring-fed streams
Springs, Seeps, and Headwaters

Ecoregions

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.

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.