Wallowa Mountains – State Wildlife Action Plan

Wallowa Mountains area — Wallowa Mountains. Photo Credit: WikiMedia Commons

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.

Located in northeastern Oregon adjacent to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. This COA includes much of the Pine Creek watershed.

Recommended Conservation Actions

Initiate or continue wet meadow conservation and restoration efforts
Manage recreational uses to minimize impacts on sensitive habitats

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Important Bird Areas of Oregon
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (updated 2014)

Special Features

General

Diverse plant communities ranging from low elevation grasslands to alpine meadows
Summer range habitat for big game

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID BM-22 (Wallowa River)
2006 COA ID BM-23 (Eagle Cap - Wallowa Mountains)
2006 COA ID BM-26 (Hells Canyon)

Protected Areas

Big Sheep River
Cornucopia Mine Mill Upper Tailings Impoundment
Eagle Cap Wilderness
Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek, East Fork
East Pine Reservoir Area
Enterprise Ball Fields
Enterprise City Park
Hells Canyon
Hurricane Creek Recreation Area
Imnaha River
Imnaha River Roadside And Riverfront Zone
Irrigon Fish Hatchery
Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site
Joseph City Park
Wallowa Lake County Park
Wallowa Lake State Park

Specialized Local Habitats

Alpine habitats
Canyon shrublands

Ecoregions

Blue Mountains

Located in NE Oregon, the Blue Mountains ecoregion is the largest ecoregion in the state. It provides a diverse complex of mountain ranges, valleys, and plateaus that extend beyond Oregon into the states of Idaho and Washington.

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 …

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.