Oregon Natural Areas Plan
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Portland State University PDXScholar Institute for Natural Resources Publications Institute for Natural Resources - Portland 2010 Oregon Natural Areas Plan Oregon Natural Heritage Advisory Council Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/naturalresources_pub Part of the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, and the Sustainability Commons Citation Details Oregon Natural Heritage Advisory Council. 2010. Oregon Natural Areas Plan. Oregon Biodiversity Information Center, Institute for Natural Resources – Portland, Portland State University, Portland, OR. 198pp. This Technical Report is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Institute for Natural Resources Publications by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Oregon Natural Areas Plan 2010 Natural Heritage Advisory Council to the State Land Board State Land Board Kate Brown Ted Kulongoski Ted Wheeler Secretary of State Governor State Treasurer Natural Heritage Advisory Council Voting Members Richard Brown Robert Chandler Stuart Garrett Charles Carter Alan Dickman Cathy Macdonald Ex-Officio Members Agriculture Director: Katy Coba, represented by Rebecca Currin Fish and Wildlife Director: Roy Elicker, represented by Holly Michaels Forestry Director: Marvin Brown, represented by Andrew Yost Higher Education Chancellor: George Pernsteiner, represented by Scott Heppell Parks and Recreation Director: Tim Wood, represented by Noel Bacheller State Lands Director: Louise Solliday, represented by Cyndi Wickham Transportation Director: Matt Garrett, represented by Bill Warncke This is the first Oregon Natural Areas Plan It is based on the Oregon Natural Heritage Plan, first published in 1981 and revised in 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003 by the Natural Heritage Advisory Council and by the staff of the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center: Jimmy Kagan - Director/Ecologist Lindsey Koepke Wise – Data Manager Sue Vrilakas – Botanist and Data Manager Eleanor Gaines – Zoology Projects Manager John Christy – Wetlands Ecologist / Bryologist Chapters 4-7 from the 2009 Interagency Strategy for the Pacific Northwest Natural Areas Network, by Todd M. Wilson, Reid Schuller, Russ Holmes, Curt Pavola, Robert A. Fimbel, Cynthia N. McCain, John G. Gamon, Pene Speaks, Joan I. Seevers, Thomas E. DeMeo, and Steve Gibbons Cover Photograph: Starvation Creek, by Miles Hemstrom. State Ecoregion Maps by John Bauer, Chapter Ecoregional Maps by Melissa Whitman Cite this document as: Oregon Natural Heritage Advisory Council. 2010. Oregon Natural Areas Plan. Oregon Biodiversity Information Center, Institute for Natural Resources – Portland, Portland State University, Portland, OR. 198pp. State Land Board 775 Summer Street NE Salem, Oregon 97310 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2. Designing A Natural Area Network ........................................................................................ 5 Element Approach ................................................................................................................................. 5 Ecoregional Approach ........................................................................................................................... 6 Ecological Elements and Plant Associations ........................................................................................ 7 Terrestrial Ecosystem Types ................................................................................................................. 9 Aquatic and Wetland Ecosystem Types ................................................................................................ 9 Marine and Estuarine Ecosystem Types ............................................................................................. 10 Geologic Formations or Features ........................................................................................................ 11 Special Species .................................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 3. Natural Area Conservation .................................................................................................... 14 Oregon State Agency Natural Area Establishment and Designation .................................................. 15 Federal Agency Natural Area Establishment and Designation ........................................................... 15 Natural Area Protection on Private Lands in Oregon ......................................................................... 16 Natural Area Designations Included in the Plan ................................................................................. 17 Chapter 4. Management and Stewardship ............................................................................................... 24 Management Goals and Objectives ..................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 5. Monitoring and Data Management ........................................................................................ 26 Monitoring Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 6. Research ................................................................................................................................. 28 Research Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 7. Education and Communication ............................................................................................. 30 Education and Communication Goals and Objectives ........................................................................ 30 Chapter 8. Ecoregional Lists and Definitions ......................................................................................... 32 Chapter 9. Marine and Estuarine Ecoregion ........................................................................................... 38 Chapter 10. Coast Range Ecoregion ....................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 11. Willamette Valley Ecoregion .............................................................................................. 67 Chapter 12. Klamath Mountains Ecoregion ............................................................................................ 78 Chapter 13. West Cascades Ecoregion .................................................................................................... 94 Chapter 14. East Cascades Ecoregion ................................................................................................... 113 Chapter 15. Columbia Basin Ecoregion ................................................................................................ 128 Chapter 16. Blue Mountains Ecoregion ................................................................................................ 136 Chapter 17. Northern Basin & Range Ecoregion .................................................................................. 155 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. 172 References ............................................................................................................................................. 173 Appendix 1. Forms and Procedures used in the Natural Area Program ............................................... 177 Comparative Analysis Format for Natural Area Designation ........................................................... 177 Model Dedication Agreement Form for State Natural Areas............................................................ 177 Model Procedures for State Agency Dedication of Natural Areas ................................................... 178 Summary Form for Sites included in the Register of Natural Heritage Resources ........................... 179 Appendix 2. Oregon State Register of Natural Heritage Resources as of 30 June 2010 ...................... 180 Appendix 2a. Oregon’s Natural Areas .................................................................................................. 182 Appendix 2b. Other Designated Areas Conserving Plan Elements ...................................................... 189 Appendix 3. Former Ecosystem Process Element Methodology and Elements ................................... 195 i CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION The rich diversity of ecosystems and native The Oregon Natural Areas Program plants and animals is one of Oregon's most History distinctive and valued qualities. Our state contains rain forests, dry forests, oak The Oregon Natural Areas Program in its woodlands, alpine meadows, prairies, deserts, present form was established by the 1979 marshes, estuaries, dunes, rocky headlands, Legislature in the Natural Heritage Act (ORS lakes and streams. There are a number of 273.561-.591 [SB 448]), to among other things reasons it is so diverse. First are the extremes reinvigorate the natural areas program in of climate, with rainfall ranging from over 200 Oregon. This legislation was built upon a inches a year along Oregon’s north coast, to tradition