Biodiversity Guide - The Intertwine

egional conservation strategybiodiversity guideAppendix I WatershedsPreliminary analysisis under way foran expanded trailsystem linking thevarious parks and openspaces and connectingregional trails. Thereare no county parks inthe watershed.The ChehalemCreek–Willamettewatershed has severalof the priority habitatslisted in the OregonConservation Strategy,including oak habitats,riparian bottomlandforest, freshwateraquatic habitats, and wetlands. Both the OregonDepartment of Fish and Wildlife and The NatureConservancy have been mapped ConservationOpportunity Areas in the watershed. These priorityhabitats include Tier 1 wetlands, oak, midelevationforest, floodplain forest, and riparianforest.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has mappedall of Yamhill County under its recovery plan forprairie species in western Oregon and southwesternWashington. Both the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService and the Yamhill Soil and Water ConservationDistrict are working with landowners topreserve and enhance habitat for listed species,including Kincaid’s lupine, Fender’s blue butterfly,and Nelson’s checkermallow.The watershed has ample opportunities forrestoration and enhancement. The upper Chehalemvalley has extensive farmed or grazedwetlands that present restoration and conservationopportunities. The mid-valley supportslarge tracts of intact riparian floodplain forestalong Highway 240 that could be conserved andenhanced. The confluences of the local creeksand the Willamette River create opportunitiesfor both conservation and restoration of riparianand off-channel habitats. Springbrook Creek alsohas potential for restoration as part of a plannedsubdivision. In addition, wet and upland prairiehabitats could be restored in the watershed andlandowner interest in conservation easementsexceeds the capacity of agencies to respondto requests. Acquisition of land on Ash Islandrepresents a mainstem Willamette conservationopportunity. Priorities include:n Inventory, restoration, and preservation of oakhabitatsn Upper Chehalem Valley wetland restorationn Prairie species restoration and conservationn Riparian enhancement for temperaturereduction and soil stabilityn Restoration of floodplain and off-channel habitatsalong Willamette River and Chehalem Creekn City of Dundee, http://www.dundeecity.org/n Yamhill County, http://www.co.yamhill.or.us/n Marion County, http://www.co.marion.or.us/n Chehalem Parks and Recreation –Don Clemens, clemend@cprdnewberg.orgn Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District –Tim Stieber, Tim.Stieber@or.nacdnet.netn George Fox College – Clyde Thomas cthomas@georgefox.edun Yamhill Watershed Stewardship Fund –Patricia Farrell, ywsf08@yahoo.comn Yamhill Partners for Land and Water – PatriciaFarrell, ywsf08@yahoo.com;Will Neuhauser,co-chair@yamhillpartners.orgn Chehalem Heritage Trail (Parks and RecreationDistrict)http://www.cprdnewberg.org/ChehalemHeritageTrails/index.shtmln Willamette River Water Trailhttp://www.willamettewatertrail.org/11. Molalla-Pudding SubbasinMichael Moody, Molalla River AllianceLori Hennings, MetroIncludes these named USGS HUC watersheds:Lower Molalla RiverRock CreekSenecal Creek – Pudding RiverThe Molalla-Pudding subbasin is located inn Pond turtle habitat conservationthe northeastern portion of the middle WillametteBasin and covers approximately 561,000n Friends of Yamhill County – Ilsa Persen Improved agricultural practices to improveacres, including 181,000 acres within the greatern U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fishwater qualityand Wildlife Program – Chris Seal, chris_seal@Portland-Vancouver region. The headwaters ofSeveral Wetlands Reserve Program and oakfws.govthe 53-mile-long Molalla River are located nearsavanna projects are already under way. Both thethe Table Rock Wilderness within the CascadenCity of Dundee and the Chehalem Parks and RecreationDistrict are eager to invest in the oppor-rock canyons and conifer forests before reachingNatural Resource Conservation Service – Range. This dam-free river flows through basaltKim Hudnall, District Conservationist,503-472-1474 X 101tunities for recreation along the Willamette Riveragricultural land, flowing through the cities ofand its greenway and throughout the ChehalemWatershed Plans, Assessments, and Reports — Molalla and Canby and then into the Willamettewatershed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasChehalem Creek WatershedRiver between River Miles 35 and 36 near Canby.begun to acquire land for its Wapato Lake WildlifeRefuge, which is part of the Tualatin RefugeBasin Council, 2001)The Pudding River is 62 miles long and originatesn Chehalem Watershed Assessment (Yamhillin the low-elevation Waldo Hills east of Salem.system. Although this new refuge is just overhttps://nrimp.dfw.state.or.us/DataClearinghouse/ Within the greater Portland-Vancouver region,the county line, it is on the flyway of migratorydefault.aspx?pn=viewrecord&XMLname=120. the subbasin encompasses three major watersheds:waterfowl and songbirds and thus provides thexmlSenecal Creek–Pudding River (53 squarewatershed’s residents with nearby opportunitiesmiles), Rock Creek (86 square miles), and Lowern Yamhill Basin Council 2005 Action Plan for thefor bird watching and passive recreation. OregonMolalla River (144 square miles). The middle andYamhill River and Chehalem Creek WatershedsState Parks is restoring oak and prairie habitat atupper portions of the subbasin lie outside theChampoeg State Park.greater Portland-Vancouver region and are a mixn Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation DistrictStrategic Plan http://www.yamhillswcd.org/ of private agriculture and forest lands. The BureauOrganizations and Partners — Chehalem Creekabout_us/StrategicPlan07.pdfof Land Management owns 67 square miles in theWatershedupper Molalla watershed, known as the Molallan The Nature Conservancy – Conservation River Recreation Corridor.n Greater Yamhill Watershed Council –Action Plan for Yamhill County (in progress)Bernadette Hansen gywc_administrator@Within the greater Portland-Vancouver region,co.yamhill.or.usthe Molalla - Pudding subbasin contributes 10n Natural Resources Conservation ServiceStrategic Plan (draft, not available on web)percent of the area.n City of Newberg, http://www.newbergoregon.gov/296 297