Rickreall Creek and Little Luckiamute River Headwaters

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Relatively small, stand-alone COA at the border of the Coast Range ecoregion with the Willamette, just west of Falls City.

COA ID: 025

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain high quality grassland habitat
Maintain or enhance in-channel watershed function, connection to riparian habitat, flow and hydrology
Maintain or restore riparian habitat and ecological function; ensure sufficient habitat complexity for wildlife

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

TNC Willamette Valley Synthesis Conservation Opportunity Areas

Potential Partners

Bureau of Land Management

Special Features

General

Includes the headwaters of Rickreall Creek and the Luckiamute
Provides high quality, diverse habitat for many Strategy Species and ESA listed species

Ecoregions

Coast Range

Oregon’s Coast Range, known for its dramatic scenery, is extremely diverse, with habitats ranging from open sandy dunes to lush forests and from tidepools to headwater streams. It follows the coastline and extends east through coastal forest to the border of the Willamette Valley and Klamath Mountains ecoregions

Strategy 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.

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 covered with water during all or part of the year. Permanently wet habitats include backwater sloughs, oxbow lakes, and marshes, while seasonally wet habitats include seasonal ponds, vernal pools, and wet prairies.

Specialized Local Habitats

Forest openings

Strategy Species

California Myotis (Modeled Habitat)

Myotis californicus

Clouded Salamander (Modeled Habitat)

Aneides ferreus

Coast Range Fawn Lily (Observed)

Erythronium elegans

Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Documented)

Oncorhynchus clarki clarki

Coastal Tailed Frog (Observed)

Ascaphus truei

Fringed Myotis (Modeled Habitat)

Myotis thysanodes

Hoary Bat (Modeled Habitat)

Lasiurus cinereus

Long-legged Myotis (Modeled Habitat)

Myotis volans

Marbled Murrelet (Modeled Habitat)

Brachyramphus marmoratus

Northern Red-legged Frog (Observed)

Rana aurora

Northern Spotted Owl (Observed)

Strix occidentalis caurina

Olive-sided Flycatcher (Observed)

Contopus cooperi

Purple Martin (Observed)

Progne subis arboricola

Red Tree Vole (Observed)

Arborimus longicaudus

Silver-haired Bat (Modeled Habitat)

Lasionycteris noctivagans

Southern Torrent Salamander (Observed)

Rhyacotriton variegatus

Steelhead / Rainbow / Redband Trout (Documented)

Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp

Western Painted Turtle (Modeled Habitat)

Chrysemys picta bellii

Northwestern Pond Turtle (Modeled Habitat)

Actinemys marmorata

Western Toad (Modeled Habitat)

Anaxyrus boreas

Strategy Spotlight: Invasive Plants in the Luckiamute Watershed

Riparian plantings take hold as part of a restoration project led by the Luckiamute Watershed Council. Photo Credit: Luckiamute Watershed Council

The Luckiamute Watershed Council began a knotweed control program in 2010 with willing landowners along the upper Luckiamute River. Japanese knotweed is labeled one of the world’s worst invasive species by the World Conservation Union.

After a few years of successful outreach and ongoing control, the Council pursued funding for the remaining extent of the infestation along the Little Luckiamute and Luckiamute Rivers. In 2013, the Council was awarded four-year funding from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

The Luckiamute mainstem is a Conservation Opportunity Area in both the Willamette Valley and Coast Range ecoregions. As of 2015, the Council is working with 161 (90 percent) of landowners along 50 miles of the river.