King Mountain Area – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Photo is needed for this Strategy feature. — Submit photo to: Conservation.Strategy@state.or.us

This area contains federal lands intermixed with private ownership in a checkerboard matrix. Habitat is diverse inlcuding mature conifer forests, open early seral habitat created by logging, and oak woodlands. The area may serve as a possible movement corridor connecting the introduced southern Cascade Pacific Fisher population to the native Northern California/Southern Oregon population.

COA ID: 095

Recommended Conservation Actions

Acquire instream water rights to augment streamflows downstream of areas with high coho rearing densities, including Grave Creek, Louse Creek, and West Fork Evans Creek, to produce more fish.
Conduct fuels treaments to improve fire resiliency.
Conduct remote camera surveys to examine the occupancy of Pacific Fisher and collect genetic samples. This area may serve as a bridge between the introduced Southern Cascade population, and the native Northern California Southern Oregon population.
Mimic historic disturbance regime with fire and mechanical treatments to restore Ceanothus Shrublands.
Reduce sediment in subbasins with excessive decomposed granite deposition.
Remove small diameter Douglas Fir encroaching on Oak Woodlands and Oak Savanah habitat.
Restore ambient streamflow, riparian vegetation, fish passage, and in-stream structure.

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Conservation Plan for Fall Chinook in the Rogue Species Management Unit
Klamath Mountain Province Steelhead project summary
ODFW Coho Expert Panel Summary
Oregon Native Fish Status Report
Rogue Basin Cohesive Forest Restoration Strategy: A Collaborative Vision for Resilient Landscapes and Fire Adapted Communities v.1

Potential Partners

Bureau of Land Management
Oregon Department of Forestry
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy

Special Features

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID KM-06 (King Mountain area)

Protected Areas

Cow Creek
Golden Townsite State Heritage Site
King Mountain Rock Garden
Umpqua National Forest

Ecoregions

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains ecoregion covers much of southwestern Oregon, including the Umpqua Mountains, Siskiyou Mountains, and interior valleys and foothills between these and the Cascade Range. The Rogue watershed has the largest population of any coastal watershed in Oregon (Jackson County, Josephine County, and a portion of Curry County). Several popular and scenic rivers run …

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.

Strategy Habitats

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.

Oak Woodlands

Oak woodlands are characterized by an open canopy dominated by Oregon white oak.

Ponderosa Pine Woodlands

Ponderosa pine woodlands are dominated by ponderosa pine, but 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. Their understories are variable combinations of shrubs, herbaceous plants, and grasses.

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.