Lower John Day River – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Area follows the lower John Day River and surrounding habitats.

COA ID: 153

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain or enhance in-channel watershed function, connection to riparian habitat, flow and hydrology
Promote early detection and suppression of invasive weeds
Restore and maintain complex, continuous sage habitat
Restore and maintain grassland habitat
Utilize grazing prescriptions to increase vegetative vigour

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

BLM John Day Basin Resource Management plan
Eastern Oregon Bird Conservation Plan (River Corridor)
Pine Creek Conservation Area management plan

Special Features

General

Area provides significant habitat for bighorn sheep, golden eagles, peregrine falcons and many other sensitive species
John Day River canyon includes large blocks of native Strategy Habitats

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID BM-03 (Lower John Day River area)
2006 COA ID CP-05 (Lower John Day River)

Protected Areas

BLM Prineville District
Clarno State Park
Cottonwood Canyon State Park
John Day Fossil Beds
John Day River
John Day, Chaparral Access
John Day, Chaparral Recreation Association
John Day, Hilderbrand
John Day, Wild and Scenic River designation
Lower John Day Wilderness Study Area
North Pole Ridge Wilderness Study Area
Pats Cabin Wilderness Study Area
Pine Creek Conservation Area
Spring Basin Wilderness

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.

Columbia Plateau

The Columbia Plateau ecoregion was shaped by cataclysmic floods and large deposits of wind-borne silt and sand earlier in its geological history. It is dominated by a rolling landscape of arid lowlands dissected by several important rivers, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Cascades Mountains, south and east from the Columbia River to the Blue Mountains.

Strategy Habitats

Aspen Woodlands

Aspen woodlands are woodland or forest communities, dominated by aspen trees with a forb, grass, or shrub understory. Aspen woodlands can also occur within conifer forests.

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. For the purposes of the Conservation Strategy, natural lakes are defined as standing water bodies larger than 20 acres, including some seasonal lakes.

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.