Walla Walla Headwaters – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Walla Walla River headwaters area — Photo Credit: Keith Kohl, ODFW

This COA is mainly located within the Blue Mountains ecoregion of Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa Counties, but enters into a small section of the Columbia Plateau ecoregion along its northwest corner. Characterized by extensive mixed conifer forest, this rugged landscape also contains important native perennial grasslands, abundant springs, and abuts the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness and the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness.

COA ID: 157

Recommended Conservation Actions

Maintain or enhance in-channel watershed function, connection to riparian habitat, flow and hydrology
Maintain or restore Aspen, Ponderosa Pine, and grassland habitats
Maintain or restore riparian habitat and ecological function; provide habitat complexity for fish and wildlife
Promote early detection and removal of invasive plants

Local Conservation Actions and Plans

Potential Partners

Special Features

General

Abundant Springs
Provides connectivity between the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness and the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness
Provides spawning habitat for Chinook Salmon and Steelhead

Previously Associated With

2006 COA ID BM-17 (Umatilla - Walla Walla area)
2006 COA ID CP-09 (Walla Walla River)

Protected Areas

Forest
Jubilee Lake National Recreation Trail
Mill Creek Watershed Roadless Area
North Fork Umatilla Wilderness
South Fork Walla Walla River
Umatilla
Wenaha-Tucannon 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.