Strategy Habitats are habitats of conservation concern within Oregon that provide important benefits to Strategy Species. There are 11 Strategy Habitats within the Oregon Conservation Strategy, designated by ecoregion. Each Strategy Habitat includes a general description, conservation overview, and a list of limiting factors and recommended approaches. This information is intended to provide a broad view. Conditions may vary by site, watershed, or ecoregional level based on differences in soil, climate, and management history. Local conditions will need to be considered when determining site-appropriate conservation actions.

The Strategy describes Specialized and Local Habitats and Habitat Data Gaps that represent important landscape features not adequately addressed through the 11 Strategy Habitats.

Strategy Habitat Methodology

In the original Oregon Conservation Strategy (released in 2006), Strategy Habitats were determined in a two-step process. First, best available and most recent (in 2006) vegetation maps were compared to historical vegetation maps from 1850 to indicate vegetation types experiencing high degrees of loss since European settlement in Oregon. Second, similar vegetation types were classified into “habitats”, which were then evaluated for historical importance at the ecoregional scale, emphasizing the amount of remaining habitat being managed for conservation values, known limiting factors and potential issues impacting habitats, ecological similarity of habitats, and the importance of each habitat to Strategy Species. The habitats determined to be of the most importance throughout the state were defined as Strategy Habitats, and were designated by ecoregion.

In 2016, the Strategy Habitat section was revised to incorporate new science, data, and available tools. A particular focus was placed on updating the Strategy Habitat map, which is available in several formats: