This report was derived from field data collected by personnel of the US Forest Service (USFS) and Oregon Natural Heritage Program (ONHP). The area examined encompasses four National Forests (Gifford Pinchot, Willamette, Mt. Hood, and Siuslaw) and two Bureau of Land Management Districts (Salem and Eugene). It does not include...
Ruchi Glades is proposed for designation as a Research Natural Area. It is located on the upper slopes of Oregon Caves National Monument which is administered by the National Park Service. Ruchi Glads has an impressive diversity of plant communities for such a small area. The Oregon Natural Heritage Plan...
A multidisciplinary team of scientists (Appendix 1) examined 10 of the 16 environmental benchmarks that are tracked by the Oregon Progress Board. The intent of the environmental benchmarks is to provide a fair assessment of the status and trends of Oregon's environmental health. The scientists were asked to clarify benchmark...
A number of different systems have been used to estimate boater use over the 1990-2001 period, making it difficult to trace the source of discrepancies in the final estimates. For example, the boater passes have changed over the years.
From 1990-92, boaters would simply check off the river segments they...
The Oregon Plan is a state-led strategy for restoring and conserving native salmonids and the watersheds within which they spend all or parts of their lives. It evolved from work that began in the 1980s on watershed health and salmon conservation and was propelled into high gear by proposed and...
The popularity of Oregon Scenic Waterways continues to increase, indicating that
the public values these waterways more than ever. Oregon s exceptional endowment of
undeveloped rivers and lakes contributes in many important ways to the high quality of
life that residents and tourists enjoy, and is a key reason why...
This guide provides keys, descriptions, and stand tables for 122 native freshwater plant associations (14 forest and woodland, 28 shrub, 78 herbaceous, 2 nonvascular) in northwestern Oregon, based on analysis of data from 1,992 plots distributed throughout the study area. Descriptions are provided for eight other plant associations for which...
This classification lists the native plant associations known to occur in Oregon, and includes both successional and climax vegetation types that were an important part of the presettlement landscape of Oregon. It serves as an index to the diversity, distribution and relative rarity of the state's native plant associations, and...
The structure and components of riparian areas influence the rate, amount, and timing of water, nutrients, organic debris, and inorganic materials that enter streams and rivers. The energy of floodwaters and their ultimate volume, timing and erosive power is influenced by the soils, vegetation and geomorphology of fluvial surfaces within...
This annotated bibliography was prepared for the Salmon Anchor Habitat Work Group. This group was formed by the Oregon Department of Forestry to review and evaluate the Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy as directed by the 2003 Oregon Legislature. The Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy is a component of management plans developed...
Once lost, a species can never be recovered, and there is no way of knowing how useful it may have been. We do know that human beings and many of their industries depend on plant and animal products. About 50% of all pharmaceuticals have a natural component as an active...
This document compiles written responses by experts in their respective fields to questions from the Salmon Anchor Habitat Work Group about the Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy component of Oregon Department of Forestry Northwestern Oregon State Forest Management Plan.
The Willamette River, one of only 14 American Heritage Rivers, flows through the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of Oregon. Previous biological monitoring of Willamette River fish detected elevated frequencies of skeletal deformities in fish from certain areas of the lower (NP [NP], rivermile [RM] 26-55) and middle...
Through several two-day meetings the workgroup and invited subject matter experts discussed each objective in detail. Specific workforce capacity issues facing the ODF Protection from Fire Program were identified. Recommendations were developed to ensure adequate numbers of qualified and experienced personnel to supervise and perform essential tasks in the ODF...
Using the existing ODF program as a guide, this report will stress the importance of cooperation and collaboration between agencies, landowners, industry, and citizens to create more successful public awareness and education programs. In this report we discuss improved Department emphasis on prevention, better training for those who need to...
Report completed by the Workforce Capacity Work Group for the 2004 Oregon Fire Program Review. Technical editing by the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University
The 2003 Oregon Legislature directed the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to convene a citizen work group to review and evaluate the ODF Salmon Anchor Habitat Strategy for state forests in northwest Oregon. In November, 2003 ODF contracted with the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) to support the SAH Work...
Oregon contains approximately 6 million acres of mostly private lands that have no one individual, organization, or agency responsible for fire prevention and suppression actions. Wildland fires in these areas have burned adjacent landowner resources, structures, and improvements; threaten public safety; and have other impacts on residents and the general...
This literature review is the result of numerous searches via academic, and both governmental and non-governmental avenues including ISI Web of Science, the National Agricultural Library of the Agricultural Research Service (USDA), website of the Environmental Protection Agency, The U.S. Department of Energy, Agricola, J-stor, ArticleFirst, Academic Elite, National Academies...
The Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming developed this Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Reduction.1 Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed the Advisory Group early in 2004 to perform this task. This Strategy, if implemented, will complement the agenda of the West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative undertaken by the governors of...
Many Oregon communities face serious and growing risks from wildfires. These fires are increasingly large and severe after many decades of fire suppression and land use changes, flammable fuel buildups and interactions with climate. The wildland-urban interface (WUI) continues to expand as people relocate to rural areas where they often...
This field guide combines classifications of common streamside plant communities and native freshwater wetland communities in Northwest Oregon. It is a condensed version of two separate works which are both available on the CD that accompanies this book. The information is also available for reference or to download as a...
Development of the prototype website is an integral part of OWEB’s strategy for information systems development. Specifically, the Board, INR, and the Department of Administrative Services Information Resources Management Division (DAS) were directed by the Legislature to develop a statewide information system for natural resources. In addition, the Oregon Geographic...
This document describes strategies and specific actions that will be undertaken to implement recommendations that emerged from a comprehensive review of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Protection from Fire Program. The fire funding/budgeting review was conducted by ODF in 2004 as directed by the 2003 Oregon Legislature. State Forester...
Oregon’s Protection from Fire Program is among the premier wildfire protection programs in the western U.S. and the largest program within the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). The program provides wildfire protection on about 15.8 million acres of mostly privately-owned Oregon forestland. Private and state interests in protecting Oregon forests...
In recent years, depletion of sands in the nearshore environment along the northern Oregon and southwest Washington coasts has been documented. This erosion raises concerns about protection of economic and ecological resources in the area. The Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project was initiated to engage public and private sector...
The INR worked with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency to propose an integrated study design for collecting data on Native Fish, Indexes of Biotic Integrity and Water Quality, and Riparian Area Condition and Function. Estimated costs...
On the Oregon coast, however, the issue of water supply has become paramount, especially given the need to restore instream flows in order to restore coastal salmon runs and meet water quality standards. With the ebb and flow of population and the economic growth of Oregon coastal communities, three hypotheses...
The purpose of this study is to summarize the technical information on aggregate mining in Oregon including updates of supply and demand since the last comprehensive forecasting of aggregate demand completed by Whelan (1995). Aggregate is a term that numerous definitions, but as used herein, aggregate is sand, gravel, and...
Although the ocean provides living space for about 97 percent of life on Earth, less than 5 percent of the ocean below the surface has actually been seen, let alone explored. Now, using the geographic information system (GIS), marine scientists are gaining new insights into a once-mysterious world. A technologically...
The Oregon Coastal Atlas (http://www.coastalatlas.net), a collaboration of the Oregon Coastal Management Program, Oregon State University and Ecotrust, is an interactive map, data, and metadata portal targeted at coastal managers, scientists, and the general public. The site was developed to meet long-standing needs in the state for improving information retrieval,...
The Willamette Basin Conservation Project was created to help people and programs work together toward positive results in Oregon’s Willamette Basin for people, lands, communities, waters and native species.
Section I contains an introduction to the subject of Scientific Evidence Review. Section II reviews Oregon state mandates to use “best available science” in policymaking and summarizes ODF efforts to address these mandates. Section III provides an overview of Systematic Evidence Reviews and how they are conducted in the fields...
Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center Report.
Sphagnum fens on the coast of Oregon are unique globally and contain a variety of rare plants and animals found nowhere else in the landscape. Evidence indicates that in the absence of disturbance, many open fens have converted to tall shrub and forest stands...
The purpose of this briefing document is twofold: (1) to provide a general overview of key environmental issues at the global, regional, and local levels; and (2) to provide examples of long-term environmental goals that have been adopted by businesses, governments, and other organizations. This document is not meant to...
The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Oregon State University (OSU) are collaborating to develop an orthoimagery portal application to allow for the distribution of digital aerial imagery for the State of Oregon. The near-term objective of this project is to develop an Imagery Portal that serves the
2005 half-meter...
In order to reduce long-term idling along the Oregon I-5 corridor, the US Environmental Agency entered into a collaborative research and implementation program with Oregon State University, the Oregon Climate Trust, and Shurepower (producers of truckstop electrification equipment) to install Shurepower stations at truck stops in Oregon. This research component...
The Biodiversity Monitoring Workgroup (Appendix 1)—which consists of federal, state, university, NGO’s, and private landowner stakeholders who are involved in aspects of monitoring biodiversity in the states of Oregon and Washington—conceived of the idea of exploring the possibilities of creating a Regional Biodiversity Monitoring Partnership. The Workgroup’s idea of hosting...
INR’s mission is to provide Oregonians with ready access to current, science‐based information and methods for better understanding resource management challenges and developing solutions and after the 2004 release of the Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming (GAGGW’s) extensive report, The Oregon Strategy for GHG Reductions, INR recognized the need...
From 2 April – 14 September 2006, we monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally Threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) along the Oregon coast. From north to south, we surveyed and monitored plover activity at Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River estuary, the Dunes overlook, North Tahkenitch Creek,...
This report documents vegetation monitoring and mapping conducted by Green Point Consulting during summer 2006 at six tidal wetland restoration and reference sites in the Siletz Bay National
Wildlife Refuge of Oregon, and the upper Yaquina River estuary (near Toledo, Oregon). Vegetation at all sites except one had been monitored...
This report examines the Bridge Program efforts undertaken, methods used, obstacles encountered, accomplishments, and lessons learned. It is not a performance evaluation; it is a case study focusing on the social, organizational and institutional dynamics of transforming a vision for environmental streamlining into a working program. The Bridge Program is...
ORNHIC maintains extensive databases of Oregon biodiversity, concentrating on rare and endangered plants, animals and ecosystems. The program is managed by OSU, but has been a
cooperative project, with significant support from The Department of State Lands, The Nature Conservancy in Oregon, USFWS, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the...
The Oregon University System, working in partnership with the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department, commissioned a bio-fuels industry readiness survey for Oregon. This report serves as one component of the readiness survey. The report has three primary sections:
• An overview of the current forest products industry in Oregon...
The purpose of the study is to gauge the scope of bioenergy opportunities by identifying and profiling bioenergy projects and potential projects in Oregon, and learning directly from developers the key challenges and issues this nascent sector faces. Bioenergy projects are defined as projects that would produce biofuels (ethanol and...