Conservation Values Protected: The property protects oak woodlands, grasslands, wet prairie, and habitat supporting a population of ESA-listed Fenders Blue Butterfly (Icaricia icarioides fenderi); Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii); Nelson's checker-mallow (Sidalcea nelsoniana); Roemer's fescue (Festuca roemeri); Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum); Rose checkermallow (Sidalcea virgata); Western pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata); beaver (Castor canadensis); cutthroat trout (Orthorhynchus clarkii) (in lower portions of Hawn Creek); and steelhead (Orthorhynchus mykiss, Upper Willamette ESU) (in lower portions of Hawn Creek). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified the Oak Ridge area that includes the property as a key element (a potential functioning network) for the recovery (down listing or de-listing) of the Fender's Blue butterfly (USFWS 2010). The property also represents a potential subpopulation to contribute to the recovery of Kincaid's lupine.
Habitats protected include the following identified by the Oregon Conservation Strategy (2006) as priority habitats for the Willamette Valley: grasslands; oak woodlands; wetlands (wet prairie); and riparian. The majority of soils on the Property are highly erodible and 8 of the 15 soils found on the property have been classified as soils of statewide importance or prime farmland by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("NRCS"). The property contains native riparian areas and wetlands which protect water quality. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has listed the North Yamhill River as "Water Quality Limited" (applicable to Federal Clean Water Act 303-d rules) due to high temperatures, low summer flows, bacteria and flow modification. The Property also has the capacity for restoration, including the increase in extent and quality of priority habitats, as outlined and anticipated in the Management Plan.
Acres Protected: 285.0
Access: Not open to the public
