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Coast Range

Willamette Valley

East Cascades

Basin and Range

Blue Mountains

Columbia Basin

Blue Mountains

With virtually all of the Grande Ronde and Baker Valley's historic wetlands drained and converted to agriculture, most of the region's remaining wetlands are found in higher elevation areas. These seasonally flooded and sub-irrigated meadows provide important habitat for migrating and breeding birds, including such sensitive species as sandhill cranes and upland sandpipers. The largest remaining blocks of these wetlands, almost all on private lands, are found at Big Summit Prairie, along the upper Silvies and Grande Ronde rivers, and in Bear and Logan valleys. The state's Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area, which includes the last 400-acre remnant of the Grande Ronde Valley's historic natural marshes, attracts large numbers of migrating birds and supports several rare and endangered plant species. Joint Venture partners have helped expand the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area to more than 4,000 acres in recent years and are in the process or restoring more than half the area to wetlands.