Blue Mountains Projects
Baldock Slough
Ladd Marsh
Logan Valley
Zumwalt
Prairie
Baldock Slough
Location:
Seven miles north of Baker City, along the east side of I-84.
Owner: Privately owned with a Wetlands
Reserve Program conservation easement.
Project: Restores 760 acres of farmland
that was leveled and drained for cultivation to a mixture
of upland and wetlands habitat, including approximately 440
acres of wetlands. Historically, during spring runoff water
ponded in a series of meandering channels and the area remained
marshy into summer, providing habitat for migratory and nesting
birds. Restoration will re-excavate many of the old channels
and re-route the present drainage ditches through the restored
channels, creating a variety of wetlands habitat. A low dike
will be constructed at one end of the property to create a
shallow water impoundment. In upland areas with suitable soils,
an attempt will be made to establish a community of Howell’s
Spectacular Thelypody, a threatened plant species.
Partners: Private land owners, Natural
Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Partners with Wildlife program.
Contact: Allen J. Gerig, Resource
Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or
Alan V. Bahn, Rangeland Management Specialist, 3390 Midway
Lane, Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-7121.
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Ladd Marsh
 Location:
Grande Ronde Valley in Union County.
Goals: Joint Venture partners are working
on a series of projects to expand the existing state wildlife
area and eventually restore up to 1,000 acres of wetlands.
Partners: Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Conservation
Service, Ducks Unlimited.
Projects: The Nature Conservancy has
purchased a 308-acre parcel immediately north of the wildlife
area's Water Board Tract and is working with ODFW, NRCS and
Ducks Unlimited to secure funding to return Ladd Creek to
its historic channel and restore the property to seasonally
flooded, shallow wetlands. The conservancy is also negotiating
to purchase a 160-acre property about 7 miles to the northeast
of Ladd Marsh that includes Conley Lake, a seasonal lake that
provides one of the valley's largest blocks of remaining native
habitat and receives heavy use by migrating white-fronted
geese and other waterfowl. ODFW is also working with NRCS
and Ducks Unlimited to restore 200 acres of wetlands on its
existing ownership under the Wetlands Reserve Program.
Contact: Dave Larson, ODFW, 59116 Pierce
Road, La Grande OR 97850; 541-963-4954.
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Logan Valley
 Location:
On the south side of the Strawberry Mountains, southeast of
John Day in Grant County.
Project: In 1998 the Nature Conservancy
purchased the 1,760-acre property, which encompasses wet meadows
and riparian forests in Logan Valley. Because of its outstanding
wildlife values, the property qualified for Bonneville Power
Administration’s wildlife habitat mitigation program.
Using mitigation funds, the Burns Paiute Tribe purchased the
land from the Conservancy in March 2000, and will manage it
for wildlife diversity.
Recent restoration work in Logan Valley includes
a cooperative effort with the Malheur National Forest, which
borders the tribe’s property, to cut and burn lodgepole
pine seedlings that are invading wet meadows -- protecting
one of the few nesting sites in Oregon for long-billed curlew
and upland sandpiper. Riparian restoration is enhancing habitat
for bull trout.
Benefits: Wet meadows provide one of
four known nesting sites in Oregon for the upland sandpiper.
Two streams on the property support populations of endangered
bull trout. The property hosts several significant wet meadow
plant communities.
Partners: Bonneville Power Administration,
Burns Paiute Tribe, Malheur National Forest, The Nature Conservancy.
Contact: Dan Gonzalez, Burns Paiute
Tribe, (541) 573-1375; Steve Buttrick, The Nature Conservancy,
821 SE 14th St, Portland, OR 97214; 503-230-1221.
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Zumwalt Prairie
 Location:
North of Enterprise, on a high plateau above the Imnaha River
in Wallowa County in northeast Oregon.
Project: Protect high quality grassland
habitat in one of the largest remaining blocks of native prairie
in North America.
Partners: The Nature Conservancy, Oregon
Watershed Enhancement Board.
Notes: The Nature Conservancy purchased
the 27,000-acre Camp Creek Ranch for $11.6 million in September
2000. Additional money is being raised for preserve startup
costs and a $2 million stewardship endowment for long-term
management. Ecologists will study the site, its wildlife and
ecology before making long-term management decisions. At 140,000
acres Zumwalt Prairie is the largest remaining palouse bunchgrass
prairie in North America. The area has one of the continent’s
highest concentrations of breeding birds of prey and is home
to 28 at-risk species. The new preserve is home to golden
eagles, ferruginous, Swainson’s, redtail and rough legged
hawks as well as falcons. Once extinct in Oregon, the Columbian
sharp-tailed grouse is being reintroduced on Zumwalt Prairie
in partnership with state wildlife officials and private landowners.
The Camp Creek Ranch includes 38 miles of perennial streams
that support spawning steelhead and redband trout. The acquisition
is the largest ever by The Nature Conservancy in Oregon.
Contact: Cathy Macdonald, The
Nature Conservancy; 821 SE 14th Street, Portland OR 97219;
503-230-1221; cmacdonald@tnc.or
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Updated
November 14, 2002
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