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Geography & History
Where is the Long Tom Watershed?
The Long Tom Watershed is one of the major watersheds in the upper Willamette River Basin. The headwaters of the Long Tom River originate in the forested Coast Range Mountains and foothills, flow through small farms, ranches, rural and urban areas to Fern Ridge Reservoir, and then through larger farms until it joins the Willamette River.
To learn more about land use, land ownership, and the ecoregions of the Long Tom Watershed, click on the text above the thumbnails of the maps below to view the full-size image. A more comprehensive description of the ecology of the Long Tom Watershed and a list of maps can also be found on our Watershed Assessment page.
The Long Tom Watershed encompasses the entire area drained by the Long Tom River and its tributaries, including Amazon and Coyote Creeks.
The Watershed encompasses roughly
410 square miles, or roughly 262,000 acres, including the cities of Eugene, Veneta, and Monroe.
There are approximately 140,000 people living within the watershed boundaries.
92% of the land within the Watershed is
privately owned
Land use in the Watershed is comprised
of 46% forestry, 31% agriculture, 9% rural,
8% urban, and 6% parks and other public land (see chart at right).
The Long Tom Watershed is an anchor
area for wetland, prairie, and oak savanna
habitats in the Willamette Basin.
The Watershed is home to several
important species, including cutthroat
trout, western pond turtle, red-legged frog,
bald eagle, fender’s blue butterfly,
Kincaid’s lupine, and camas.
Recreational uses within the watershed include fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, swimming, biking, and boating.
The Watershed before 1850
The Kalapuya Indians inhabited this area prior to and during the early stages of white settlement. The land provided a bounty of food and was managed by the Indians through regular burning of the prairies. This practice maintained the lush growth that greeted white settlers arriving in the Valley in the early 1800's. The early landscape of the Willamette Valley was soon changed as settlers altered the historic fire regime, and began farming, introducing cattle, pigs and sheep, and grain crops.
