An anchor habitat for many listed and at risk wet and upland prairie species, Northeast (NE) Coyote adds an important piece to 8,500+ acres of conserved and managed wetland, prairie, savanna, woodland, and riparian habitats surrounding Fern Ridge Reservoir in Lane County. Homeland of the Kalapuya Indians and currently owned and managed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) as part of the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (FRWA), NE Coyote once hosted a diverse native wet prairie and upland prairie-savanna habitat that was maintained with frequent low-intensity burning, and has been under agricultural cultivation for at least 75 years. The proposed project will restore 190 acres of grass seed at NE Coyote to a mosaic of vernal pool, wet prairie, and upland prairie, improving hydrologic function through earthworks and re-establishing native vegetation. This site could offer critical habitat for the ESA-listed streaked horned lark and other declining grassland birds, native amphibians, reptiles, raptors, and seasonal waterfowl.
As land managers are actively collaborating to build much-needed capacity for prescribed fire in the Valley, the project includes reintroducing ecological burning on up to 335 acres in the ODFW Coyote Units, including Coyote Creek South, recipient of Restoration and Effectiveness Monitoring funds in 2015, as a strategy to maintain and enhance native grassland and wetland habitat conditions with habitat needs of focal at-risk species in mind. Project partners include ODFW, USFWS, Ducks Unlimited, consulting ecologists, and McKenzie River Trust to apply lessons learned during CCS Phase I to NE Coyote and bring back ecological fire as a management tool for these imperilled, historically fire-adapted prairies.
Northeast Coyote is on eBird! Visit within Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s publicly accessible times and document what you see. See this map for more information.
For more information about the project, see this slideshow.