Projects and Research

We use science and innovative technology to manage and conserve terrestrial and aquatic resources. Collaboratively with partners, we seek to effectively meet today's complex conservation challenges. Learn about some of our projects below.

Barred Owl Management

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified competition from non-native and invasive barred owls as one of two main threats to the northern spotted owl’s continued survival (habitat loss is the other).

Barred owls are larger, more aggressive, and more adaptable than northern spotted owls. They displace spotted owls, disrupt their nesting, and compete with them for food. Researchers also have seen a few instances of barred owls interbreeding with or killing spotted owls. Because the spotted owl is already struggling due to its reduced habitat, the effect of the barred owl’s presence is an added stressor. An already vulnerable population has a much more difficult time withstanding dramatic changes in the ecosystem such as the encroachment of a competitor. Read more.

Northern Spotted Owl Surveys and Site Monitoring

The northern spotted owl is one of the most studied birds in the world. Monitoring spotted owl populations throughout the species’ range in Washington, Oregon, and California is an extensive effort conducted among several agencies and partners. These efforts are not designed to count the number of…

Restoring Elfin Butterfly Habitat is the Gift that Keeps Giving

Over the last decade, populations of the seaside hoary elfin butterfly have declined as kinnikinnick patches are outcompeted by both native shore pine and non-native woody species such as yellow bush lupine, Scotch broom, and gorse. One of the last known populations of this butterfly is found near the 300-acre Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint at the mouth of the Pistol River in Curry County, Oregon. Read more.

Oregon Spotted Frog Recovery Planning

The Oregon spotted frog is the most aquatic native frog in the Pacific Northwest, and its habitats include lakes, ponds, wetlands and riverine sloughs. This species has been documented in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Unfortunately, this frog has lost 76 to 90 percent of its former range and has been extirpated (locally extinct but exists elsewhere) from California. Oregon spotted frogs are currently known to occur from extreme southwestern British Columbia, south through the eastern side of the Puget Trough and in the Cascades Range from south-central Washington at least to Klamath Basin in southern Oregon.

Beaver Conservation Strategy

Beavers play an incredibly important role in our world, altering and shaping the landscape. As nature's "engineers," they build dams that provide deep water that protects them from predators, gives them access to plentiful food, and provides underwater entrances to their dens. Their tree-felling and dam-building activities create wetlands that provide homes for many other fish and wildlife species. Wetlands support almost half of the species on earth and nearly 50% of North America’s threatened or endangered species rely upon these aquatic environments for their survival. The goal of this guidebook is to provide an accessible, useful resource for anyone involved in using beaver to restore streams, floodplains, wetlands, and riparian areas. It provides a practical synthesis of the best available science, an overview of management techniques, and case studies from throughout the western U.S.

Vernal Pool Habitat in SW Oregon

There are 740,000 acres in California and Jackson County, Oregon, which are designated as critical habitat for 15 wetland animals and plants listed as threatened or endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The four animal species include: Conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and vernal pool fairy shrimp (found in Jackson County, Oregon). There are 11 plants species that occur in/near vernal pools, two of which occur in Southwest Oregon. These species all depend on the seasonally-flooded wetlands known as vernal pools.

Clackamas River Bull Trout Reintroduction

Bull trout were once abundant and widely distributed in Oregon's Willamette Basin, including the Clackamas River. They were an important component of the river’s native fish assemblage that evolved over thousands of years. Unfortunately, this native char was extirpated from the Clackamas River…

Barred Owl Study Update

The goal of this experiment was to test the feasibility of barred owl removal to determine whether it improves conditions for spotted owls. We removed barred owls from less than one twentieth of one percent of the range of the barred owl. USFWS Wraps up Experimental Removal of Barred Owls for…