Prairie Conservation Strategy - Species

Species Selection Criteria

Benton County is home to several threatened and endangered species as well as numerous plant and animal species with low or declining populations. The Prairie Conservation Strategy focuses on at-risk species that are prairie dependent or that use prairie, oak savanna, and oak woodland habitats as part of their lifecycle.

The HCP Stakeholder Advisory Committee identified a suite of species from the USFWS Recovery Plan and the Oregon Conservation Strategy that fit the criteria, as well as several locally rare species. In addition, by conserving a mosaic of habitat types across the landscape, the requirements for numerous additional species can be met.

Photo 1,3,5: IAE; 2 and 6: © Bruce Newhouse; 4: USFWS

Strategy Species

Group
Common name
Federal status

State

status

Draft

USFWS Recovery Species

ODFW

Strategy Species

Habitat
Amphibians:
Northern red-legged frog
SOC
SV
 
x
 Riparian and adjacent upland
Birds:
Acorn woodpecker
SOC
SV
 
x
 Oak woodland-Savanna
 
American kestrel
         Oak savanna
 
Chipping sparrow
      
x
 Oak woodland-Savanna
 
Common nighthawk
  
SC
  
x
 Upland prairie
 
Grasshopper sparrow
 
SV
 
x
 Upland prairie
 
Lazuli bunting
         Savanna-Upland prairie
 
Northern harrier
         Wet prairie-Upland prairie
 
Oregon vesper sparrow
SOC
SC
 
x
 Upland prairie-Savanna
 
Short-eared owl
 
 
 
x
 Wet prairie-Upland prairie
 
Streaked horned lark
C
SC
 
x
 Upland prairie
 
Western bluebird
 
SV
 
x
 Savanna-Upland prairie
 
Western kingbird
         Upland prairie-Savanna
 
Western meadowlark
 
SC
 
x
 Upland prairie-Savanna
 
White-breasted nuthatch (slender-billed)
  
SV
  
x
 Oak woodland-Savanna
 
Wilson's snipe
         Wet prairie
Invertebrates:
American grass bug
SOC
 
 
x
 Wet prairie
 
Fender’s blue butterfly
E
 
x
x
 Upland prairie-Savanna
 
Field crescent
         Upland prairie-Savanna
 
Sonora skipper
         Upland prairie-Savanna
 
Tailed copper
         Upland prairie-Savanna-Oak Woodland
 
Taylor’s checkerspot
C
 
x
x
 Upland prairie-Savanna
Mammals: Camas pocket gopher
SOC
       Upland prairie
 
Western gray squirrel
 
SU
 
x
 Oak woodland
Plants:
Bradshaw's lomatium
E
E
x
x
 Wet prairie
 
Golden paintbrush
T
E
x
x
 Upland prairie-Wet prairie
 
Hitchcock's blue-eyed grass
SOC
       Upland prairie-Wet prairie
 
Howellia
T
T
 
x
 Wet prairie
 
Kincaid's lupine
T
T
x
x
 Upland prairie-Savanna
 
Nelson's checkermallow
T
T
x
x
 Wet prairie
 
Peacock larkspur
SOC
E
 
x
 Upland prairie-Wet prairie
 
Racemed goldenweed
         Wet prairie
 
Shaggy horkelia
SOC
C
x
 
 Wet prairie-Upland prairie
 
Thin-leaved peavine
SOC
 
 
 
 Oak woodland-prairie ecotone
 
White-topped aster
SOC
T
x
x
 Wet prairie
 
Willamette daisy
E
E
x
x
 Wet prairie-Upland prairie
Reptiles:
Pacific pond turtle
SOC
SC
 
x
 Upland prairie
 
Northern painted turtle
 
SC
 
x
 Upland prairie

Federal Status of Strategy species as of 4/2009: 
LE – Listed Endangered
LT – Listed Threatened

C – Candidate for listing
SOC – Species of Concern

State Status of Strategy species as of 4/2009: 
LE– Listed Endangered
LT – Listed Threatened

C – Candidate (plants only)
SC – Sensitive Species, Critical category
SV – Sensitive Species, Vulnerable Category (note: Sensitive Species applies to vertebrates only)

Click any thumbnail image to view a slideshow

Species Picture