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Returning adult salmon and steelhead enter the fish ladder on the south side of the dam and are held in a 12’ x 40’ trap until they can be processed by ODFW’s South Santiam Hatchery staff. Hatchery employees operate the fish trap one to three times per week depending on the time of year and numbers of adults returning to the system. An average of 4,000 spring Chinook, 4,700 summer steelhead, and 670 winter steelhead are collected annually. All unmarked spring Chinook and winter steelhead are returned to their native habitats in the South Fork of the Santiam above Foster…
The largest of hard-shelled sea turtles, the green turtle weighs 300 to 350 pounds as an adult, and feeds primarily on sea grasses and algae. Strictly herbivores, green sea turtles are named for their greenish-colored fat. Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
Fish counting through Willamette Falls fishway occurs at the main viewing window. Video cameras and time lapsed video recorders are used to record fish passage 24 hrs/day, 365 days/year. Our schedule for reviewing the tapes is Monday through Friday.
CLACKAMAS, Ore. – The two-rod validation will not be available for the Willamette River in 2026 as the forecast for hatchery-origin adult fish does not meet the minimum return threshold. The 2026 Columbia River spring-summer forecast anticipates 43,700 adult Willamette-origin spring Chinook will return to the mouth of the Columbia…
The Western whiptail is found in eastern Oregon deserts and semi-arid shrublands. It is most common in flat, sandy areas and along dry washes. These lizards are primarily insectivorous. In a food habits study in southeastern Oregon, they ate caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles. They also eat spiders, scorpions, and other lizards. Photo by Keith Kohl, ODFW
The snowshoe hare is the smallest member of the genus in Oregon. Individuals in populations east of the Cascade Range, and some individuals in the Cascade Range, become white in winter and are brown in summer. This hare is associated with dense thickets of young conifers, especially those with lower branches touching the ground and especially firs and western larch interspersed with small clearings vegetated by grasses and forbs. Photo from ODFW
The pygmy short-horned lizard occurs in sagebrush deserts, juniper woodlands, and open coniferous forests. It prefers open areas with sandy soils, but is also found on rocky soil. Ants make up a large part of the diet, but beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and sowbugs are also eaten. This lizard burrows into the soil when inactive. Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
The gopher snake occurs in a wide variety of habitats, from deserts and grasslands to woodlands and open forests. It frequents agricultural regions, especially where there is brushy cover such as fence rows. Diet varies according to size, with young eating insects, lizards, rodents, and birds and their eggs. Adults can take larger prey, occasionally as large as rabbits. Photo by Simon Wray, ODFW
The Western fence lizard occupies a wide range of habitats, from desert canyons and grasslands to coniferous forests. It requires vertical structure in its habitat, such as rock piles or logs. It is absent from dense, humid forests and flat desert valleys. This lizard is insectivorous, and feeds on crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, ants , wasps, leafhoppers, and aphids. Some spiders are taken as well. Photo from ODFW
The Western skink is found in moist places such as under rocks or logs in a variety of habitats from grassland and chaparral to desert scrub, juniper woodlands, and coniferous woodlands and forests. Rocky areas with some moisture, such as riparian zones, are favored. This skink feeds on a wide variety of invertebrates, including beetles, grasshoppers, moths, flies, spiders, and earthworms. Photo by Simon Wray, ODFW
The rubber boa occurs in a variety of habitats, from desert scrub, foothill woodlands, and grasslands through deciduous and coniferous forests. In the Coast Range, it is found commonly in forest clearings that contain rotting stumps and logs. It is absent from the immediate vicinity of the coast north of Coos Bay. Rubber boas are constrictors and eat small mammals, especially young mice and shrews. Photo by Simon Wray, ODFW
The ringneck snake requires moist micro-habitats such as downed logs, rocks, or stumps. It is found in a variety of vegetation types, but is most closely associated with pine-oak woodlands and moist canyon bottoms. It also can be abundant in Willamette Valley grasslands. These snakes feed mainly on small lizards, snakes and salamanders and also slugs, earthworms, frogs, and insects. Photo by Simon Wray, ODFW
The mountain cottontail is intermediate in size and light grayish-brown in color. Its tail is white and ears relatively broad and rounded. It is usually associated with rocky outcrops with nearby dominant vegetation consisting of big sagebrush, bitter-brush, rabbit-brush, western juniper and mountain-mahogany. In Oregon, it occurs throughout the state east of the Cascade Range with a western extension into Josephine County. Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW