Search myodfw.com
Establishment of the Bridge Creek Wildlife Area initially started in 1961 when a parcel of land was purchased from the Frank Hilbert estate. After the initial purchase, several private holdings were acquired to consolidate the land under department ownership. The last parcel was purchased from the Colvin Cattle Company in 1975. The primary purpose of the wildlife area is to maintain and protect a key historic winter range for Rocky Mountain elk ( Cervus elaphus nelsoni).
Coquille Valley Wildlife Area was initially established in 2013 with two equally important primary objectives; (1) To protect, enhance, and restore fish and wildlife habitats located on the WA, and (2) to provide a wide variety of wildlife-oriented recreational and educational opportunities to the public.
Sauvie Island Wildlife Area was established in 1947 with primary objectives of protecting and improving waterfowl habitat and providing a public hunting area. The initial purchase of five acres in 1940 and subsequent purchases through 2012 has brought the wildlife area to its present size of 11,643 acres, of which 8,153 acres are under fee title to the department and 3,490 acres are managed through a cooperative agreement with the Oregon Department of State Lands. Currently, the wildlife area supports a biologically diverse association of wildlife which includes at least 275 species of birds, 37 species of mammals, 12 species…
Characteristic of open country and cold weather, the Rough-legged hawk can be found soaring over exposed terrain or perched on utility poles across much of the state in winter. The rough appearance of its legs comes from the feathers covering their length, an adaptation that provides extra warmth in frigid weather. In flight, dark wrist patches and belly help identify this large buteo, though like other hawks it is subject to much variation in plumage. From a distance it frequently appears to have a frosty upper half. It often hovers over fields while hunting, a behavior that is rare among…
High overhead at the top of the rimrock in Oregon's desert country, the White-throated swift swoops, soars, and darts about erratically, hunting and catching insects. At great speed, it disappears into a crevice on a cliff without appearing to slow down. Its long, strong claws enable it to crawl deep inside these crevices to roosting and nesting areas, which often cannot be seen from the entrance. This bird is a locally common to abundant breeder, primarily on eastern Oregon cliffs. It is an occasional spring and sporadic fall migrant in western Oregon along the coast, in the Willamette Valley, and…
One of the most startling sounds in the black of night is the loud, harsh call of the Barn owl as it flies over field or marsh in search of small rodents. They are white to tan beneath with fine spotting ranging from almost none to fairly extensive. The face has a well-defined facial disc that acts as a parabolic dish collecting the faint sounds of its prey, allowing it to hunt successfully in total darkness. Male and female Barn owls are similar in appearance though the female is somewhat larger. The Barn owl is a fairly common permanent resident…
White River Wildlife Area was established in 1953. Located along the east slope of the Cascade Mountains in the north central part of Oregon, the wildlife area encompasses 29,480 acres. An additional 1,280 acres of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is managed by the ODFW bringing the total acres managed by the department to 30,760. The primary purpose of White River Wildlife Area is to provide winter range habitat for black-tailed deer and Rocky Mountain elk and to minimize big game damage to adjacent private agricultural lands.
The Columbia River is renowned for its salmon and steelhead runs. In a year of good returns, over 1 million Chinook, coho and sockeye salmon, and summer steelhead travel up the river to spawn in its tributaries. Less known are the river’s excellent smallmouth bass and walleye fisheries. While most anglers fish this large river from a boat, there is plenty of good bank access at various parks, boat launches and beaches.
SNAKE FISHING January 15, 2026 Best bets for weekend fishing Steelhead and trout can be caught downstream of Hells Canyon Dam. Trout fishing will be best throughout the winter in the Hells Canyon Reservoirs Announcements:Updates by section BROWNLEE RESERVOIR: Crappie, bass, perch, catfish, carp Trout fishing will be best throughout the winter months especially in the Powder River arm where rainbows will be moving in before heading up Eagle Creek. Other cool water fish like perch can be caught throughout the winter. Fishing for bass and catfish will probably be very slow until the reservoir starts to warm up in…
Almost strictly nocturnal, the Western screech-owl hunts discreetly at night and roosts during the day in dense woodlands, its perfectly streaked plumage allows it to pass as tree bark. These habits make it difficult to see, and it is more common than many are aware. It is a small owl with yellow eyes and feathered ear tufts. It exhibits geographic variation in plumage color and pattern: both gray morphs and brown morphs occur in the Pacific Northwest. Sexes are alike. The Western screech-owl is a fairly common year-round resident in lower-elevation woodlands throughout Oregon. It is usually found below 3,000…
This tiny owl has a reputation as an aggressive predator on everything from mice and voles to birds and mammals over twice its size. Coloration is highly variable with brown and gray morphs. In Oregon, color varies from dark brown in coastal mountains to gray in eastern Oregon, with an intermediate pale grayish-brown form in the Cascade mountains. About the length of a White-crowned sparrow, it has striking yellow eyes, dark vertical streaks on the breast and abdomen, and dark "eyespots" on the back of the head. It is primarily diurnal and can often be approached quite closely when it…
A thick body, small head and coloration similar to a killer whale make this dolphin easy to recognize. Dall’s porpoise is mostly black with a large white patch on the belly and flanks. The small dorsal fin is partly white and the trailing edges of the tail are frosted white. About seven feet long and weighing around 400 pounds, Dall’s live only in the north Pacific. Dall’s are the fastest of all small cetaceans and can swim at up to 35 miles per hour, almost as fast as a killer whale. When swimming at the surface they create a characteristic…
The Long-tailed weasel is the larger of the two weasels in Oregon, but smaller than the other member of the genus, the mink. Males are considerably larger than females. The head is flattened and somewhat triangular; the body and neck are elongate and almost cylindrical; the legs are short, and the tail is long. The summer pelage is brown dorsally; the venter is yellowish to orangish except for a white chin and sometimes one or more scattered brown spots. The tip of the tail is black. The pelage is molted twice annually. In the Cascade Range and eastward through the…
Features: The Pacific sanddab is left-eyed, meaning both eyes are on the left side of the body. The eyed-side is dull light brown, mottled with brown or black, and sometimes yellow or orange. The blind-side is off-white to tan. They have an oval shaped body with large scales. They can grow to be 16-inches long and up to 2 pounds, though most weigh less than 1/3 pound. Habitat: As you probably guessed, sanddabs like to hang out on sandy bottoms. They are most abundant at depths of 20-50 fathoms, and are common in shallow coastal waters from British Columbia to…
