Wildlife & Habitat
The valuable habitat the refuge preserves for the deer also benefits
a large variety of wintering birds, a small herd of Roosevelt elk,
river otter, various reptiles and amphibians including painted turtles
and red-legged frogs, and several pairs of nesting bald eagles and
ospreys.
Columbian White-tailed Deer 
The Columbian white-tailed deer is one of 30 subspecies
of white-tailed deer in North America, and the only
one found west of the Cascade Mountains. These deer once ranged
throughout the river valleys west of the Cascade Mountains from
the Umpqua River in Oregon, northward through the Willamette Valley
to Puget Sound, and westward down the lower Columbia River.
During the 1800s, deer numbers were dangerously low due to over-hunting
and loss of habitat. By the turn of the century, they had disappeared
from nearly all of their range and, in the 1930s, were thought to
be extinct. Remnant populations were discovered here and near Roseburg,
Oregon.
In 1968, the lower Columbian River population was listed as a
federally endangered species because it was in imminent danger of
becoming extinct. This population is now found only along the lower
Columbia River between Longview, Washington and Knappa, Oregon.
Today, about 300 of these deer live on the refuge; another 300-400
live on private lands along the river: The areas upstream from the
refuge on Puget Island and on the Oregon side of the river are vital
to reestablishing and maintaining viable populations of the species.
The refuge works with private and corporate landowners to maintain
and reestablish deer on their lands.
For more information, please go to
US
Fish & Wildlife species profile.
Roosevelt Elk
The Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) is a unique variety of North American elk (Cervus elaphus) found throughout coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest from northern California to British Columbia's Vancouver Island. By the turn of the 20th century, Roosevelt elk herds were depleted or eliminated in many areas by unregulated market hunting for meat, hides, and teeth (which were valued as ornamental accessories in the early 1900's).
A small herd of Roosevelt elk lives on the mainland unit of the
refuge. Although elk are magnificent animals and are thrilling to
see in the wild, they compete with the deer for limited resources.
Herds of elk can feed on and trample shrubs in the woodlots, reducing
food and cover for the deer. To manage the herd size, individual
elk were periodically trapped and relocated to remote areas. However,
this has not been financially feasible in recent years. It has also
become increasingly difficult to find places to relocate elk to
as elk damage claims across the state have been increasing steadily.
Beginning in the fall of 2005, limited hunting permits were issued
to prevent the elk herd from growing too large. A nine-foot-tall
wire fence helps to prevent additional elk from entering the refuge.
Amphibians and Reptiles
The Julia Butler Hansen Refuge has at least 12 species of amphibians and reptiles. Long-toed (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and northwestern (Ambystoma gracile) salamanders are abundant and often breed in shallow wetlands. Other salamanders present on the refuge include ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii), Pacific giant (Dicamptodon tenebrosus), and rough skinned newts (Taricha granulosa). The western toad (Bufo boreas) and red-legged frog (Rana aurora) occur in the area. Reptiles include the northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides), common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) and painted turtle (Chrysemys picta).
For more information on amphibians and reptiles, please go to University of Washington Burke Museum.
Birds
The Lower Columbia area provides habitat for a number of threatened and endangered
species, including the Aleutian Canada goose, northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, brown pelican, northern sea lion, and Columbian whitetailed
deer, as well as several Snake River salmon stocks. The western snowy plover,
proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act, historically used coastal
portions of the area.
Some of the islands in the lower river support large gull and tern nesting colonies, and
large great blue heron colonies are found throughout the river area. Large numbers of
shorebirds and songbirds pass through the area on their annual migrations. Bald eagle
nesting sites are found along the length of the lower river. Peregrine falcons, hawks,
eagles, and owls find abundant prey in the area's diverse habitats. The area provides
important migratory and wintering habitat for a number of waterfowl species. Lowland
areas are heavily used as resting and staging areas for migratory waterfowl and
shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway.
Wintering waterfowl populations in the Lower Columbia area reach peaks of more than
200,000 birds.
The most abundant species are mallard, northern shoveler, American
wigeon, green-winged teal, canvasbacks, lesser scaup, and northern pintail ducks; the
dusky, cackler, western, Vancouver, lesser, and Taverner's subspecies of Canada
geese; and tundra and trumpeter swans. The area is particularly important for the
dusky Canada goose, a large, dark-breasted subspecies that winters only along the
lower Columbia, in the Willamette Valley, and at a few locations on the Oregon coast.
Several wildlife refuges contain agricultural lands that are intensively
managed to provide feed and resting areas for wintering waterfowl.
The lower Columbia River is one of the most important areas in the Pacific Flyway for
migrating shorebirds, with peak counts in the estuary of almost 150,000 birds.
The lower Columbia River area also provides important migratory and breeding habitat
for a variety of other neotropical migrant bird species. One survey of a bottomland
forest during peak migration recorded some of the highest concentrations of neotropical
migrants ever reported.
A diverse assortment of birds, including waterfowl, wading birds, and
raptors can be viewed on the Refuge from Steamboat Slough and Brooks
Slough Roads. Thousands of Canada geese spend the winter on the
lower Columbia River and can be seen feeding in the short grass
pastures on the Refuge. Throughout the fall and winter, mallards,
pintails, American wigeon, buffelhead, and green winged teal are
commonly found in the sloughs and wetlands. Great blue herons, grebes,
comorants, coots, loons, and swans often rest in the Refuge sloughs.
Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and red-tailed hawks perch in Refuge
trees while looking for a meal.
Fish
The Columbia River provides essential habitat for many of the region's most important
fisheries Estuarine habitats provide
important nursery and rearing areas for young salmon and steelhead, and adults use
them as temporary holding areas during their return migration from the ocean to
upstream spawning areas. Dungeness crabs rear in the estuary, and marine fish such
as starry flounder, English sole, and perch use it for rearing and feeding. Shallow
subtidal and intertidal areas also support oysters, clams, and mussels. Sturgeon are
found throughout the lower river. Shallow lakes and ponds in the upriver floodplain
produce a variety of warmwater fish - most of them introduced species, including
bass, catfish, perch, bluegill, and crappie.
For more information on fishing regulations, please go to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Seals and Sea Lions
A variety of marine mammals occur throughout the refuge. The tip of the South Jetty at the river's
mouth is a haul-out site for the California and northern sea lions. Harbor seals use
sandbars and mudflats as haul-out sites at low tides, while seals and California and
northern sea lions feed on a variety of fish in the estuary. Research projects on marine mammals can be found at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory with particular attention to issues related to marine mammals located in waters near Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.
