Click here to read the Planning Update
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public Open House on November 7, 2001, in Gaston, Oregon, to kick off its study of fish, wildlife and plants in the area around Wapato Lake.The Open House will begin at 7 p.m. in the Gaston High School Library, 306 Park Street. Service staff will be on hand to provide an overview of the study, answer questions and take comments.
The 6,400-acre study area encompasses the historic Wapato Lake bed in the upper Tualatin River watershed. The Service will study land conservation opportunities within this area, including the potential protection and management of some of these lands as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System
In the 1930s, the historic Wapato Lake bed was diked and drained to create farmland. Oregon ash forests historically occupied the flood plains adjacent to Wapato Lake and are considered among the rarest plant communities in the state. Some marshes and intermittent streams and small stands of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian forest still occur in the study area.
Wapato Lake, named after an edible wetland plant, historically was home to large numbers of ducks, geese, tundra swans, shorebirds, songbirds and birds of prey. Restoration of the Wapato Lake wetlands could aid in the recovery of state species of concern, such as northern red-legged frog and western pond turtle, and would generally benefit the Tualatin River watershed, which supports spawning and rearing grounds for a number of native fish, including federally protected steelhead and chinook salmon.
Area landowners and interested citizens are encouraged to participate in the planning process. Public input is welcome throughout the study and the Service invites all interested individuals to join its mailing list. For more information, a planning update is available by request or can be viewed on the internet at Comments on this initial phase of the study are requested by November 30, 2001. Forward comments and requests to be added to the mailing list via mail, fax, or e-mail as follows:
Dave Bassler, Natural Resource Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 NE 11th Ave., Portland OR 97232-4181; fax 503-231-6187; e-mail (please refer to Wapato Lake in subject line).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
