ODFW Conservation Opportunity Areas, Oregon (2016)

ODFW Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) are a component of the Oregon Conservation Strategy, and highlight areas across the Oregon landscape where broad fish and wildlife conservation goals would best be met, and aim to increase the likelihood of long-term success, maximize effectiveness over larger landscapes, improve funding efficiency, and promote cooperative efforts across ownership boundaries. COAs were developed to guide voluntary conservation actions in Oregon. Land use or other activities within these areas will not be subject to any new regulations as a result of being designated an ODFW COA. The ODFW COA map, dataset, and underlying profile information should only be used in ways consistent with these intentions.

Landowners and land managers throughout Oregon can contribute to conserving fish and wildlife by maintaining, restoring, and improving habitats. These conservation actions benefit Strategy Species and Strategy Habitats, and are important regardless of location. However, focusing investments in prioritized areas, or Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs), can increase the likelihood of long-term success, maximize effectiveness over larger landscapes, improve funding efficiency, and promote cooperative efforts across ownership boundaries. COAs are places where broad fish and wildlife conservation goals would best be met, and have been designated for all ecoregions within the Conservation Strategy, except the Nearshore ecoregion. COAs were delineated through a spatial modeling analysis, incorporating datasets focusing on Oregon Conservation Strategy components (Strategy Species, Strategy Habitats, and Key Conservation Issues), and expert biologist review. More information on COA methodology can be found here: http://oregonconservationstrategy.org/conservation-opportunity-areas/methodology/.

COAs include supporting information in an associated COA profile, including details about the area’s Conservation Strategy priorities, recommended actions consistent with local priorities, and ongoing conservation efforts. Links to COA profiles are provided as an attribute in the COA dataset, and can also be found here - http://oregonconservationstrategy.org/conservation-opportunity-areas/.