Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge: IBA of the Month
by Mary Coolidge, Assistant Conservation Director
- Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge - Marilyn Stinnet
Stand anywhere on the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (TRNWR) near Sherwood, and it’s pretty impressive to imagine that this expansive urban oasis just west of Portland was born of a citizen-led movement and a 12-acre land donation in 1993. When a group of community members recognized that there was growing pressure on the Tualatin River and its floodplain from agriculture and urbanization in Washington County, they lobbied the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to protect and enhance this area as part of the refuge system. Together with Metro, local agencies, and conservation nonprofits, they convinced the Service to acquire an area of interwoven floodplain, wetland, and riparian habitat along the Tualatin.
- Golden Crowned Kinglet - Mike Liskay
Today, this refuge has grown to over 1,300 acres, and in 2007, USFWS established an additional unit of the Tualatin River NWR near Gaston. This property, known as the Wapato Unit, now measures 788 acres (and growing). The Approved Acquisition Boundary for these two parcels, an area that represents the broader scope of property that USFWS has authority to acquire from willing sellers, together totals a staggering 7,370 acres.
Flanked by the tides of regional growth, Tualatin River NWR is among only a small handful of such urban refuges across the nation. Surrounded by traffic and development, the refuge manages to retain an air of rural tranquility, offers sweeping views across expansive wetlands, provides critical flood storage, serves a vital ecological role in providing connectivity for birds and wildlife residing in and migrating through the Willamette Valley, and helps to reestablish natural Tualatin River floodplain hydrology. A predominantly-bottomland floodplain, the refuge parcel is cut-through by rivers and streams, seasonal and scrub-shrub wetlands, Oregon ash riparian hardwood and coniferous forests, grasslands, wet meadow prairie, and oak-pine uplands. This vibrant mosaic of habitats supports nearly 200 species of birds, 50 mammal species (including 10 bat species), and 25 herptiles (reptiles and amphibians). Many of these habitat types have been decimated by development in the Willamette Valley, making them a high priority for conservation activity.
- Bald Eagle vocalizing TRNWR - Mike Liskay
Refuge staff are in the process of drafting a new Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), the blueprint that will guide management of the refuge for the next 15 years. The primary directive of the refuge remains unchanged: to protect habitat for wildlife, and to provide compatible wildlife-dependent recreation and education, but the planning process will evaluate the current management strategy and weigh future alternative plans for best management of wildlife and habitat, as well as public use needs of both units of the refuge. Special emphasis will be placed on public use at the Wapato Unit, how to increase public involvement in citizen science and habitat restoration, identification of research needs to help inform adaptive management, consideration of various methods for control of invasive plant and animal species, and whether to institute user fees. You can weigh in on the CCP! USFWS welcomes your comments by January 10, 2011. Email TualatinCCP@fws.gov. Include “Tualatin River CCP/EA” in the subject line.
Species of Ornithological Significance 
The Tualatin River NWR wetlands support thousands of ducks, arctic-nesting Canada Goose, Tundra Swan, and a variety of other waterbirds. Dominant ducks include Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, and American Wigeon, and at the Wapato Unit: Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, and Lesser Scaup. Both Dusky and Cackling Canada Goose can be found at the main unit, and Dusky, Lesser, Tavener, Western and Aleutian have all been documented at the Wapato Unit. Documented waders and shorebirds include Killdeer, Wilson’s Snipe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Spotted, Western, and Least Sandpiper. Significant breeding populations of Wood Duck and Hooded Merganser and, to a lesser extent, Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal, and Mallard. The Refuge is a stopover and breeding area for a wide variety of songbirds as well, including: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, White-crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Lazuli Bunting, Western Bluebird. Raptors recorded here are a cast of usual suspects, including: Peregrine Falcon, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Kestrel, Bald Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk.
If you go
The Refuge HQ is located at 19255 SW Pacific Hwy (503.625.5944), about15 miles southwest of Portland near Sherwood.
From the north: Drive southbound on Highway 99W and continue through the town of King City. Approximately 0.7 miles beyond the Cipole Road traffic light, turn right into the refuge. Look for brown highway guide signs.
From the south: Drive northbound on Highway 99W, approximately 1 mile north of Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Look for brown highway highway guide signs directing you to make a U-turn in order to enter into the refuge.
Bike there! Bike racks are provided in visitor parking areas, though bikes are not permitted on refuge trails.
Bus there! Tri-Met route #12 stops at the refuge entrance on Highway 99W. The #12 leaves from SW 3rd and Yamhill, 2 blocks from the MAX stop in downtown Portland.
