Prairie Conservation Strategy – Species

Species Selection Criteria

Benton County is home to several threatened and endangered species as well as numerous plant and animal species with low or declining populations. The Prairie Conservation Strategy focuses on at-risk species that are prairie dependent or that use prairie, oak savanna, and oak woodland habitats as part of their lifecycle.

The HCP Stakeholder Advisory Committee identified a suite of species from the USFWS Recovery Plan and the Oregon Conservation Strategy that fit the criteria, as well as several locally rare species. In addition, by conserving a mosaic of habitat types across the landscape, the requirements for numerous additional species can be met.

Strategy Species

Group	Common name	Federal status	Statestatus	DraftUSFWS Recovery Species	ODFWStrategy Species	Habitat
Amphibians:	Northern red-legged frog	SOC	SV		x	Riparian and adjacent upland
Birds:	Acorn woodpecker	SOC	SV		x	Oak woodland-Savanna
	American kestrel					Oak savanna
	Chipping sparrow				x	Oak woodland-Savanna
	Common nighthawk		SC		x	Upland prairie
	Grasshopper sparrow		SV		x	Upland prairie
	Lazuli bunting					Savanna-Upland prairie
	Northern harrier					Wet prairie-Upland prairie
	Oregon vesper sparrow	SOC	SC		x	Upland prairie-Savanna
	Short-eared owl				x	Wet prairie-Upland prairie
	Streaked horned lark	C	SC		x	Upland prairie
	Western bluebird		SV		x	Savanna-Upland prairie
	Western kingbird					Upland prairie-Savanna
	Western meadowlark		SC		x	Upland prairie-Savanna
	White-breasted nuthatch (slender-billed)		SV		x	Oak woodland-Savanna
	Wilson’s snipe					Wet prairie
Invertebrates:	American grass bug	SOC			x	Wet prairie
	Fender’s blue butterfly	E		x	x	Upland prairie-Savanna
	Field crescent					Upland prairie-Savanna
	Sonora skipper					Upland prairie-Savanna
	Tailed copper					Upland prairie-Savanna-Oak Woodland
	Taylor’s checkerspot	C		x	x	Upland prairie-Savanna
Mammals:	Camas pocket gopher	SOC				Upland prairie
	Western gray squirrel		SU		x	Oak woodland
Plants:	Bradshaw’s lomatium	E	E	x	x	Wet prairie
	Golden paintbrush	T	E	x	x	Upland prairie-Wet prairie
	Hitchcock’s blue-eyed grass	SOC				Upland prairie-Wet prairie
	Howellia	T	T		x	Wet prairie
	Kincaid’s lupine	T	T	x	x	Upland prairie-Savanna
	Nelson’s checkermallow	T	T	x	x	Wet prairie
	Peacock larkspur	SOC	E		x	Upland prairie-Wet prairie
	Racemed goldenweed					Wet prairie
	Shaggy horkelia	SOC	C	x		Wet prairie-Upland prairie
	Thin-leaved peavine	SOC				Oak woodland-prairie ecotone
	White-topped aster	SOC	T	x	x	Wet prairie
	Willamette daisy	E	E	x	x	Wet prairie-Upland prairie
Reptiles:	Pacific pond turtle	SOC	SC		x	Upland prairie
	Northern painted turtle		SC		x	Upland prairie

Federal Status of Strategy species as of 4/2009: 
LE – Listed Endangered
LT – Listed Threatened

C – Candidate for listing
SOC – Species of Concern

State Status of Strategy species as of 4/2009: 
LE– Listed Endangered
LT – Listed Threatened

C – Candidate (plants only)
SC – Sensitive Species, Critical category
SV – Sensitive Species, Vulnerable Category (note: Sensitive Species applies to vertebrates only)