South Fork Spencer Creek
Owned Property
40 acres of the property were protected through purchase in 2022 using operational dollars provided by McKenzie River Trust donors. An additional 243 acres were purchased in the fall of 2024 with funding provided by the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program.
South Fork Spencer Creek is a dynamic landscape at Eugene's urban edge. Here, rare oak savanna weaves its way around the South Fork of Spencer Creek. The property provides an incredible opportunity to improve one of the Willamette Valleys most threatened habitats.
Stretching between Willamette St. and Fox Hollow, just south of Spencer’s Butte, the South Fork Spencer Creek conservation area provides 283 acres of wildlife corridor at Eugene’s urban edge. Protected in 2022-2024, this special property offers an opportunity to preserve one of the most threatened habitats in the Willamette Valley.
Protecting Oregon’s Oak Habitats
Flanking both sides of the South Fork of Spencer Creek, this property boasts a range of important habitats at Eugene’s urban edge. Along the riparian edge, red-legged frogs find refuge in dense stands of hardwoods that provide shade to this stream that nourishes coastal cutthroat trout. Moving upslope, the property opens into a mix of Oak dominant habitats which make up the primary habitat type being protected on this land.
In the Willamette Valley, oaks were originally found in a mosaic of prairies, oak savanna, woodlands, and riparian habitats throughout the valley floor and low-elevation slopes. Oaks were most common on flat to moderately rolling terrain, usually in drier landscapes, and often between prairie remnants and conifer forests. Today, oak woodlands are generally found in small, isolated pockets surrounded by other land uses. At South Fork Spencer Creek, this historic mosaic pattern is beginning to be restored. Oak woodlands throughout the property consists of Oregon oak (Quercus garryana), Willamette valley pine (Pinus ponderosa var. willamettensis), and Douglas fir.
At higher elevations, oak woodlands open into savanna grassland habitat, also called upland prairies. These thin soiled areas are dominated by grasses, forbs, and wildflowers.Oak savannas are characterized primarily by upland prairie with widely-spaced, large Oregon white oak and conifers which appear as one or two trees per acre. This rare habitat is populated with a wide variety of native grasses such as Roamers fescue, California oatgrass, and blue wild rye, and scattered with Oregon white oak, Willamette Valley Ponderosa pine, and Bigleaf maple.
A Safe Haven for Wildlife
The ongoing development of oak habitats across the Pacific Northwest has displaced and diminished populations of a range of species who have evolved in this habitat type for thousands of years. The most biodiverse terrestrial habitat type found in Oregon, oak woodlands and upland prairies are home to numerous species of concern. Among them are Acorn and Pileated woodpeckers who rely on the large nesting cavities found on oak trees. Additionally western Bluebirds, yellow-breasted Chat, and slender-billed nuthatch each look to this environment for food and shelter. In the canopies, western grey squirrels make their home while mixed woodland and savanna make space for Columbia whitetail deer. Located just outside of Eugene, this property offers a safe haven for wildlife on the urban edge.
How it was Protected
South Fork Spencer Creek conservation area was protected through multiple property transactions. The first 40 acres were purchased using McKenzie River Trust operational dollars, supported by MRT members, in 2022. In 2023, we closed on an additional 243 acres with funding provided through the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program and a generous contribution by the previous landowner.
Property photos courtesy of Steve Smith Photography.