Publication Requests

Many of our publications are available online in PDF format. Click on the title of the report to open the PDF. If you wish to inquire about paper or CD copies of our publications, please contact Lindsey Koepke at lindsey.koepke@oregonstate.edu. Hard copies are subject to availability and there may be a nominal fee for materials and/or shipping.

 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

ORNHIC publishes this book every two or three years with updated ranks for rare species in Oregon. The latest version of the RTE book was published in March 2007.

PDF versions of the 2007, 2004 and 2001 editions of the book are available below. Paper copies of older editions of the book may be available. Future editions of the RTE book will be available as a PDF file only.

Data excerpts for vertebrate, invertebrate, vascular, and non-vascular rankings from 2007 and 2004 are available at our Data Download page.

UPDATE to the March 2007 edition of "Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon"

Updates to ORNHIC rare species lists published in the book “Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon” (March 2007) are now available. The updates are only a listing of changes for species in the March 2007 book or new additions to the list. This includes name changes, rank changes, additions to range, etc. A revised version of the 2007 book (PDF only) containing the new updates will be available in late 2009, and sometime in spring 2010 we will issue the next edition.

Non-vascular and vascular plants are in the same Excel spreadsheet but on separate worksheets as well as in separate PDF files. Animal updates are available only in Excel spreadsheet format.

Animal Updates. May 2009. Excel file with tabs for each animal group (fish, mammals, etc). 57 kb.

Vascular Plant Updates. May 2009. PDF of changes to vascular plant species. 32 kb.

Nonvascular Plant Updates. May 2009. PDF of changes to nonvascular plant species. 53 kb.

All Plant Updates. May 2009. Excel sheet with tabs for changes to both nonvascular and vascular plants. Contains the same information as the two PDFs listed above. 55 kb.

To obtain the most recent information on a species, please check both the March 2007 book (available as a PDF, link below) and the update PDF or Excel files.

The March 2007 book is based on a series of meetings and reviews for the animal taxa, and the recommendations from the October 2006 Rare Plant Meeting at OSU.

Information for the Spring 2009 update is based on recommendations and reviews by ORNHIC staff, USDI Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (animals), the Xerces Society (invertebrates), Oregon Department of Agriculture (plants), Oregon State University’s Herbarium and Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, the Oregon Flora Project (plants), the Carex Working Group (plants), the Native Plant Society of Oregon, and other professional and amateur botanists who have a keen interest in Oregon’s biodiversity.

We especially wish to thank Gayle Hansen of Oregon State University for adding marine algae to the list

Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon Publications

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon. March 2007, 100 pp. Paper copies may be available. (pdf 1.34 mb).

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon. May 2004, 105 pp. Paper copies may be available. (pdf 1.32 mb).

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon. February 2001, 92 pp. (pdf 389 kb).

 Recent Publications

2003 Oregon Natural Heritage Plan. 2004, 174 pg. Natural Heritage Advisory Council to the State Land Board. The Oregon Natural Heritage Plan was adopted by the Oregon State Land Board on February 10, 2004. The plan is an update to the 1998 plan and includes significant revisions. Available online (pdf 1.5 mb).

Classification of Native Vegetation of Oregon. 2004, 52 pg. J.S. Kagan, J.A. Christy, M.P. Murray, and J.A. Titus. ORNHIC. Contains names, ranks and references for Oregon's terrestrial and wetland plant communities. Available online (pdf 271 kb).

Field Guide to Riparian Plant Communities in Northwestern Oregon. 2005, C. McCain and J.A. Christy. 357 pp. + CD. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon. This guide identifies 186 riparian and wetland plant communities using keys based on indicator plant species and environmental factors. It is a condensed version of two larger, more detailed guides completed by McCain and Christy in 2004, both of which are included in the accompanying CD. The field guide is printed in a smaller, more portable format on water-resistant paper and comes in a plastic ring binder. Available online or in hardcopy from ORNHIC (pdf 1.7 mb).

Native Wetland Plant Associations of Northwestern Oregon . 2004, 250 pg. J.A. Christy. Provides keys, descriptions, and stand tables for 122 native freshwater plant associations in northwestern Oregon, based on analysis of plot data. Area includes the north half of both the Coast Range and Western Cascade ecoregions, and all of the Willamette Valley. Vegetation is classified according to the National Vegetation Classification System, and plant associations are assigned to ecological systems. Available online (pdf 1.1 mb).

Oregon Gap Analysis Project Final Report: A geographic approach to planning for biological diversity. 1999. J.S. Kagan, J.C. Hak, B. Csuti, C.W. Kiilsgaard, and E.P. Gaines. ORNHIC. 72 pp + appendices. Includes Land Cover Type Descriptions and Manual by C.W. Kiilsgaard for the 1998 Land Coverage. CD-ROM with data and PDF files are available from ORNHIC. The major gap datasets (not species distributions) are posted at the Oregon State GIS Clearinghouse (http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/EISPD/GEO/alphalist.shtml).

Plant Associations of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon. 1998. Christy, J.A., J.S. Kagan and A.M. Wiedemann. 183 pp. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-09-98. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon. This guide describes 52 plant associations known or suspected to occur in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It includes general descriptions of the physical and biological setting of the dunes, as well as delineation of successional pathways, descriptions of stand composition and structure, history, management issues, and previous studies. Appendices summarize vegetation data and list vascular plants known from the area. Available online only (pdf 24.8 mb).

Riparian and Wetland Vegetation of Central and Eastern Oregon. 2004, 483 pp. E.A. Crowe, B.L. Kovalchik, and M. Kerr. Includes photographs and valley cross-section illustrations in black and white. This book is also available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file online (pdf 22 mb). The PDF file has color images and maps. For a copy of the book or stand tables (an additional 300 pages), contact us.

Status of whitebark pine in Crater Lake National Park. 2000, 13 pg. M.P. Murray and M. Rasmussen. ORNHIC and U.S. Department of the Interior. Available Online: (pdf 362 kb).

The Distribution and Reproductive Success of the Western Snowy Plover along the Oregon Coast - 2007. 2007, 64 pg. David J. Lauten, Kathleen A. Castelein, Raya Pruner, Marvin Friel, and Eleanor P. Gaines. ORNHIC. Available Online: (pdf 31 mb).

The Distribution and Reproductive Success of the Western Snowy Plover along the Oregon Coast - 2006. 2006, 82 pg. David J. Lauten, Kathleen A. Castelein, Susan Weston, Krista Eucken, and Eleanor P. Gaines. ORNHIC. Available Online: (pdf 773 kb).

Umatilla and Willow Creek Basin Assessment for Shrub Steppe, Grasslands, and Riparian Wildlife Habitats. 2000. Final Report to EPA. 25 pp. To view or download the large file (48 mb) with Appendix A maps click here.

 Archived Publications

Native wetland plant communities and associated sensitive, threatened or endangered plant and animal species in Oregon. 1997, 73 pp. J.A. Christy and J.H. Titus. ORNHIC. Palustrine systems account for 85% of the wetland community diversity in the state, with lacustrine, riverine, and estuarine each representing 5%. Of palustrine systems, emergent classes account for 50% of the diversity of communities, followed by scrub-shrub (25%), forested (17%), aquatic bed (6%) and moss-lichen (0.4%). Rare plants and animals occurring in wetlands include 219 taxa in 11 life forms, listed in decreasing percentage of species: gastropods (30%), vascular plants (29%), fish (12%), insects (11%), birds (6.4%), bryophytes (6%), amphibians (2%), bivalves (2%), reptiles (0.9%), mammals (0.5%), amphipods (0.5%), flatworms (0.5%). The East Cascades ecoregion has the highest number of rare taxa, followed by the West Cascades and Basin and Range. High priority sites for ecoregions east of the Cascades center around lacustrine and palustrine elements. (pdf 392 kb).

1998 Oregon Natural Heritage Plan. 1998, 142 pg. Natural Heritage Advisory Council to the State Land Board. Available online: (pdf 568 kb).

Classification and Catalog of Native Wetland Plant Communities in Oregon. 1993, 77 pg. J.A. Christy. ORNHIC. A catalog, classification, and guide to the literature of 189 wetland plant communities in Oregon. A key provides access to, and is followed by, a classification modeled after Cowardin et al. (1979). This is followed by a catalog listing each plant community alphabetically, showing the physiographic province and landform in which each occurs, its Heritage global and state rank, and a listing of community descriptions here considered synonymous. Available online: (pdf 142 kb).

Classification of Native Vegetation of Oregon. 2001, 63 pg. J.S. Kagan, J.A. Christy, M.P. Murray, and J.A. Titus. ORNHIC. Contains names, ranks and references for Oregon's terrestrial and wetland plant communities. Available online: (pdf 271 kb).

Lower Columbia River Natural Area Inventory. 1993, 89 pp. J.A. Christy and J.A. Putera. Identifies remaining "presettlement" habitats along the floodplain of the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, between Bonneville Dam and the mouth of the river, including lower portions of Chinook River, Elochoman River, Grays River, Lewis River, Youngs River and the Willamette River. Lists known sites ranked by their rare elements, for use in setting priorities for protection. Reviews previous work, regional floodplain characteristics, historical conditions, impacts of Euroamerican settlement on floodplain habitats, current conditions, and future needs. Available online: (pdf 151 kb).

Native Wetland, Riparian, and Upland Plant Communities and Their Biota in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. 1996, 58 pp. J.H. Titus, J.A. Christy, D. VanderSchaaf, J.S. Kagan, E.R. Alverson. Reports on evaluation of 172 wetland and riparian sites throughout the Willamette Valley, 21 of which were high-quality remnants. Thirty-two species of rare plants and animals are directly dependent on wetland and riparian communities, and 22 are dependent on upland upland communities. Historical losses of wetland and riparian habitat total about 456,119 hectares (1,127,071 ac), with 12 communities impacted in particular. Historical losses of upland habitats total about 732,432 hectares (1,809,841 ac), with 7 natural communities impacted in particular. Available online: (pdf 143 kb).