More than 95 percent of the Willamette Valley is in private ownership, but joint venture partners have added thousands of acres to the network of conservation lands and begun restoring the wetlands, riparian forests, prairies and oak woodlands that formerly occupied this now largely agricultural and urban landscape.

Around the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, partnerships have secured permanent protection for most of the remaining large blocks of floodplain habitat and restored or enhanced thousands of acres of seasonal wetlands in key areas such as Sauvie Island, along Multnomah Channel, Smith and Bybee Lakes and around Scappoose Bay. Along the western side of the Willamette Valley, state wildlife areas and national wildlife refuges have converted several thousand acres of agricultural land back to seasonal wetlands. Local land trusts have protected key wetland systems at the confluence of the Willamette and McKenzie rivers and along the Long Tom and Muddy Creek systems south of Corvallis. A strong public-private partnership has protected and restored more than 2,800 acres of wet prairie and other native habitats in the West Eugene area.

Upland habitats in this region have traditionally received relatively little conservation attention, but joint venture partners have made substantial investments in protecting and restoring oak savanna and woodland habitats and upland prairie in recent years. Conservation organizations and local governments have taken the lead in protecting upland habitats, including large blocks in the South Eugene Hills, the Coburg Hills north of Springfield, and the Eola Hills west of Salem.

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