The Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center (ORNHIC) is part of the Oregon State
University Institute for Natural Resources, in the
Research Office of OSU. Our mission is to identify
the plant, animal, and ecological community resources of Oregon. As part of the
Natural Heritage Network and
NatureServe, the Oregon Natural Heritage Information
Center contributes to a better understanding of global biodiversity and provides tools for managers
and the public to better protect our vanishing species and communities.
News and Current Projects
Online Newsletter for the Institute of Natural Resources
Read about the latest projects that ORNHIC and INR are working on in the INR E-newsletter.
Rare Plant Guide Updated
Our online guide to state and federally listed plants was updated in July 2008.
Sixty-one species of Oregon plants are considered threatened or endangered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture or the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Read descriptions of these plants and their habitats, view photos, and find links to more information in our online Rare Plant Guide. You can also search for T&E plants by basin at our Rare Plant Basin Search page.
Notes on changes to listed plants:
- Aster curtus is now called Sericocarpus rigidus
- Aster vialis is now called Eucephalus vialis
- Ranunculus reconditus is now called Ranunculus triternatus
- Hastingsia bracteosa var. atropurpurea was added to the guide
2007 Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon book published
ORNHIC's review of the status of Oregon's rare, threatened and endangered species is completed, and the 2007 edition of ORNHIC’s booklet "Rare, Threatened and
Endangered Species of Oregon." is available online at our Publications page.
This 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.
Data excerpts from the book for vertebrates, invertebrates, non-vascular plants and fungi, and vascular plants are available at our Data Download page. Data from the 2004 RTE book is also available here.
Wildlife Explorer
ORNHIC has been working with Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to launch Wildlife Explorer, part of the Oregon Explorer project. Here you can find descriptions and predicted range maps for all vertebrate species found in Oregon, as well as create species lists for counties, ecoregions, or watersheds. Many more resources on Oregon's wildlife are available at this site.
Survey and Manage Species
2004 Updated Ranks and Heritage Status for Survey and Manage Species: ORNHIC worked with the Bureau of Land Management to rank 312 Survey and Manage Species.
Publications
Books completed by ORNHIC and available at our Publications and Reports page:
Riparian and Wetland Vegetation of Central and Eastern Oregon. 2004, 483 pp. E.A. Crowe, B.L. Kovalchik, and M. Kerr.
Native Wetland Plant Associations of Northwestern Oregon. 2004, 250 pg. J.A. Christy.
The Forest Service has published
"Riparian Plant Communities of Northwest Oregon: Streamside Plant Communities", which goes along with the northwestern Oregon wetlands guide, available from the Siuslaw NF Supervisors Office.
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