Layer definition: Prioritization of areas documented as containing priority species and/or important natural resources for the survival and reproduction of terrestrial wildlife species.
Aggregation method: A weighted-sum, additive aggregation method was used to aggregate six data input layers: Terrestrial Species of Concern, Large Natural Areas, Natural Vegetation Communities, Landscape Connectivity, Wetland and Riparian Areas, and Terrestrial Species of Economic and Recreational Importance. As displayed in the table below, each priority rank within each crucial habitat data input layer was assigned a weight, which were distributed exponentially from 0 through 20. Weights were assigned by ODFW based on the importance of the natural resource prioritized in each layer, as well as the type of data used and confidence in said data. The weight of each data input layer priority rank were summed within a given area, and the total scores resulted in a range of 2-75. These scores were classified into the six priority ranks using a quantile classification method, which aims to divide each class into an equal number of hexagons.
Crucial Habitat Input Layer |
Assigned Weights |
20 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Terrestrial Species of
Concern Priority Rank |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
5, 6 |
|
Terrestrial Species of Economic and Recreational Importance Rank |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5,6 |
|
Large Natural Areas Rank |
|
1
|
2 |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Landscape Corridors Rank
|
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
|
3,6 |
Natural Vegetation
Communities Rank |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Wetland and Riparian
Areas Rank |
|
1,2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
6 |
Conservation Opportunity Areas |
|
Contains Conservation Opportunity Area |
|
|
|
|
Does not contain Conservation Opportunity Area |
Priority Rank Definitions
Priority 1: Areas with a very high additive Terrestrial Crucial Habitat score (75 - 37). These areas often are an indicator of a Terrestrial Species of Concern priority rank of 1.
Priority 2: Areas with the next highest range of the additive Terrestrial Crucial Habitat score (36 - 30). About half of these areas include a Terrestrial Species of Concern priority rank of 1. The other half of these areas are the result of a combination of high priority rank values from multiple terrestrial crucial habitat data input layers.
Priority 3: Areas with a high to moderate range of the additive Terrestrial Crucial Habitat score (29 - 24). Small percentages (about 10%) of these areas contain a Terrestrial Species of Concern priority rank of 1. The large majority of these areas contain high-moderate priority rank values for multiple terrestrial crucial habitat data input layers. \
Priority 4: Areas with a moderate range of the additive Terrestrial Crucial Habitat score (23 - 18). With the exception of the Terrestrial Species of Economic and Recreational Importance data input layer, very few hexagons in this class contain any terrestrial crucial habitat data input layers with a priority rank of 1. A small amount of hexagons within this class contain a Terrestrial Species of Concern priority rank of 1.
Priority 5: Areas with a low range of the additive Terrestrial Crucial Habitat score (17 - 12). No hexagon contains a Terrestrial Species of Concern priority rank of 1. Very few hexagons contain any terrestrial crucial habitat data input layer with a priority rank of 1.
Priority 6: Areas with the lowest range of the additive Terrestrial Crucial Habitat score (11 - 2). A large majority (98%) of hexagons contain low ranks (priority rank of 4, 5, or 6) within the Terrestrial Species of Concern data input layer. The vast majority of areas in this class are the result of low priority scores for almost all terrestrial crucial habitat data input layers.
Input Layer Definitions
Terrestrial Species of Concern: Prioritizes areas based on species of state and/or national conservation importance, including those vulnerable to extinction or those undergoing regional decline or other species requiring special management attention. Emphasis placed on high priority species such as Federal or State Threatened or Endangered; candidate species for listing status; and Oregon Conservation Strategy species.
Conservation Opportunity Area: Documents whether area includes an ODFW Conservation Opportunity Area.
Wetland or Riparian Areas: Prioritizes wetland or riparian habitat areas.
Terrestrial Species of Economic or Recreational Importance: Prioritizes areas important to species of economic or recreational importance, with a focus on terrestrial game species and important wildlife viewing areas.
Natural Vegetation Community: Prioritizes areas that have been documented to include Oregon Conservation Strategy habitats.
Large Natural Area: Prioritizes large areas of contiguous habitat that are relatively intact or have low levels of anthropogenic impact.
Landscape Connectivity: Prioritizes areas documented within an assessment focusing on landscape corridors connecting core habitats of Large Natural Areas.
Data Source
Dataset Name |
Dataset Description |
Data Steward |
ODFW Conservation Opportunity Areas |
Conservation Opportunity Areas were developed for the Oregon Conservation Strategy to help identify priority areas for conservation actions that directly benefit wildlife and habitats. These areas are generally either areas of high biodiversity or areas with unique habitat values. |
ODFW |
See terrestrial crucial habitat input layers for additional data source documentation. |
