Numerous opportunities exist in Oregon and Washington to do field research on sites that are permanently protected from resource extraction and other forms of active management. These areas, called Research Natural Areas (RNAs), can be found throughout all the ecoregions that occur in these two biologically diverse states. Research Natural Areas are primarily located on federal lands.

RNAs on Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Oregon and Washington protect a scientifically classified system of naturally occurring ecosystems for the purposes of scientific study and education and for protection of biological diversity. These areas represent a wide variety of habitats and ecosystems along elevational gradients from alpine to lowlands; biogeographic gradients ranging from coniferous forests of the Cascades and Coast ranges to semiarid deserts and prairie ecosystem of eastern Washington and Oregon; and a broad array of streams, lakes and wetlands.