Cache Mountain Research Natural Area Deschutes National Forest , USFS East Cascades, Oregon Ecoregion Cell(s): Lodgepole pine/grouse huckleberry Lodgepole pine/beargrass White fir-Pacific silver fir/snowberry Mid-elevation lake, with aquatic beds and marshy shore

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Cache Mountain RNA is located northeast of Mt. Washington in Deschutes County, Oregon. Vegetation in the 570 ha tract is very diverse due to the wide variety of habitats present, including coniferous forests, riparian communities, boulder fields and rock gardens. The topography includes hills, ridges, and gently sloping plains, and elevations range from 1280 to 1700 m atop Cache Mountain. The southwest-facing slope of the mountain is a talus/cinder/pumice opening, which provides habitat for alpine collomia (Collomia debilis), gland oceanspray (Holodiscus dumosus), Davidson's penstemon (Penstemon davidsonii) and other dry site plants. A mixed conifer/snowberry (Gaultheria)/forb association dominates the northwest-facing portion of the mountain. There is evidence that spruce budworm and other diseases have killed some of the smaller diameter trees, opening up the canopy and stimulating shrub and forb growth. A mixed conifer/snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus)/sedge (Carex)-brakenfern (Pteridium aquilinum) community is present at the mountain's ridgeline, while mixed conifer/mazanita (Arctostaphylos) is found at the summit. The western half of the area is dominated by mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana)/big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum). Mountain hemlock/grouse huckleberry (Vaccinium scoparium) dominates a swale located the far west section of the tract, and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) bottomlands occur around Hortense Lake and a sedge marsh in the north. Rock garden and boulder field associations occupy the center of the tract, and several herbs and shrubs not found elsewhere in the RNA are scattered in specialized microsites within these communities. Two Federally threatened species, the northern spotted owl and the northern bald eagle, are present in the area.