Flynn Creek Research Natural Area Siuslaw National Forest , USFS Coast Range Ecoregion Cell(s): Western hemlock/vine maple with salmonberry and swordfern.

Access by road

Flynn Creek RNA is located in Lincoln County, Oregon. The boundary of the 271 ha RNA follows the natural topographic boundaries of the Flynn Creek drainage upstream from its confluence with Meadow Creek. The topography of the area, located 10 miles from the Oregon coast, ranges from 183 m. to 427 m. There are many small intermittent and perennial streams within the tract. The topography east of the main stream is steeper than that of the west side, although the east and west aspects both contain many areas with slopes greater than 35 percent. The natural area occupies the Western Hemlock zone. However, the dominant tree species in the area are Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and red alder (Alnus rubra) and stands vary from virtually pure stands of one to pure stands of the other. Red alder stands are especially well developed along the tributary in the southeastern section of the tract. Vine maple (Acer circinatum) is evenly distributed in the understory throughout the watershed, although Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) dominates the understory on the wettest sites, and sword fern (Nephrolepis) dominates on the upland sites. An important distinguishing feature of the RNA is a stream whose aquatic ecosystem both supports good populations of Coastal cutthroat trout and the Federally threatened Coho salmon (both species are anadromous), and is biologically and hydrologically well documented as the control stream for the Alsea Watershed Study.

A 2.25 ha permanent plot straddles the stream at Flynn Creek. On this plot all trees and snags are mapped and described.