Limpy Rock Research Natural Area Umpqua National Forest , USFS West Cascades, Oregon Ecoregion Cell(s): Western hemlock/oceanspray Douglas fir/oceanspray/whipplevine with incense cedar if possible

Access by road and trail

The 760 ha Limpy Rock RNA is located in Douglas County, Oregon near the north bank of the North Umpqua River. Two entire subdrainages of Dog Creek are included within the natural area. Elevations range from 533 m. to 1326 m., and the topography is generally steep, although more moderate slopes occur in the northern third of the tract. There are some very steep slopes associated with Limpy Rock, which lie near the center of the RNA, and the slopes east of Dog Creek. The natural area, which lies in the both the Western Hemlock zone and the Douglas Fir zone, is almost completely forested, and generally dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest. Additional tree species include sugar pine, Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), incense-cedar (Calocedrus kurz), golden chinkapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla), grand fir (Abies grandis), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). The area was burned in the 19th century and restocked heavily on most of the sites. Some older stems that escaped the fires, as well as one or two patches of old growth, are occasionally found. This RNA was established in 1979 because of a high concentration of special interest plant species, including species that are distant outliers from their normal range, rare, or threatened and endangered. Some species present include: spleenwort (Asplenium septentrionale), milk vetch (Astragalus umbraticus), fairy slipper (Calypso bulbosa), ghost orchid (Eburophyton austinae), fawnlily (Erythronium citrinum), gnome plant (Hemitomes congestum), kalmiopsis (Kalmiopsis leachiana), and lily (Lilium pardalinum).