Stockade Mountain Research Natural Area

Vale District , BLM

Northern Basin and Range Ecoregion

Cell(s):

• Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass
• Low sagebrush/Sandberg bluegrass scabland

Access by unimproved dirt road off Crowley road, which travels south of Harper, Oregon, to State Highway 78, on roads passable from late spring through fall when dry.

The 715 ha Stockade Mountain RNA is located in near Crowley, Malheur County, southwest of Vale, Oregon. The RNA is in the western juniper/sagebrush zone on steep slopes and gently rolling hills near the top of Stockade Mountain between 1585 and 1680 m. Soils are shallow to deep, rocky loams and clay loams over basalt. Winters are cold, moist, while summers are hot and dry. Annual precipitation averages 30 to 36 cm. Steep northeast-facing slopes support big and low sagebrush communities. Major plant associations include Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (Juniperus occidentalis/Artemisia tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata) with Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) and low sagebrush/Sandberg bluegrass (Artemisia arbuscula/Poa secunda) scabland. RNA status was granted for wildlife habitat and old growth western juniper/big sagebrush/bunchgrass communities interspersed with low sagebrush. Disturbances include past and current livestock grazing in summer, and a hunter's camp has been established in the northeastern part of the RNA.