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OR 4. McFadden's Marsh. Acreage: 350. 



Location: Benton County; Monroe Quadrangle; N 4415-W 123-15/15; 4 miles 

 N of Monroe; reached by Rt. 99 W. 



Description: McFadden's Marsh is situated within a willow (Salix spp.) and 

 Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) lowland. The annual overflow of Muddy Creek 

 during the winter floods supplies the water to the marsh. The marsh is a low flat 

 site with a slope less than 3%. The soil is composed of a heavy clay and is dif- 

 ficult to drain. The animals found throughout the marsh are beaver, muskrats, 

 nutrias, black-tailed deer, bullfrogs, treefrogs, and during their breeding season, 

 red-legged frogs. All of the swallows inhabiting the Willamette Valley are found 

 here, along with occasional Vaux's Swifts and Purple Martins. This marsh is a 

 traditional wintering area for dabbling ducks and dusky Canada Geese. The 

 marsh is now composed of Phalaris arundinacea and, to a lesser extent, of mix- 

 tures of Leersia oryzoides, and Panicum capillare. Because the water level of the 

 marsh is dropped during the summer months through a network of drainage 

 ditches, only a few true aquatic plant species are present the year around. Along 

 the edges of a few permanent "holes" bur-weed (Sparganium simplex) grows. 

 Pondweed (Potamogeton spp.) is found in the deeper water. Water purslane 

 (Ludwigia palustris) and liverwort (Ricciocarpus natans) cover the mud of these 

 small ponds. Near the edges of the marsh, slough sedge (Carex obnupta) is found 

 in dense stands. Mild water pepper {Polygonum hydropiperoides) and common 

 smartweed (P. hydropiper) grow in loosely defined colonies near the margins of 

 this marsh. Western spirea (Spirea douglasii) may be seen on the elevated por- 

 tions of the marsh. 



Ownership: This marsh is scheduled to become part of the William L. Finley 

 National Wildlife Refuge. Current owners, the McFadden family, Portland, Ore. 

 97200. 



Data source: E. Paul Peloquin, William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, 

 Route 2, Box 208, Corvallis, Ore. 97330. 



Other knowledgeable persons: Dr. Le Rea Dennis Johnson, Oregon State 

 University, Corvallis, Ore.; Dr. Robert M. Storm, Department of Zoology, 

 Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore. 97330. 







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