NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



189 



black bear were both inhabitants of 

 this country and the American bison 

 {Bison bison) penetrated well into its 

 interior from the east. 



The Great Sagebrush Desert was and 

 is today a paradise for bii'ds and bird 

 lovers. Birds too abundant to attempt 

 any enumeration nested within and 

 around the many lakes and marshes of 

 this section. The number of species 

 and individuals found in this area are 

 beyond all comprehension of the average 

 nature student. Among those of special 

 interest are the egret, white-faced glossy 

 ibis, black-necked stilt, white pelican, 

 sandhill crane, and many species of 

 duck; grebes, gulls, terns, herons, 

 bitterns, cranes, sandpipers and other 

 shore birds. 



A discussion of the mammals of Oregon 

 would not be complete without mention 

 of the islands lying within the Pacific 

 and off the coast of Oregon. Some of 

 these islands are notable as breeding 

 grounds for thousands of sea birds. 

 It furnished also a resting place for the 

 Pribilof fur seal, and was the breeding 

 grounds of the Steller sea lion and the 

 harbor seal. 



Mention should be made particularly 

 of the south-w^estern section of Oregon, 

 comprising the Rogue River Valley 

 and its surrounding hills and mountains. 

 It is apparently the meeting grounds 

 of species from the east and west and 

 the north and south. Present knowl- 

 edge will not permit an accurate state- 

 ment regarding this area. 



Mollusca {F. C. B.). Binney divided 

 the United States into regions and 

 gave the name Pacific Province to that 

 territory lying between the Cascade 

 and the Sierra Nevada mountains on the 

 east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. 

 The great majority of the land snails 

 are peculiar to this region and are 

 largely distinct, even as to genera, from 

 those of eastern North America. Of 

 about 100 species 65 per cent are peculiar 

 to this region. The region is further 

 divided into the Oregonian W. Meso- 

 phytic coniferous forest extending from 



Humboldt Bay northward to Alaska, 

 and containing some 15 peculiar species. 

 The dominant groups are Ephiphragmo- 

 phora, GJyptostona, Binneya, Ilemphil- 

 lia, Ariolimax, Ilesperarion. There are 

 features of vertical distribution which 

 coincide with distribution of vegetation, 

 subalpine, alpine, arctic, etc. 



ii. present biota (see "national 



forests of the pacific 



district") 



Hofmann's account of forests of District 6 

 Most of western Oregon was originally 

 all timbered with northwestern co- 

 niferous tj'pe of forest. Patches of 

 deciduous forest occurred here and there. 

 In the valleys a considerable acreage 

 of the original forest has been cut and 

 the land cleared. In western Oregon 

 there still remains in practically its 

 virgin forested condition an enormous 

 area, about half of which is in the 

 National Forests. Here the plant life 

 is practically undisturbed except as 

 fires have increased in severitj- since the 

 advent of man. The animal life has 

 been somewhat affected by the proximity 

 to settlement and hunters, but not 

 fundamentally changed. In Eastern 

 Oregon the semi-desert coniferous forest 

 occupied originally only a small per- 

 centage of that part of the state and was 

 confined to the east slope of the Cas- # 

 cades and to such independent moun- 

 tain groups as the Blue Mountains. It 

 is still practically in its virgin condition 

 as the area logged is small, though 

 affected so far as its lesser vegetation and 

 fauna are concerned by man through 

 fires, hunters and stock grazing. There 

 is here a large acreage of sagebrush 

 desert, some alkali country and a 

 variety of plant and animal com- 

 munities about such local formations 

 as springs, lakes, swamps, hot low 

 altitude canyons and cold high altitude 

 mesas.— r. T. M. 



The forests have encroached upon 

 the original prairie lands throughout 

 western Oregon. This is due to the 

 stopping of extensive prairie fires since 



