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<br />17.1 Site Description(s) <br /> <br />Sites E37 H (S Hills at Upper Owl Road); E371 (S Hills at St. Clair Lane); E37J (S Hills <br />at Lower Owl Road/Fox Hollow); E37K (S Hills at Canyon Drive/Fox Hollow), E37L (S <br />Hills at Center Way); E37M (S Hills at Dillard); AMA-13 (Owl Road wetland) <br /> <br />The sites in this analysis group are located within the south hills of Eugene, east of <br />Willamette Street and west of Dillard Road. These stream corridors are remnants of a mixed <br />deciduous/ coniferous forest of Douglas-fir, Oregon white oak, ponderosa pine, bigleafmaple <br />and Oregon ash. Structural and species diversity are generally high in most of these sites. <br />These corridors are generally characterized by steep stream gradients and/or steep <br />surrounding topography. <br /> <br />(1) South Hills at Upper Owl Road (E37H): <br /> <br />This stream corridor (E37 H) begins at upper Owl Road, carries water from the steep <br />surrounding slopes down to Donald Street. The majority of this site is located within <br />the City-owned Spencer Butte natural area, part of the Ridgeline park system. The <br />lower end of the site runs through land owned by the Huntington Heights Homeowners <br />Association and the W oodridge Homeowners Association, and meets the end of <br />Huntington Avenue. Most of the area surrounding the site is undeveloped. This is one <br />of the more intact riparian corridors in the Inventory. The corridor has high species <br />and structural diversity, and is dominated by native species, including Oregon ash, <br />Douglas fir, vine maple, occasional black cottonwood, and native understory, such as <br />osoberry and sword fern. The length of the corridor, and the fact that it abuts habitat <br />preserve areas (Ridgeline Trail parcels), greatly enhance its value as habitat, and as a <br />wildlife corridor from the ridge to lower elevation habitats. The site provides important <br />habitat for amphibians and the more common resident and migrant songbird and <br />mammal species. <br /> <br />(2) South Hills at St. Clair Lane (E37I): <br /> <br />This site (E37 I) drops down from Fox Hollow Road following St. Clair Lane, and ends <br />at the Fox Hollow Elementary School property. The upper portion of the site (E37 I-I) <br />has been disturbed by driveway crossings and clearing of vegetation, but retains most of <br />its riparian attributes, including a dense overstory of Oregon ash, bigleaf maple, and <br />Douglas-fir. A small area at the upper end of the site supports wetland plants such as <br />bulrush, indicating that the site has some wetland functions, though it was not mapped <br />on the Local Wetland Inventory. The middle portion of the site (E37 1-2), <br />approximately 230 feet long, has lost most of its riparian vegetation due to previous <br />clearing by the property owner. The riparian corridor here is only 2-3 feet wide, <br />constrained by a retaining wall and adjacent home on one side, and a pasture created by <br />extensive fill on the other side. In addition, the steep slopes characterizing the other <br />portions of the stream corridor are not present along this section. Because of these <br />characteristics, the quality of the middle section of Site E37I is markedly lower than <br />that of the upper and lower reaches of the stream. At the lower end of the site near Fox <br />Hollow Elementary School (E37 1-3), the corridor contains a greater mix of riparian and <br /> <br />ESEE Analysis <br /> <br />Page 4 <br /> <br />October 24, 2005 replacement page <br />