Little River (North Umpqua River) - Watershed

Watershed

The heavily forested Little River watershed, which extends from the western Cascades to the Umpqua Valley hills, includes a variety of conifers, hardwoods, and prairie vegetation. As of 2006, 63 percent of the land was publicly owned, and 37 percent was private. The U.S. Forest Service administered about 99 square miles (260 km2) of the public land and the Bureau of Land Management about 31 square miles (80 km2). Roughly 97 percent of the land, public and private, was devoted to forestry.

Homes and ranches are located mainly near the lower river and along Cavett Creek. There are no large population centers in the watershed; most of the unincorporated community of Glide lies outside the basin. It is estimated that in 2000 only 1,200 people lived in the watershed.

Sea-going fish species in the watershed include Chinook and Coho salmon, steelhead, Pacific lamprey, and sea-run cutthroat trout. Non-seagoing species include resident rainbow, brook, and cutthroat trout as well as kokanee. Little River and Cavett Creek provide good spawning habitat for Coho and other migrating species.