The 45 acres are part of a larger 140 acre area included in a long-term Resource Management Plan (RMP) established to provide habitat lost after the construction of Scoggins Dam. The habitat area is along the perimeter of Henry Hagg Lake which is impounded by Scoggins Dam.

"The area will be closed to human activity each year during this same time period to provide elk herds with quality winter forage and to a variety of waterfowl with a safe habitat," said Kathy Cushman, Water and Lands Specialist. "Providing winter forage at Hagg Lake lessens the chance that elk will move into crop and orchard areas."

Reclamation, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington County Parks, and local irrigation districts are working in partnership to follow the Elk Mitigation Meadows Maintenance and Monitoring Plan established in 2003.

Scoggins Dam, built in 1975, is a 151-foot-high earthfill structure that provides water to about 17,000 acres of irrigable land and serves as a source supplement the natural streamflow for the Tualatin River.

For more information about the Elk Meadows habitat area, contact Kathy Cushman at the Bureau of Reclamation's Bend Field Office at (541)389-6541 - Extension 230.