These Wild Rogue area is extremely important for a variety of wildlife species. A pair of peregrine falcons nest near the Rogue River and forage in the area.22   Habitat exists for threatened species, such as the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet and bald eagle. Mergansers, river otter, osprey, black bear, and many other species are frequently viewed using the river and surrounding environments. There are also two distinct elk herds on the southern portion of the Zane Grey. Lesser known, but ecologically important species such as the Del Norte salamander, red tree vole, and rare mollusks reside in these roadless areas and/or free-flowing streams.

Older forests and riparian habitat, along with the roadless nature of the Wild Rogue, make this area critical for populations of wide-ranging wildlife species.  BLM recognizes the important contribution the Wild Rogue offers for dispersal corridors for wildlife. Moreover, BLM has deemed this area “source” habitat for the surrounding degraded landscape.

Dispersal corridors aid in gene pool flow, natural reintroduction and successful pioneering of species into previously unoccupied habitat. Generally these corridors are located in saddles, on low divides, ridges, and along riparian reserves. Numerous ridgelines within the watershed allow for localized dispersal and contribute to the regional web of dispersal corridors. Chrome Ridge, along with others, allows for movement from the Wild Rogue Watershed into the adjacent Shasta Costa system and the coast range. The Rogue River acts as an excellent corridor allowing species to move west toward the coast and east toward the Cascade mountains (sic). Without corridors connecting habitat, many isolated wildlife habitats could be too small to support the maximum diversity of species. Connectivity is particularly important for certain fur bearers, such as fisher and marten, and species such as the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis), which depend on higher levels of canopy closure to successfully move between habitats without becoming victims of predators such as great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) and red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis). Movement of northern spotted owls between large areas is thought to be crucial to long-term population viability. The Wild Rogue - South Watershed is thought to be currently providing significant source population habitat for northern spotted owls. When the surrounding landscape is assessed, it is apparent that this watershed, with its extensive mature and old-growth forests is critical to providing many source populations to adjacent areas on both public and private land which have been logged in the past. Its importance to other areas is highlighted by the description of its value in the Southwest Oregon Late-Successional Reserve Assessment, in which it is noted that the east-west older forest link helps connect the coastal mountains east across the valley to the Rogue-Umpqua divide.