Cascade Stream and Pond

Following the salmon from Eagle Canyon, you are led into the Cascade Stream and Pond, a marshy habitat for native Northwest animals. Walking through the building and inside the marsh aviary, you discover the animals that inhabit the marshy areas of the cascades, from the rare western pond turtle to the impressive American beaver.

Animals

The state animal of Oregon, the beaver, makes its home in the Cascade Stream and Pond.

The playful river otter frolics, showing off for zoo visitors. Along with the beaver and otter, there are reptiles and amphibians. Western pond turtles sometimes make their homes here, waiting until they are ready to be released into the wild.

Under a sign proclaiming “Cascade Mining Company,” a strange animal runs around a mining cabin –– the ringtail cat. Miners used the ringtail for rodent control, leading to its other name, miner’s cat. Outside in the marsh aviary, ducks and songbirds make their homes.

Features

The Conservation Station is where baby western pond turtles are collected from the wild and given a head start. In this special station, you can watch the western pond turtles grow in large tubs, until they are big enough to be released in the Columbia River Gorge. The western pond turtle is endangered due to the introduction of non-native species, such as the bullfrog. Bullfrogs prey on the small baby turtles, and have decimated the species.

Inside the marsh aviary, there is an open invitation to make your own tracks in a raised sandbox with footprint stamps of different native animal. As you enter the Cascade Stream and Pond building, there is a mini-theater showing programs about the zoo’s Northwest conservation projects.