Monroe State Bank Building

Monroe is a city in Benton County, Oregon, United States. The population was 651 at the 2018 census. It is part of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Monroe is located midway between Eugene and Corvallis along Highway 99W.

Monroe High School is a public high school in Monroe, Oregon, United States.

Washburne State Wayside was a state park 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Junction City, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the wayside served as a rest stop for travelers on Oregon Route 99W and an interpretive center for the Applegate Trail. The state bought the land for the park in 1926 from William C. and Mae E. Washburne. It was located on the border between Lane and Benton counties.Amenities included picnic tables, a restroom, a nature trail, and interpretive signs about the Applegate Trail. The day-use park, formerly open year-round, was visited by about 131,000 people a year. The nature trail led into a forest of second-growth Douglas fir. This is no longer a park. It is private owned land and the big trees have been logged off.

Alpine is an unincorporated rural community and census-designated place in Benton County, Oregon, United States. It is west of Monroe off Oregon Route 99W. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 171.

Bellfountain is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Benton County, Oregon, United States. Bellfountain lies on Bellfountain Road north of Alpine and northwest of Monroe. The population was 75 at the 2010 census.

The Long Tom River is a 57-mile (92 km) tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area at the south end of the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Corvallis.It rises in the Central Oregon Coast Range in western Lane County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) west of Veneta. It flows east through the mountains to Veneta, through the Fern Ridge Reservoir, and then north into the Willamette Valley, roughly parallel to and west of the Willamette River. It joins the Willamette from the southwest approximately 4 mi (6.5 km) west of Halsey. The Fern Ridge Reservoir was created in 1942 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers dammed the river to control flooding.The watershed includes approximately 410 sq mi (1,100 km2) of land (262,000 acres, 1060 km2) zoned as 45 percent forest, 30 percent agricultural, 8 public, and 17 percent urban or rural residential. The Long Tom waters support more than 140,000 people in the area, including residents in the city of Veneta and the rural farming communities of Alvadore, Cheshire, Crow, Franklin, and Noti, as well as industrial and commercial land on the western edge of Eugene. These lands were inhabited by the Chelamela group of the Kalapuya Indians prior to European settlement. The Oregon Country Fair is one of many groups and agencies that work with the Long Tom Watershed Council to protect and restore the river.

The Richard S. Irwin Barn, also referred to as Cheadle Barn, is a historic agricultural building located in rural Benton County, Oregon, United States.The barn was purchased by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1965, and is part of the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.It has a prominent hay hood.

Amazon Creek is a stream that runs through southeastern and western Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is a tributary of the Long Tom River and is Eugene's second-largest waterway after the Willamette River.

William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge is a natural area in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, United States. It was created to provide wintering habitat for dusky Canada geese. Unlike other Canada geese, dusky Canada geese have limited summer and winter ranges. They nest on Alaska's Copper River Delta and winter almost exclusively in the Willamette Valley. Habitat loss, predation, and hunting have caused a decrease in population. Located ten miles south of Corvallis, Oregon, the refuge protects many of the historic habitats of the valley, including the largest remaining tract of native Willamette Valley wet prairie. Fields of wildlife food crops are interspersed with Oregon white oak savannah, meandering creeks with bottomland Oregon ash forest, old growth bigleaf maple, and native prairie. Other management goals are to preserve native species and enhance biodiversity including the rare oak savannah, upland prairie, and wet prairie habitats. Endangered and threatened species such as Oregon chub, and Bradshaw's desert parsley find protection and sanctuary on the refuge. A herd of Roosevelt elk can be found in the bottomland forests or farm fields on the refuge. Under cooperative agreements, area farmers plant refuge fields to produce nutritious grasses preferred by geese. The geese also need water for resting and foraging habitat. Many refuge wetlands occur naturally; others are created by dikes and levees. Some refuge wetlands, drained or channelized by previous owners, are being restored in low-lying areas of the refuge to increase diversity and desirability of habitat for wildlife. The majority of wetlands are being managed as moist soil units, to promote growth of wetland food plants (millet, smartweed, sedges, etc.) used as food by waterfowl and other wildlife. By resting in undisturbed areas on the refuges, wintering geese regain energy reserves required for migration and nesting. This sanctuary reduces depredation problems on neighboring private lands. Of historic interest is the Fiechter House, completed in 1857, and thought to be the oldest house in Benton County. The refuge was named for William L. Finley, an early conservationist who persuaded President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside the first National Wildlife Refuge west of the Mississippi River. Two county roads passing through the refuge are open to the public throughout the year. Similar access is also provided at four viewpoints (kiosks and bulletin boards) and two trails (Woodpecker Loop and Mill Hill). To provide a quiet resting area, waterfowl habitat is closed to public entry while the geese are in residence, from November 1 through March 31. This winter waterfowl closure includes all portions of the refuge except the two trails, kiosks, bulletin boards, and headquarters building.

The Willamette Floodplain consists of 713 acres (289 ha) of natural grassland, near the Willamette River, that was made a National Natural Landmark in May 1987. The floodplain is within the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge and located about 10 miles (16 km) south of Corvallis in Benton County, Oregon. It is the largest remaining native unplowed example of bottomland interior valley grassland in the North Pacific Border natural region. It was classified as a natural landmark because such grassland and shrubland areas are exceedingly rare, with most having been cultivated or turned into pastureland.

The John Fiechter House, also known as Failing Cottage, is a historic house in Benton County, Oregon, United States.It is believed to be the oldest house in Benton County. It is included in the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of the U.S. state of Oregon within 120 miles (190 km) of the state’s coastal region, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely, however, and is sometimes taken to exclude the southwestern areas of the state, which are often referred to as Southern Oregon. In that case, Western Oregon refers only to the counties west of the Cascades and north of and including Lane County.Western Oregon, being 120 by 250 miles (190 by 400 km) in area, is about the same size as New England minus Maine. Unlike the climate of Eastern Oregon, which is primarily dry and continental, the climate of Western Oregon is generally a moderate Mediterranean climate.