They’re fixtures of the North Coast skyline.

Now the state wants to make their tree-lined habitat a fixture of the Saddle Mountain Natural Area.

Two privately owned peaks that adorn the signature slopes of Saddle Mountain are in line for acquisition by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved the $225,000 purchase of 136.9 acres of Weyerhaeuser Co. land northeast of the existing state park. Lottery funding for the purchase will be supplemented by an $18,000 contribution from the North Coast Land Conservancy of Seaside.

Once complete, the purchase will expand the 2,910-acre mecca for hikers and nature lovers on the coast and broaden protection of at least a dozen sensitive species of plants and wildlife living in the Saddle Mountain area.

The mountain sees about 110,000 visitors per year, said Mike Stein, North Coast district manager for the Oregon parks department. But you don’t have to hike to the 3,200-foot summit to appreciate its beauty.

“When you look at the scenic splendor of Saddle Mountain, especially from across Youngs Bay on a clear day, you can see it’s really a special park,” he said.

Industrial logging companies own much of the land surrounding the mountain, said Stein, but “the closer you get to the top, the more land we own.”

The 136 acres to be added onto the northeast corner of the park cover the top of one nearby peak and about half of another; covering the peaks is a stand of 200-year-old trees.

It’s land that “wasn’t loggable,” said Cliff Houck, natural resources division leader for Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. “So it isn’t taking something out of production.”

Oregon State University’s Institute for Natural Resources surveyed the rare plants, animals and older forest stands on Saddle Mountain and identified 9,398 acres of land that should be an acquisition priority for the state. The northeastern parcels owned by Weyerhaeuser were specifically named for their diversity.

“Because of its geological features and the fact that a lot of it hasn’t been logged in a long, long time, the natural resource of the area is significant,” said Houck, who noted the state would still be open to buying more of the land identified in the survey if it becomes available.

Houck said he was excited to see the peaks on television in the backdrop of the recent “Ax Men” show, a History Channel mini series that features two Astoria logging companies.

“If you watch some of those logging operations, you’ll see Saddle Mountain back there in the distance, and there are the very peaks that we’re purchasing,” he said. “It’s pretty significant property to have not only in terms of diversity and species, but also for the viewshed.”

At least a dozen sensitive species have been documented in the current Saddle Mountain Natural Area, including Cope’s giant salamander, Oregon giant earthworm and Oregon silverspot butterfly. Among the sensitive plants detected there are fridgid shootingstar, Saddle Mountain bittercress, Alaskan long-awned sedge, wandering daisy, and Columbia bitteroot.

Kathleen Sayce, an ecologist from Nahcotta, Wash., who documents her hikes through the region said Saddle Mountain’s elevated and relatively isolated geography makes it a unique home for species she doesn’t see anywhere else.

Many plant and animal species that straddle the Columbia River estuary don’t have a very wide distributions, Sayce said. “They might only grow in a few counties in southwest Washington or northwest Oregon.”

In fact, several species documented at Saddle Mountain, such as the fridgid shootingstar and Saddle Mountain bittercress, are listed as “globally threatened or endangered.”

“That’s reminding you that these are species that just aren’t found for thousands of square miles,” said Sayce. Bittercress is “a showy little wildflower” that blooms all over the mountain and then disappears in a matter of weeks, she said. Saddle Mountain is the only accessible place in the region where people can see that plant.

“Any action the state can take to buffer the mountain will be very positive,” said Sayce. “We’ll never know what we’ve lost because there’s been commercial logging along the flanks of Saddle Mountain, but I see this as a very positive step.”