Where we stand and where are we going?

Climate change is an issue that defies the traditional approaches that we have used to address other environmental problems. Addressing climate change requires the development of renewable energy facilities to reduce our growing carbon footprint, while simultaneously conserving energy and protecting natural areas that sequester carbon and provide important wildlife habitat - two functions that will prove increasingly important in the decades ahead.

There is little debate in the scientific and conservation community that climate change is happening. Already the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is approximately 30% greater than the preindustrial era and the Pacific Northwest region is expected to experience an additional 1-5°F of warming by 2050. Changes of this magnitude are going to affect the special places and wildlife we enjoy in Oregon’s High Desert.

What changes can we expect in eastern Oregon?

• Changes in vegetation communities - Junipers are expanding at middle elevations and invasive weeds such as cheatgrass are expanding at lower elevations, squeezing out the native grass and shrub species – and associated wildlife – in between.

• Changing wild fire patterns - Increased annual grasses and changes in temperature and precipitation appear to be driving more frequent and larger fires, which in turn favors annual grasses. Annual grasses produce more biomass, which also tends to accelerate fire regimes. Paradoxically, the spread of juniper at middle elevations decreases fire frequency.

• Changes in precipitation – Reduced snowpack, earlier snow melt, increased and earlier peak stream flows, and reduced summer stream flows will lead to increased drought events and further exacerbate wild fire.

These changes combine with human development and land use change to create a very real threat to eastern Oregon’s grassland and shrubland systems and their associated wildlife, which include a high diversity of raptors, songbirds, and small mammals, as well as the well-known Greater sage-grouse.

But now is not the time to panic, now is the time to act. In response to these challenges ONDA has established a Climate Change program. The focus on reducing the world’s ever increasing carbon footprint is coming closer to home. There is growing interest and government incentives to expand Oregon’s renewable energy portfolio into the southeast. This offers an opportunity for ONDA to (1) Collaborate and provide feedback on renewable energy projects in the high desert; (2) Advocate for responsible development that avoids critical wildlife habitat and valuable visual and cultural resources; (3) Work to protect and restore public lands, which are vital to fish and wildlife adaptation. In playing an active role in the climate change conversation, ONDA continues to be the voice for Oregon’s high desert and its special places that still require permanent protection.

Oregon's High Desert Wind Strategy

Steens Wind Projects

Other energy cases