success
Oregon’s first desert wilderness
Oregon’s first desert wilderness
Steens Mountain: Oregon’s first desert wilderness
On October 30, 2000, Congress passed the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act, finishing the work that had taken ONDA and the other members of the Steens-Alvord Coalition decades
Steens Mountain is a land of startling contrasts: dramatic u-shaped
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Young Horny Toad Lizard
Young Horny Toad Lizard
In the summer these lizards begin foraging for food as soon as their body temperature rises as the heat of the day increases. They feed on slow-moving, ground-dwelling insects. In the fall they hibernate by burying themselves in the sand.
Latin name: Phrysonoma platyrhinos
voices
Tim Neville, journalist
Tim Neville, journalist
“Oregon’s Owyhee reminds me a lot of Southern Utah’s red rock country… only dipped in fudge.”
Welcome to Oregon's High Desert
With natural beauty, deep cultural significance and a wide array of plants and wildlife, Oregon’s high desert is an impressive stretch of the Pacific Northwest, on the northern edge of the Great Basin.
Much of Oregon’s desert is public land, available to all Americans equally. If you like to hike bike, raft, fish, hunt, stargaze, go birding, watch wildlife, or enjoy any number of other recreational pursuits, you can find an amazing spot to do that here, and enjoy abundant solitude, too.
Check out this remarkable place alongside Oregon Natural Desert Association and see for yourself how unique and wild the dry side is.
Caring for the Desert We Love
Oregon Natural Desert Association encourages people to get to know the desert and to take steps to conserve these public lands. Our community defends public lands from threats, partners with public and private land managers to preserve natural values, encourages the exploration of wild places, and restores lands and waters to give desert creatures places in which to thrive.
Land Acknowledgment
ONDA’s conservation work takes place on the traditional lands of the Northern Paiute, Wasco and Warm Springs people and on lands currently managed by the Burns Paiute Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Many Indigenous peoples live in Oregon’s high desert region today, including members of the Burns Paiute Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Wasco, Warm Springs and Paiute), the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin) and the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe.
The Voice of the Desert
ONDA is the only conservation organization dedicated exclusively to preserving Oregon’s high desert. Our members and supporters live in Portland, Bend, all throughout Oregon state, across the country, and abroad.
Our dream? We envision a high desert in Oregon where eight million acres of public lands are conserved to ensure that fish and wildlife thrive and wild places exist for all people to treasure and explore, now and always.
Get Involved
Looking to get to know this desert and this community better?
The best way to hear about upcoming events ONDA is hosting and stewardship work we are leading is to sign up for our email updates.