Add Your Voice

Devin Dahlgren   Website

Author: Corie Harlan  |  Published: November 20, 2020  |  Updated: May 13, 2021  |  Category: How-To

The Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act provides Malheur County with vital economic development opportunities that support local economies and communities while safeguarding the Owyhee Canyonlands and surrounding public lands for recreation and wildlife habitat for current and future generations.

Desert conservations can urge Oregon’s elected officials to ensure a healthier future for Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands and public lands in Malheur County by refining and passing this visionary, pragmatic and timely legislation.

If you haven’t urged your elected officials to work together to protect Oregon’s Owyhee yet (or lately!), now is a good time to show your support. 

1. You can tweet.

A thoughtful tweet can be a great way to get the attention of elected officials. Ready, set, tweet!

voices

Bonnie Olin, 2017 Volunteer of the Year

Bonnie Olin, 2017 Volunteer of the Year

“If you spend enough time in the wild, it will change you. So it was for me in Oregon’s high desert, especially in the Owyhee Canyonlands.” To support ONDA, Bonnie says, is to strive to protect the very values of Oregon’s high desert that are critical to the human experience: quiet and connectedness with nature. “Oregon’s desert,” she says, “broadens your understanding of your relationship to all living things.”

fact

Far from Big Macs

Far from Big Macs

There is a point in the Owyhee region, in northwestern Nevada, that is, at 115 miles away, as far away as you can get from a McDonalds in the U.S.

Source: http://www.datapointed.net/2010/09/distance-to-nearest-mcdonalds-sept-2010

watch

Chad Brown on Fly Fishing

Chad Brown on Fly Fishing

2. You can email.

We promise: your email will be counted. And, the more emails our elected official see urging action on the Owyhee, the better.

We’ve made it easy for you to voice your support for Owyhee Canyonlands protection. We bet you can personalize and send this email in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. 

Email Senator Wyden

3. You can write a letter to the editor.

Letters calling for movement on this legislation are pouring in from across the state, from a local city council member, small business owners, sportsmen and women, community leaders, explorers and conservationists.

Have you read about the Owyhee in your local paper yet? Maybe YOU should be the one to write in. 

Check out our advice on writing a Letter to the Editor, which we just so happened to put next to links to every major paper in Oregon. Don’t live in Oregon? No problem – you’ll find select national papers there, too! Most word counts are 250 words max, so it could take you less time than you think to take a stand for protected public lands. 

If you’re willing to write a letter please let us know! Email corie@onda.org and I can provide you with a sample letter that you can use as a starting point and customize with your own story. 

Write Now
Whether you choose to tweet, email, or write a letter to the editor, thank you for adding your voice today to ensure a healthy, vibrant Owyhee tomorrow.

Let Oregon's elected leaders know: It's time to protect the Owyhee!

The Owyhee Canyonlands are the wildest stretch of Oregon’s high desert. It is the largest unprotected expanse of public lands in the Lower 48. And, the time to protect this remarkable wild place is now. A bill that would protect more than 1 million acres of the most important ecological, cultural and recreational resources in […]

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A Major Milestone
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An impressive and critically important swath of sagebrush steppe habitat in eastern Oregon poised to gain protection as Wilderness On November 7, 2019, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden introduced the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act, a historic move to protect over 1.1 million acres of public lands in Malheur County centered around the Owyhee […]

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