Allen Taylor

Author: Beth Macinko  |  Published: July 1, 2022  |  Category: Profile

The 2022 Tribal Stewards crew is in the desert! For a third summer, a motivated group of Indigenous young adults is working on conservation projects around Oregon’s high desert lands as part of a partnership between ONDA, Northwest Youth Corps, and tribal and federal land management agencies. The program was created to give tribal youth paid hands-on experience completing conservation projects and exposure to a range of natural resource fields and land managers.

The 2022 crew is led by Jevon Kindelay and Andrew Mike, with crew members Kiari Bullhead (Standing Rock Sioux), Joseph Dixon (Oglala Lakota), Alyssa James (Diné), Cyrina Kessay (White Mountain Apache Tribe), Dylias Jose (Colorado River Indian Tribes), Sylvester Juan (Tohono O’odham), Malik Martinez (Okanogan Colville), and Amare Ortega. The crew members are all students at the Chemawa Indian School in Salem and are spending five weeks working on conservations projects with ONDA partners. Working in different places and seeing the varied scenery of Oregon has been a highlight for the crew, who come from Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and North Dakota.

 

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Oregon Desert Trail Map

Oregon Desert Trail Map

fact

Young Desert Horned Lizard

Young Desert Horned 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

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The Last Darkness

The Last Darkness

Repairing beaver dam analogs in the Malheur National Forest

Collecting native seeds at Denny Jones Ranch

Gena Goodman-Campbell

Working along Camp Creek

Juniper cutting at Denny Jones Ranch

The 2022 Tribal Stewards started their season with two weeks of invasive vegetation removal on the coast, before heading across the mountains to visit the ONDA office in Bend and get prepped for the wonders and challenges of working in the desert. The crew continued east to their first project with the Prairie City Ranger District of the Malheur National Forest, working to protect the headwater springs of the Malheur and North Fork Malheur Rivers. They built wildlife-friendly fences that will protect these important water sources from cattle damage and got snowed on while camping at over 5,000 feet!

The crew then headed down to the Burns Paiute Tribe’s Denny Jones conservation property to restore upland sagebrush habitat through cutting encroaching juniper and collecting native seed that will be grown out for future upland plantings.

In the coming weeks, the Tribal Stewards will work on beaver dam analog maintenance, riparian plantings, fish surveys and invasive fish species removal, and trail work at various locations including Burns Paiute Tribe conservation properties, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and the Malheur National Forest. The crew is looking forward to seeing more areas of Oregon and gaining experience on a variety of projects. Follow along with the crew this season by visiting the photo gallery.

Tribal Stewards

ONDA launched our Tribal Stewards program in 2019 to provide paid opportunities for Indigenous youth and young adults to work on restoration projects and gain experience in conservation and stewardship […]

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Restoring Lands and Waters

Oregon Natural Desert Association sustains and enhances the health of Oregon’s high desert through stewardship and restoration. ONDA takes a holistic approach to conservation in Oregon’s high desert, pairing on-the-ground […]

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