Celebrating the Strength of Community
Author: Gena Goodman-Campbell | Published: March 31, 2026 | Category: Notes from the Desert This article originally appeared in the Spring + Summer 2026 Desert Ramblings Newsletter. Volunteers rally together to care for a river they love The South Fork Crooked River rises from springs amidst central Oregon’s sagebrush sea. Once a flourishing ecosystem,...
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Look Back: 2026 Speaker Series
Author: Claire Cekander | Published: March 25, 2026 | Category: Look Back Reflections on the 2026 High Desert Speaker Series Each year, Oregon Natural Desert Association hosts the High Desert Speaker Series, a lineup of dynamic speakers celebrating the wildlife, lands, waters and communities that define Oregon’s desert. These events connect desert conservation advocates...
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An Interview with Nick Kilby
Author: Gena Goodman-Campbell | Published: March 17, 2026 | Category: Profile Meet our new stewardship coordinator In March, we welcomed a new stewardship coordinator, Nick Kilby, to our team in Bend. Nick brings a strong foundation in restoration ecology and experience stewarding public lands. His work will include coordinating and leading volunteer stewardship trips...
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Stewardship Trip Registration Tips
Author: Gena Goodman-Campbell | Published: January 14, 2026 | Category: How-To How to sign up to volunteer on one of ONDA’s stewardship trips Thank you for your interest in working with us to restore key habitats across Oregon’s high desert! Whether you’ve never volunteered on one of our stewardship trips before or just need...
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Coming Up: The Year Ahead
Our conservation and stewardship priorities in 2026. Oregon’s high desert is home to dramatic desert canyons, expansive sagebrush grasslands, craggy peaks, magnificent rivers and a broad diversity of wildlife that depend on healthy, intact ecosystems to thrive. In 2025, Oregon Natural Desert Association made important conservation progress. In the year ahead, we’ll build on...
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2025 Year in Review
Author: Renee Schiavone | Published: December 5, 2025 | Category: Look Back A year of conservation accomplishments Please join us in celebrating this year’s achievements summarized in our Year in Review video. Watch as ONDA staff members recap all that we’ve accomplished together, and come away inspired for the year ahead. Thank you for...
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Volunteer Spotlight: Meet the People Behind Portland’s High Desert Hootenanny
Author: Mateo Reynaud | Published: December 2, 2025 | Category: A Conversation With Reflections on volunteer engagement from Mateo Reynaud, ONDA’s 2025 Fall Hillis Intern To me, the most rewarding part of planning an event is witnessing it come alive. What starts as an idea becomes a living thing, unique to the particular combination...
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Species Spotlight: Burrowing Owl
Author: LeeAnn Kriegh | Published: November 25, 2025 | Category: Species Spotlight A Funny Little Owl Pronghorn are perhaps the most graceful animal native to the high desert country of central and eastern Oregon. Golden eagles are the most majestic, greater sage-grouse the most emblematic. And burrowing owls? They’re the funniest. For starters, burrowing...
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Protecting Oregon’s Desert Wildlife
Author: Mark Salvo | Published: November 6, 2025 | Category: Brief Update This article originally appeared in the Fall + Winter 2025 Desert Ramblings Newsletter. ONDA’s advocacy advances state conservation priorities ONDA has a long and successful record of protecting federal public lands in Oregon’s high desert at the national level. But as the...
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Steens Mountain: 25 Years Later
Author: Bill Marlett | Published: October 30, 2025 | Category: In the News This guest column originally appeared in The Bulletin on October 24, 2025. Looking Back on a Landmark Achievement Twenty-five years ago this month, something remarkable happened in Oregon’s high desert. On October 30, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law the...
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