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
Ryan “Dirtmonger” Sylva, ODT thru-hiker 2017
“To me, it’s a thru-hike in an isolated place that promotes a conversation in land management, ethics and usage. Hiking across a vast and remote landscape and having a random and chance encounter with cowboys and hunters to discuss how ‘all of us’ should treat the land, how we all have a responsibility, no matter our political leanings, really showed me the pulse of the people in rural areas, especially here out west.”
Oregon Desert Trail Map
To support emerging conservation leaders in tribal communities, ONDA’s Tribal Stewards program provides paid opportunities for tribal youth and young adults to restore ecosystem health in Oregon’s high desert. Participants gain experience in conservation career paths and enhance their connection with ancestral lands and cultural practices.
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The traditional homelands of the Burns Paiute Tribe are vast, spanning thousands of square miles across what is now central and southeastern Oregon and into parts of Nevada, California and Idaho. Descended primarily from the Wadatika Band of Northern Paiutes who were forcibly removed from their homelands, members of the Burns Paiute Tribe have regained ownership of portions of their ancestral lands. The Tribe now owns three properties in Oregon’s high desert that they manage for conservation and traditional cultural uses.
ONDA has partnered with the Burns Paiute Tribe for over a decade to restore key habitat for fish and wildlife on Tribally owned land.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are made up of three Tribes: the Wascoes, whose ancestors resided along the Columbia River, the Warm Springs, who lived along the Columbia River’s tributaries, and the Northern Paiutes, who share ancestry with the members of the Burns Paiute Tribe. The Northern Paiutes later settled on the Warm Springs Reservation after being forcibly removed from their homelands in southeast and central Oregon. Outside of their reservation, the Tribes also own several conservation properties, the largest of which is the Pine Creek Conservation Area.
ONDA has partnered with the Tribes for decades to restore key habitat for steelhead and other native fish and wildlife at Pine Creek Conservation Area.
Native lands first America’s public lands, including those in present-day eastern Oregon, are filled with signs of the Indigenous people who inhabited those areas since time immemorial. Rock art, artifacts […]
Read MoreAt Oregon Natural Desert Association, we are creating a more inclusive conservation community by actively welcoming, engaging and collaborating with people of all backgrounds, perspectives, races, genders and ethnicities to […]
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