2026 Beatys Butte Spring Restoration #2

About the place

Oregon’s high desert is the homeland of a diversity of Indigenous people, including the Northern Paiute, Shoshone, Bannock, Wasco, Warm Springs, Yahooskin, Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla peoples organized within several Tribes. These include the Burns Paiute Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, the Klamath Tribes, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and others.

Beatys Butte is an integral part of the vital land between the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in south-central Oregon and the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northern Nevada. This region is one of the largest intact swaths of sagebrush steppe remaining in the West. Beatys Butte is exceptionally rich with wildlife. The small springs and associated wetland habitat found here provides critical food resources to the wildlife in the area. This trip will take place on the 400-acre North Springs conservation property owned by the Oregon Desert Land Trust.

About the stewardship work

This project will complete actions to increase water levels in small, spring-fed streams and to improve ecosystem health. Volunteers will use loppers and handsaws to remove large sagebrush that have spread beyond their typical range and are impacting water availability for wildlife. Volunteers will then use this material to fill in eroded stream channels to slow seasonal flows, retaining water that supports habitat improvements and readies the site for future plantings.

Trip timeline

• Thursday, October 1, 4-6 p.m.: Meet at the campsite near the project location to set up camp. After everyone has arrived, we will have an orientation on the upcoming work.
• Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, 8 a.m.: Walk about a half a mile to the work site. Volunteers should plan to be out all day and be prepared for a full day of work.
• Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, 4 p.m.: Return to camp to rest, cook, and explore.
• Sunday, October 4, 8 a.m.: No work is planned. After breakfast, we will pack up camp and head home.

Camp

We will be car camping near the work site at an undeveloped location with no running water or facilities, just wide open sagebrush steppe. The access road is an unmaintained dirt road, but a high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle is not required. Low clearance vehicles, driven carefully, will suffice.

Difficulty

Level 3

The physical demands of this trip are challenging. Work involves hiking over uneven ground, using hand tools such as shovels, loppers, clippers, and handsaws, working in thick and prickly vegetation, and bending and kneeling for prolonged periods.

Participant responsibilities

Participants are responsible for providing their own transportation to the project location, as well as camping gear, food and water/beverages for the weekend. We recommend bringing a daypack that you are comfortable carrying out to the worksite with your lunch, water and sunscreen or any additional items you need for a full day of work outdoors. Participants should check the weather in advance and bring sufficient attire and layers for a full day outdoors. Sturdy hiking boots, long pants, long sleeves and eye protection are recommended for the work. We also recommend bringing your own work gloves to provide a comfortable fit, but this is not required.

Gear provided

ONDA will provide all of the training, tools, and supplies needed to complete the work. Along with expert leadership, ONDA will also bring some group camping equipment such as pop-up shade/rain tents, extra tables and chairs, a latrine, and extra drinking water and snacks to share. Safety equipment such as gloves and eye protection will be available if needed.

ONDA’s trip leaders can help organize carpooling for volunteers without access to a vehicle, and we have a limited amount of camping gear available for volunteers to borrow if they do not have their own. Please contact the trip leader for transportation or gear assistance.

Registration

An ONDA registration application and medical form are required for this trip.

Apply Now

Approximately two weeks after submitting your registration application, you will receive an email outlining the trips where you are a confirmed participant. We will also share when trips are full and if you’ve been placed on the waitlist.

Six weeks before the start of the trip, the trip leader will send out an email reconfirming participation. Based on responses, any open spaces will be filled with people from the waitlist.

Three weeks before the trip start date, registered and confirmed participants will receive driving instructions, carpooling options, maps, and additional information in an email sent by the trip leader.

Smoke/Air Quality Policy: The health and safety of our volunteers and staff is ONDA’s top priority. Due to well-documented health risks of exposure to wildfire smoke and associated airborne particulate matter, ONDA will cancel volunteer stewardship trips when the Air Quality Index measures over 100 (within the orange “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” level or above) at the closest air quality sensor to the trip location. Registered participants will receive a final confirmation email 72 hours before the trip starts notifying them of whether the trip is proceeding or has been cancelled.

Contact the trip leader with questions.