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.