What Wild & Scenic
Looks Like

Greg Burke   Website

listen

Great Horned Owls and Western Screech Owls

Great Horned Owls and Western Screech Owls

fact

Young Horny Toad Lizard

Young Horny Toad 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

fact

Swallowtail

Swallowtail

The Oregon Swallowtail butterfly is the official state insect of Oregon and a true native of the Pacific Northwest. The Swallowtail can be seen in the lower sagebrush canyons of the Columbia River and its tributaries, including the Snake River drainage area.  Source: State Symbols USA

Latin name: Papilio oregonius

Mountain Streams

High up on desert peaks like Steens Mountain, streams like Cottonwood Creek arise as a trickle that can transform with spring snowmelt into a raging torrent. As ONDA member Julie Weikel fantastically described, “for brief weeks or even just days each spring, the jubilant celebrating streams move boulders, rip out tree roots, and raise a little canyon hell.” These small but mighty creeks sustain populations of rare Lahontan cutthroat trout and wildflower-filled meadows that provide critical habitat for sage-grouse and other desert species.

Mark Darnell   Website

Were you also thrilled to see @RonWyden and @SenJeffMerkley introduce the River Democracy Act? Say thank you here: https://onda.org/take-action/desert-rivers-2021/ Click To Tweet

Canyon-carving Creeks

Boasting stunning scenery and exposing millenia of stunning geology and rocky spires, powerful waterways, like Succor Creek, are a refuge for sensitive wildlife such as California bighorn sheep, golden eagles, and redband trout. Many desert canyons are also sacred and traditional sites for the Northern Paiute people and other indigenous communities who continue to live and gather food and medicine in Oregon’s high desert.

Sean Bagshaw   Website

How exciting that Oregon could become the national leader in Wild and Scenic Rivers! Thanks, @RonWyden and @SenJeffMerkley! http://bit.ly/WSRpressrelease Click To Tweet

Salmon-bearing Rivers

Salmon and steelhead journey hundreds of miles deep into northeastern Oregon to spawn in the North Fork John Day and its tributaries. Stretching nearly 40 miles through spectacular scenery, the last unprotected stretch of the North Fork John Day also provides wild water and rare solitude for boaters willing to make the trek to enjoy its remote canyonlands.

Greg Burke   Website

I'm so glad to see desert rivers included in @RonWyden and @SenJeffMerkley's Wild and Scenic rivers proposal. Way to go, Senators! http://bit.ly/proposedWSRMap Click To Tweet

Desert creeks

From nesting songbirds to sensitive native trout, desert creeks are vital to life in an otherwise arid landscape. Guano Creek, on the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, is one example of these ribbons of green bursting with life, each one an oases in the Sagebrush Sea.

Jim Davis

You are Outstandingly Remarkable.

In February 2021, Oregon’s senators announced the largest Wild and Scenic Rivers effort in our nation's history. You put desert rivers on their map.

Read Their Press Release

Thank Oregon's Senators for Protecting Desert Rivers

On February 3, 2021, Oregon’s Senators introduced the River Democracy Act, which would protect hundreds of miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers in Oregon’s High Desert, from Whychus Creek to the Owyhee! This momentous bill grew out of a public nomination process led by Senator Wyden that resulted in over 15,000 nominations for rivers, creeks […]

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What Wild & Scenic
Looks Like

By on September 14, 2020 | Posted in: Deep Dive

Did you know that, in addition to rivers, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act can also protect creeks, streams and lakes?  Wild and Scenic desert waters take many forms and every drop of desert water plays an important role in the desert ecosystem. From mighty salmon-bearing rivers, like the North Fork John Day, to...

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“My favorite spot on earth …”

By on April 28, 2020 | Posted in: In the News

When Sen. Ron Wyden invited Oregonians to nominate rivers and creeks for protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in fall 2019, hundreds of people spoke up to nominate Lower Whychus Creek in Central Oregon. The name Whychus means “place where we cross the water” in Sahaptin, the language of the Columbia River...

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Drawn to Nests

By on April 21, 2020 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

One day in spring of 2014, I started drawing bird nests. I didn’t stop for almost a year. These drawings began as a way for me to explore my curiosity about birds’ nests without causing any harm to the birds themselves. My work on this series made me more aware of the impacts we...

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Creek returned to its meandering state

Why We’re Nominating
Whychus Creek

By on January 16, 2020 | Posted in: Uncategorized

The following Wild and Scenic River nomination was written by the Bend Senior High School Environmental Club. Whychus Creek: a Nomination as a Wild and Scenic River We rely on our watershed. It provides unique habitat, gorgeous scenery, historical connections, and gives life to the towns and cities of Oregon. In order for Oregon...

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Green Dragon Canyon

Mary Gautreaux –
2019 Alice Elshoff Desert Conservation Award winner

By on December 11, 2019 | Posted in: Profile

“The deeper truth is that anybody who knows Mary knows she is an original and unforgettable force of nature — fierce on behalf of Oregonians, bold in her problem-solving, always willing to help, and just as ready with a smile to lighten any situation. She has a gigantic heart matched only by her passion...

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Fall color along Whychus Creek

Opt Outside,
Act for Desert Rivers

By on November 25, 2019 | Posted in: How-To

Escape the Black Friday crowds and #OptOutside to a wild river near you! Sen. Ron Wyden is asking Oregonians to help him develop legislation to protect Oregon’s most special rivers, and he wants to hear from YOU. The day after Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to take your family and friends on a hike...

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How to nominate a river
for Wild and Scenic protection

By on October 24, 2019 | Posted in: Uncategorized

Oregon can already claim to be the state with the most Wild and Scenic Rivers, and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has a not-so-secret goal to make Oregon the state with the Most Designated Miles, too. (Right now, that honor goes to Alaska.) Earlier this fall, Sen. Wyden announced a new effort to protect more...

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Central Oregon Backcountry

Desert Wilderness Retrospective

By on April 2, 2019 | Posted in: Look Back

A Tale of Two Wilderness Areas: Badlands and Spring Basin On March 30, 2009, President Obama signed a massive public lands package into law, with the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and Spring Basin Wilderness among the many places protected. Besides sharing the same birthday and being located in Oregon’s high desert, the Badlands and Spring...

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Our Take on Sec. Zinke’s Secret Monuments Report

By on September 19, 2017 | Posted in: Deep Dive, In the News

The public finally has access to the Trump administration’s report on the review of 27 national monuments, but only because it was leaked to the press. Astonishingly, Zinke’s memo to the president still fails to provide key details on changes he’s recommending to these jewels of our public lands. Zinke’s report lacks clarity on...

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Getting inspired, getting involved

By on January 12, 2017 | Posted in: Profile

Bend resident Sarah Graham has long cherished the outdoors. But this past year inspired her to become active to help protect public lands, aiming to ensure they continue to belong to all Americans. Here, she shares her story. The story of how my husband and I came to be Bendites is a common tale....

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