Fences in the High Desert

Where fences still serve a functional purpose, ONDA works with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other public land managers to repair fences and make them friendlier to wildlife. In a process called “retrofitting,” we will replace some of the barbed wires with smooth wire, which is easier for wildlife like pronghorn antelope to scoot under.

On Beatys Butte, we are making fences friendlier to pronghorn. In 2022, ONDA led two volunteer trips that replaced four miles of barbed wire with smooth wire fencing to improve habitat connectivity for pronghorn and other wildlife.

Check out photos from our 2022 fence retrofit trips to see what this work looks like on the ground.

In places where there is active cattle grazing, it is necessary to build fences to exclude cattle from the sensitive areas where ONDA is restoring native plants and wildlife habitat. This fall, we led two trips to the rugged South Fork Crooked River canyon where volunteers are building a fence to protect a section of the river for future restoration.

Check out photos from our 2022 fence building trips.

In addition to Hart Mountain, ONDA has also removed all of the barbed wire fences from the cattle-free Steens Mountain Wilderness, as well as many of the fences in the Pine Creek Conservation Area, which is owned by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. This fall, ONDA volunteers will remove fences at Hay Creek, the site of a successful ONDA stream restoration project.

Want to dive deeper on the topic of fences in the high desert? Check out recent news coverage on ONDA’s fence work:

• Listen to this OPB interview: Oregon Natural Desert Association, Bureau of Land Management team up on fencing issues affecting Oregon’s public lands
• Read this Columbia Insight article: Removing the tangled legacy of barbed wire