Category: In the News
From the front page to the outback, a look at issues that affect Oregon’s high desert.
A Major Milestone for the Owyhee Canyonlands
An impressive and critically important swath of sagebrush steppe habitat in eastern Oregon poised to gain protection as Wilderness Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden introduced the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act, a historic move to protect over 1.1 million acres of public lands in Malheur County centered around the Owyhee Canyonlands —...
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Is the DOI dismantling the BLM?
Having a hard time keeping up with public lands news lately? We can’t blame you. The instability in the White House certainly makes all issues hard to track and follow, and as this Outside article summed it up: There’s a lot happening at DOI right now. In Oregon, over 13.5 million acres, mainly in...
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Anti-Public Lands Activist Now Running BLM
The Bureau of Land Management’s new acting director, William Perry Pendley, is a longtime proponent of selling off public lands and waters The Trump administration’s move to appoint William Perry Pendley to the top policy position at the Bureau of Land Management comes as yet another blow in its continued assault on public lands....
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Southeastern Oregon Draft Resource Management Plan Released
A Disturbing Trend Hits Oregon’s Desert Public Lands Bureau of Land Management releases Draft Resource Management Plan for Southeastern Oregon, and conservation goals are ignored On May 31, 2019, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a Draft Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plan Amendment covering 4.6 million acres in the Owyhee Canyonlands. The public...
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Senator Merkley Steps Up for Sutton Mountain
Today, Sen. Jeff Merkley, announced that he will introduce the Sutton Mountain and Painted Hills Area Preservation and Economic Enhancement Act that would establish the Sutton Mountain Wilderness to protect an area in the John Day River Basin renowned for spectacular scenery and prime wildlife habitat. “With this legislation, we’ll make sure that future...
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Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Wild and Scenic Rivers of Oregon’s Sagebrush Steppe. America’s rivers face many threats — dams and alteration, excessive use and pollution among them. Thankfully, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which passed in 1968 with bipartisan support, gave people who care about rivers a tool “to preserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and...
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Ursula Le Guin, author and desert lover
Ursula Le Guin, author and desert lover, dies at 88 On Monday, January 22, 2018, author Ursula LeGuin died at her home in Portland, Oregon. Le Guin is best known for her widely read and critically acclaimed science fiction novels, including The Left Hand of Darkness and the Earthsea chronicles. In addition to her...
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What Now for Sage-Grouse
Our Efforts to Protect an Imperiled Species Greater sage-grouse, a symbol of the Intermountain West, are in trouble. Despite the clear evidence of the species’ decline the Department of the Interior has signaled that it intends to roll back the vital protections established in the BLM’s 2015 sage-grouse plan. We’re deeply concerned that this...
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Our Take on Sec. Zinke’s Secret Monuments Report
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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Zinke undercuts BLM sage grouse conservation plan
Secretary of the Interior Zinke undercuts BLM sage grouse conservation plan. The Department of the Interior recently issued a set of proposed changes for sage grouse conservation that will harm the species rather than help it. ONDA has been a leader in sage-grouse protection efforts by investing decades of effort in habitat monitoring, stakeholder...
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