Oregon Natural Desert Association’s Independent Stewards program offers volunteers a self-directed option for promoting a healthy high desert in addition to our structured option of guided stewardship trips. ONDA provides participants with resources and specific assignments; they learn new skills and complete critical tasks while giving their high desert adventures an elevated purpose.
Independent Stewards
Sage Brown Website
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Scott Bowler, Portland-based ONDA member
Scott Bowler, Portland-based ONDA member
“The desert speaks for itself, but very softly. I support ONDA to promote and enable discovery of the amazing beauty and recreational opportunities of the high desert by much broader groups of people; and most especially to protect forever the full and diverse landscape of the Owyhee Canyonlands, a place without parallel or equal in our country.”
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The Land Between: The Greater Hart-Sheldon Region
The Land Between: The Greater Hart-Sheldon Region
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Greater Sage Grouse and Sparrows at Hart Mountain
Greater Sage Grouse and Sparrows at Hart Mountain
An independent steward’s work
Independent stewards assist ONDA with important projects while enjoying the high desert on their own. Stewards receive guidance from ONDA, but are primarily self-directed. A steward can choose to either visit an area where ONDA needs assistance or can ask about visiting an area of his/her own preference and see if ONDA is in need of information from that region.
Examples of projects include backpacking or driving through desert wildlands and recording data, taking high-quality geo-tagged photos in one of our focus areas, and repeatedly visiting a significant site, such as a spring or an archeological site, to monitor changes.
Why it’s helpful
While the number of stewardship trips we host has continually grown over the years, there is always more work to be done on Oregon’s vast high desert public lands. Independent stewards are critical partners in getting more stewardship work in the high desert done, and perhaps even bringing new stewardship needs to light as they explore Oregon’s dry side with a trained eye.
How do I get started?
ONDA offers periodic trainings to equip volunteers to become independent stewards. Once trained, stewards can peruse tasks on the ONDA Independent Stewards program webpage. The tasks are described in detail and ONDA may provide additional specific information or materials depending on the assignment. Independent stewards then relay their experience and/or data back to ONDA.
Contact Michael O’Casey at Michael@onda.org to learn more about the next training opportunity.
Eastern Oregon contains over 2.5 million acres of Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Each WSA is managed by the BLM. Independent Stewards help ensure these places maintain their Wilderness Characteristics by signing up to monitor the condition out in the field. Volunteer will drive, hike, and explore within and around the WSA to document impacts they see while they are out. See the map below to explore each WSA in more detail and email Michael@onda.org if you’d like to learn more about how to sign up and monitor a WSA.