Learn More about Lake Abert

Lake Abert, Abert Rim and their surroundings are almost entirely federal public lands, administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Both the lake and the rim are designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, and the entire area is wilderness-quality, with Abert Rim managed as a Wilderness Study Area.

The state of Oregon recognizes Lake Abert as a Conservation Opportunity Area, places where the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends focusing management and resources to conserve fish and wildlife.

The National Audubon Society has designated the lake an Important Bird Area and The Nature Conservancy similarly recognizes Lake Abert as an Ecoregional Priority Area for conservation investment. Finally, the Lake Abert ecosystem has been proposed for addition to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

Explore the resources below for more information on Lake Abert.

News Articles

• The Oregonian, Lake Abert, Oregon’s Only Saltwater Lake, is Disappearing and Scientists Don’t Know Why (Jul. 03, 2014)
• The Oregonian, 5 Things You Should Know About Lake Abert, Oregon’s Disappearing Salt Lake (Jul. 7, 2014)
• The Source Weekly, Goodbye, Lake Abert? (Aug. 13, 2014)
• OPB, Lake Abert Dries Up (Mar. 19, 2015)
• High Country News, When Water Turns to Dust (Jun. 13, 2016)
• OPB, Oregon’s Abert Lake Keeps Shrinking, Becoming so Salty Congress is Taking Notice (Oct. 5, 2021)
• The Oregonian, Oregon’s Lake Abert is ‘In Deep Trouble.’ The State Shut Down its Effort to Figure Out Why (Jan. 16, 2022)
• Jefferson Public Radio, The Disappearance of Lake Abert, Oregon’s Only Salt Lake (Jan. 19, 2022)
• The Oregonian, ‘The State Must Do More.’ Lawmakers Weigh How to Protect Dry Lake Abert (Jan. 25, 2022)
• The Lake County Examiner, State Inaction Could Permanently Destroy Lake Abert (Jan. 31, 2022)
• The Oregonian, Readers Respond: Lake Abert Needs Lawmakers’ Help (Feb. 2, 2022)
• The Oregonian, In Turnaround, Oregon Agencies Say They’re ‘Ready to Work Together’ for Lake Abert Solution (Feb. 21, 2022)
• The Source Weekly, In Praise of Shorebirds (Aug. 17, 2022)
• OPB, Congress Passes Legislation to Study Oregon’s Lake Abert and Other Saline Lakes (Dec. 23, 2022)
• The Source Weekly, Wildlife News For Central Oregon And Beyond (Dec. 28, 2022)
• High Country News, The West’s Salt Lakes are Turning to Dust. Can Congress Help? (Jan. 6, 2023)
• Popular Science, The Plan to Save Western Salt Lakes From Biting the Dust (Jan. 15, 2023)
• The Atlantic, Dust Lakes Keep Popping Up Across the West (Jan. 16, 2023)
• Nasa Earth Observatory, Shrinking Lake Abert (Jan. 27, 2023)
• The Current, Small Insect, Big Impact (Apr. 12, 2023)
• USGS, New Monitoring Station at Lake Abert (June 9, 2023)
• The Audubon Society, U.S. Geological Survey Releases ‘Integrated Science Strategy’ to Assess and Monitor Water Availability and Migratory Birds at Great Basin Saline Lake Ecosystems (Feb. 27, 2024)
• The Guardian, ‘On a Razor’s Edge’: Migratory Birds Rely on this Salt Lake – But it’s Dying (Mar. 5, 2024)
• The Audubon Society, Saline Lakes Are Dying—Scientists Hope This Unusual Shorebird Can Help Save Them (Mar. 2024)
• Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Species Protections Sought for Wilson’s Phalarope (Mar. 28, 2024)
• High Country News, Wilson’s Phalarope to the Rescue (July 1, 2024)
• Central Oregon Daily News, High Desert lake is saltier than the ocean. That brings tens of thousands of birds. (Aug. 22, 2024)
• KUOW, Caroline Tracey: How this tiny bird could save salt lakes (Oct. 29, 2024)
• USGS, An Avocet’s Travels (Oct. 29, 2024)
•  Los Angeles Times, A long-journeying bird connects lakes in California and Argentina — and two communities (Aug. 22, 2025)
• USGS, 2025 in Review: The Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment (Jan. 22, 2026)
• The Salt Lake Tribune, A Great Salt Lake shorebird is one step closer to endangered species protections (Jan. 24, 2026)

Geology, History, and Cultural Resources

• Oregon Encyclopedia: Abert Rim, Paisley Caves, and Luther Cressman
• Captain John C. Fremont. 1849. Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842 and to Oregon and North .California in the Years 1843-1844. D. Appleton & Co. New York, NY.
• Asher Elbein, “Caves Clues Shows It’s More Than Just the Oldest Outhouse in the Americas,” The New York Times (July 17, 2020).

Lake Ecology

• University of Utah, Great Salt Lake Food Web
• University of Utah, Brine Shrimp Life Cycle
• University of Utah, What are Microbes?
• The Herbst Lab
• Oregon Lakes Association, What is the Status and Future of Lake Abert?
• Ron Larson, A Natural History of Oregon’s Lake Abert in the Northwest Great Basin Landscape
• Deep Look, This Daring Fly Swims in a Shimmering Bubble Shield
• USGS, Lake Abert water quality monitoring site data

Birds

• National Audubon Society, Water and Birds in the Arid West: Habitats in Decline (2017)
• National Audubon Society, Priority Birds (2021)
• East Cascades Audubon Society, Lake Abert Coalition
• Ron Larson, Waterbirds of Lake Abert
• Audubon (bird conservation advocacy, bird identification resources)
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology (bird identification resources)
• eBird, observations at Lake Abert

Special Management Designations

• Audubon Important Bird Areas, Lake Abert
• Bureau of Land Management, Lake Abert Area of Critical Environmental Concern
• Bureau of Land Management, Abert Rim Wilderness Study Area
• Bureau of Land Management, Lake Abert and Abert Rim Recreation Map
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Lake Abert Conservation Opportunity Area
• Oregon Lakes Association, Lake Abert Wild and Scenic River Proposal and Chewaucan River Wild and Scenic River Proposal

Water Policy

• Oregon Water Resources Department, An Introduction to Oregon’s Water Laws (Aqua Book) (2018)
• Oregon Water Resources Department, Determining Surface Water Availability in Oregon (2022)
• University of Nevada, Western Water Law: Understanding the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation

Drought

• U.S. Drought Monitor
• Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC), PRISM Precipitation & Dew Point Climatology Maps
• Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Drought and Climate Change
• Oregon Water Resources Department, Drought Declarations

Published Science

• Donnelly et al. 2019. Climate and human water use diminish wetland networks supporting continental waterbird migration.
• Frus et al. 2023. Integrated Science Strategy for Assessing and Monitoring Water Availability and Migratory Birds for Terminal Lakes Across the Great Basin, United States.
• Haig et al. 2019. Climate-Altered Wetlands Challenge Waterbird Use and Migratory Connectivity in Arid Landscapes.
• Hall et al. 2023. Intensified Warming and Aridity Accelerate Terminal Lake Desiccation in the Great Basin of the Western United States.
• Herbst. 2023. Developmental and Reproductive Costs of Osmoregulation to an Aquatic Insect that is a Key Food Resource to Shorebirds at Salt Lakes Threatened by Rising Salinity and Desiccation.
• Herring et al. 2025. Imperiled Great Basin terminal lakes: Synthesizing ecological and hydrological science gaps and research needs for waterbird conservation.
• Keister. 1992. The Ecology of Lake Abert: Analysis of Further Development.
• Larson and Larson. 2011. Salt Lake in the High Desert.
• Larson and Eilers. 2014. Introducing Terminal Lakes.
• Larson and Eilers. 2014. Lake Abert, OR: A Terminal Lake Under Extreme Water Stress.
• Larson et al. 2016. Recent Desiccation-Related Ecosystem Changes at Lake Abert, Oregon: A Terminal Alkaline Salt Lake.
• Moore, J. N. 2016. Recent Desiccation of Western Great Basin Saline Lakes: Lessons from Lake Abert, Oregon, U.S.A.
• Senner et al. 2018. A Salt Lake Under Stress: Relationships Among Birds, Water Levels, and Invertebrates at a Great Basin saline Lake.
• Williams et al. 2022. Rapid Intensification of the Emerging Southwestern North American Megadrought in 2020-2021.