Sam Hartman
ONDA stewardship in the time of COVID looks quite different this year, but through our Independent Stewards program you are helping us accomplish lots of impactful work on the public lands that make the high desert of eastern Oregon so incredible.
Please check back on this page throughout the year as we highlight the work happening on the ground through the photos, stories, and accomplishments from all of you, our intrepid, hardworking, and passionate volunteers.
14 volunteers contributed to early-season harvesting
142 total volunteer hours contributed
2,870 plants harvested
"As always, the area around Antelope and Fossil amazes me with its beauty. Even in winter!" Leslie O'Neil
"It was great to finally get out [of] covid isolation and feel like we were contributing." - Bill Hull
Each month all volunteers who contributed to an ONDA project will be entered to win these fabulous prizes from some of our business members. Your completed project report is an automatic entry for this monthly drawing. Fill out your report now.
Drawings will occur during the first week of each month, and include goodies from ONDA, Backporch Coffee, Miir, TOAKS Titanium, and Backpackers Pantry.
Show off the good work you are doing across the desert with our expanded Independent Stewards projects. You can:
And, if you are not already following ONDA’s Instagram, head to @theoregondesert to join in the photo fun.
Looking for a match?
Tell ONDA your interests and skills and we will put you to work completing meaningful desert stewardship.
Sign up to become an ONDA Independent Steward and you'll be pitching in on a massive effort to restore, monitor and advocate for the desert wildest and most beloved places. In 2021, we aim to:
🌲Plant over 12,000 native trees and shrubs along desert streams like Hay Creek and the South Fork Crooked River
🛶Inventory proposed wild and scenic rivers from Steens Mountain to the Owyhee Canyonlands
👀Monitor wildlands and wildlife habitat on Hart Mountain, the Alvord Desert and other critical landscapes
🗺️ Survey 100 miles of the oregonddeserttrail
This work will take place across millions of acres. Can we count on you to help? #independentONDA
Image: Hiker gazing out over Lake Abert. Credit: David Hanson
All of you out there who want to hike and give back at the same time, we have an ambitious plan to steward almost 100 miles of trail this year through ONDA's new Independent Stewards program, so we need you!
You will be hiking and doing light trail work on the Oregon Desert Trail and beyond (primarily along the Fremont National Recreation Trail and Steens Mountain trails).
These projects will come online in June, but apply now and indicate your interest. We are busy building out all the project details, but if you already know you want to go, block off some time on your calendar and get ready to hike and make a difference on the Oregon Desert Trail!
☝ link in the profile
Longing to hear a meadowlark’s song? This sign of spring will soon be heard across Oregon’s high desert, and we hope you’ll be there to hear it.
This year, we invite you to become an ONDA Independent Steward.
Fill out the application form today (link in bio) and we will give you all the tools to complete meaningful work while you’re out exploring Oregon’s impressively wild high desert.
Image: Western meadowlark, singing. Credit: Greg Burke
#independentONDA
Desert daydreams?
We can help with that. 😉
Sign up to become an ONDA Independent Steward. You tell us your interests and skills and we will put you to work completing meaningful desert stewardship.
With ONDA’s group stewardship trips still on hold due to the pandemic, we’ll be counting on Independent Stewards to restore, monitor and advocate for the places we love.
In 2021, we are aiming to:
🌲Plant over 12,000 native trees and shrubs along desert streams like Hay Creek and the South Fork Crooked River
🛶Inventory proposed wild and scenic rivers from Steens Mountain to the Owyhee Canyonlands
👀Monitor wildlands and wildlife habitat on Hart Mountain, the Alvord Desert and other critical landscapes
This work will take place across millions of acres. Can we count on you to help? #independentONDA
Image: Hiker gazing out over Lake Abert. Credit: David Hanson
These layers. This scale. That place.
1.1 million acres. Now proposed to be protected permanently.
Learn more, link in bio
Thanks REI Bend store for helping us and the BLM clean up the Reynolds Pond area near the ODT and Badlands Wilderness AREA! REI has been a huge supporter of our work over the years, and it's awesome how they give back to their community in so many ways ❤️❤️
#independentONDA
Have you joined our Text to Take Action program? Put the power to advocate for the high desert in your hands. You’ll receive relevant notices when it’s time to speak up for your favorite wild places.
Simply text “ONDA” to 52886 and answer a few quick questions. When opportunities arise to advocate for Oregon’s high desert, you’ll be first to know when and how to take action.
Looking to sport some ONDA swag next time you head out to the desert? You’re in luck, we’ve designed some ONDA volunteer shirts.
You can check out the designs here; $6 from each shirt sold will go back to ONDA, and you will be able to show that you “Give a Dam!”
