Reid Williams, 2021 Conservationist of the Year
How far are you willing to hike for conservation? Reid Williams offered to put in more than 20 miles a day, by himself, walking and monitoring fence lines on Beatys Butte. And that was on top of weekly visits to the ONDA office, where he is always eager to help with extra projects. In acknowledgment of his willingness and helpful spirit, ONDA named him our 2021 Conservationist of the Year.
Tim Neville, journalist
“Oregon’s Owyhee reminds me a lot of Southern Utah’s red rock country… only dipped in fudge.”
Scott Bowler, ONDA member from Portland
“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.”
To support emerging conservation leaders in tribal communities, ONDA’s Tribal Stewards program provides paid opportunities for tribal youth and young adults to restore ecosystem health in Oregon’s high desert. Participants gain experience in conservation career paths and enhance their connection with ancestral lands and cultural practices.
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The traditional homelands of the Burns Paiute Tribe are vast, spanning thousands of square miles across what is now central and southeastern Oregon and into parts of Nevada, California and Idaho. Descended primarily from the Wadatika Band of Northern Paiutes who were forcibly removed from their homelands, members of the Burns Paiute Tribe have regained ownership of portions of their ancestral lands. The Tribe now owns three properties in Oregon’s high desert that they manage for conservation and traditional cultural uses.
ONDA has partnered with the Burns Paiute Tribe for over a decade to restore key habitat for fish and wildlife on Tribally owned land.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are made up of three Tribes: the Wascoes, whose ancestors resided along the Columbia River, the Warm Springs, who lived along the Columbia River’s tributaries, and the Northern Paiutes, who share ancestry with the members of the Burns Paiute Tribe. The Northern Paiutes later settled on the Warm Springs Reservation after being forcibly removed from their homelands in southeast and central Oregon. Outside of their reservation, the Tribes also own several conservation properties, the largest of which is the Pine Creek Conservation Area.
ONDA has partnered with the Tribes for decades to restore key habitat for steelhead and other native fish and wildlife at Pine Creek Conservation Area.
Native lands first America’s public lands, including those in present-day eastern Oregon, are filled with signs of the Indigenous people who inhabited those areas since time immemorial. Rock art, artifacts […]
Read MoreAt Oregon Natural Desert Association, we are creating a more inclusive conservation community by actively welcoming, engaging and collaborating with people of all backgrounds, perspectives, races, genders and ethnicities to […]
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