Author: Renee Schiavone | Published: November 27, 2024 | Category: Coming Up
This article originally appeared in the Fall + Winter 2024 Desert Ramblings
Your key role in caring for the state’s most imperiled desert creatures.
When it comes to protecting desert public lands, wildlife and waters we know and love, there is no advocacy more powerful than community action. Oregon’s high desert has no shortage of charismatic wildlife, fragile landscapes and vital waterways in need of safekeeping and vocal public support. To achieve the best results for this beloved expanse of wildlands, ONDA works at both the state and federal level to deliver the strongest possible conservation outcomes.
To care for our state’s wildlife, every ten years the state of Oregon updates its “State Wildlife Action Plan” to protect and recover “Species of Greatest Conservation Need.” Simply put, the plan outlines how the state will focus resources to support Oregon’s most sensitive and imperiled species. Importantly, once completed, the updated plan allows the state to apply for millions of dollars of federal funding for wildlife conservation.
Known in our state as the “Oregon Conservation Strategy,” the current wildlife action plan identifies dozens of animals, plants and insects of conservation concern in the high desert, including greater sage-grouse, pygmy rabbit, Lahontan cutthroat trout, Columbia spotted frog, black-necked stilt and more. It also maps a multitude of Conservation Opportunity Areas statewide—places where conservation goals could be best achieved to protect and recover these species. There are dozens of these locations in Oregon’s high desert, which include key habitats such as sagebrush, aspen woodlands, streams and wetlands.
As the state revises the Oregon Conservation Strategy this year, one of ONDA’s priorities is to ensure beaver-managed habitats are added to the list of key habitats in the new plan. Beaver-managed habitats—defined as areas where beaver activity influences the hydrology and vegetation to provide habitat benefits—are beneficial to more than 100 species recognized in the plan. This includes several federally and state-listed endangered and threatened species.
Formal recognition of the essential role of beaver in the ecosystem is scientifically sound, promotes biodiversity and recognizes the gravity of the climate crisis. An ONDA-led research project conducted in 2023 adds direct evidence to the growing body of work that calls for beaver restoration in Oregon’s high desert.
What can you do to support Oregon desert wildlife?
The opportunity here is significant—and rare. In the year ahead, the public will have an important role to play in influencing the updated Oregon Conservation Strategy. The state will be updating the plan this year, and it will determine the state’s eligibility to receive federal wildlife conservation funding for the next decade.
In the coming months, ONDA will be calling on Oregonians to advocate for the addition of beaver-managed habitats and other conservation priorities to the plan. Strong public engagement will ensure desert wildlife and crucial habitats are protected and that the state’s land managers have the funds needed to take bold, well-informed conservation action.
Please be sure to watch for our alerts on this critical topic and take time to weigh in.
