Reimagine Your Public Lands

Nate Wilson

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Helen Harbin on Wildlife

Helen Harbin on Wildlife

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Volunteer Accomplishment in Hart-Sheldon

Volunteer Accomplishment in Hart-Sheldon

voices

John Cunningham, ONDA member and volunteer

John Cunningham, ONDA member and volunteer

Restoration is hard slow work. It takes hold, or it doesn’t, in fits and starts. The immensity of the need can be discouraging, but we must carry on. I am so thankful ONDA carries on.

Place: Owyhee Canyonlands

Managed by the BLM's Vale District

Curtis Reesor

Why It’s Amazing:  

The Owyhee Canyonlands is an Oregon treasure, and one of the most remote, significant and intact landscapes in the entire country. Here, natural conditions prevail, much of the area looks today as it has for thousands of years and opportunities for solitude and backcountry recreation abound.

What It Needs: 

With foresight, planning and responsive, conservation-focused management, we can preserve the most unique and ecologically significant areas of the Owyhee and prevent the sort of development and impacts that have quickly taken hold in other areas of the West. 

Tweet to Push for Owyhee Protection

Not active on Twitter? No problem, you can easily convert any of these facts and tweets into Facebook or Instagram posts. We have some additional tips at the end of this article. 

[bctt tweet=” Happy #NationalPublicLandsDay! @BLMNational, when I #ReImaginePublicLands, I see enduring protections for all my favorite #BLMWild places in Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands!” via=”no”]

 

Place: Steens Mountain

Managed by the Burns BLM District

Sean Bagshaw

Why It’s Amazing: 

Deep glacier-carved gorges, stunning scenery, wilderness, wild rivers, a rich diversity of plant, fish, and wildlife species

What It Needs: 

More streams protected as Wild and Scenic Rivers.

While the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area provides solid protection for 400,000 acres in this area, many of the wild streams that traverse its rugged slopes remain unprotected, despite hosting phenomenal riparian habitat and unique opportunities to conserve native fish species. Home Creek, on the west side of Steens, offers the last, best habitat for Catlow Valley redband trout, one of only two endemic fish in Catlow Valley. Meanwhile, East Steens Mountain streams support federally protected Lahontan cutthroat trout, which are threatened throughout much of their range.

Tweet to Push for Wild and Scenic Rivers:

[bctt tweet=”When I #ReImaginePublicLands, I think about keeping Oregon’s desert streams running cold and clear on Steens Mountain. These headwaters allow life to flourish in the desert. Happy #NationalPublicLandsDay, @BLMNational!” via=”no”]

Place: Greater Hart-Sheldon

Managed by the Lakeview BLM District, Burns BLM District, Winnemucca BLM District, Northern California BLM District

George Wuerthner

Why It’s Amazing: 

This region supports one of the longest and largest pronghorn migrations in North America, and is one of six remaining sagebrush strongholds that greater sage-grouse need to survive  

What It Needs: 

Greater Hart-Sheldon needs its key habitat corridors preserved through consistent conservation-minded management. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s original vision for the Greater Hart-Sheldon was to establish a single large wildlife refuge to conserve both core reserves and the vital migratory pathways between them. The present situation in this region is a complex land ownership pattern of two refuges, four different Bureau of Land Management districts, and state lands and private lands. Each of these agencies operates under different management objectives, some of which subject the land to uses that adversely affect the region’s rich and irreplaceable wildlife values.

Tweet To Encourage Sound Management:

[bctt tweet=”Thousands of pronghorn race across the Greater Hart-Sheldon, while golden eagles soar above. @BLMNational, please #FixThePlans and to protect this critically important wildlife habitat in Oregon. #BLMWild #NationalPublicLandsDay #ReImaginePublicLands” via=”no”]

Reimagine Your Public Lands

Author: Lace Thornberg  |   Published: July 14, 2021  |  Updated: September 17, 2021 | Category: In the News National Public Lands Day is celebrated annually on the fourth Saturday in […]

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Where-to: Have the Most Incredible Picnic in the Owyhee

Author: Joanna Zhang  |  Published: June 24, 2021  |  Category: Where-to Take your outdoor dining experience to the next level with one of these scenic picnic spots in the Owyhee […]

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My Desert Adventure:
Bikepacking in the Owyhee

Author: Ben Groeneveld & Kevin Briggs  |  Published: April 16, 2021  |  Category: Where-To; Profile  “Where’s all your food?” the concerned sheriff asked, as he examined my packed bike near […]

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My Desert Adventure: Paddling Oregon’s Grand Canyon

Author: Ajay Sapre  |  Published: April 2, 2021  |  Category: Profile A Portlander comes to understand that a trip down the Owyhee is about more than chasing rapids — it’s about […]

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Winter Wildlife Watching

By Scott Bowler What’s there to do in the desert in the winter? Watch wildlife! In many ways, especially at lower elevations, winter’s cold weather can provide some great hiking […]

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Signs of Winter

Author: Scott Bowler  |  Published: Dec. 15, 2020  |  Updated: Dec. 21, 2021  |  Category: Phenology Winter may seem harsh, and it is indeed a difficult time to live outdoors, […]

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Add Your Voice

Author: Corie Harlan  |  Published: November 20, 2020  |  Updated: May 13, 2021  |  Category: How-To The Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act provides Malheur County with vital economic development […]

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Healthy Escapism

“A Year in Oregon’s High Desert” offers escapism you can feel good about Feeling stressed? A dose of natural beauty could help.   Studies have shown that spending time in a […]

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Sage-grouse are down, but not out

Author: Jeremy Austin | Published: October 13, 2020 | Category: In the News The numbers are in. Oregon’s sage-grouse population essentially remained flat in 2020. Following years of steep declines, […]

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Let Oregon’s elected leaders know: It’s time to protect the Owyhee!

The Owyhee Canyonlands are the wildest stretch of Oregon’s high desert. It is the largest unprotected expanse of public lands in the Lower 48. And, the time to protect this […]

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