Owyhee Canyonlands

Jim Davis   Website

voices

Tim Neville, journalist

Tim Neville, journalist

“Oregon’s Owyhee reminds me a lot of Southern Utah’s red rock country… only dipped in fudge.”

listen

Owyhee Canyon Swallows Sparrows and Rushing Water

Owyhee Canyon Swallows Sparrows and Rushing Water

watch

Chad Brown on Fly Fishing

Chad Brown on Fly Fishing

An Oregon treasure

Located in the far southeast corner of the state, Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands is one of the most wild places in the entire country. Here, natural conditions prevail and much of the area looks today as it has for generations, if not millennia.

In the Owyhee, the opportunity to unplug and recharge is unparalleled. A long cherished destination for rafting, hunting, and fishing and a well-known wildlife mecca, the Owyhee Canyonlands deserve the strongest possible conservation protections.

A stunning Owyhee sunset

Tyson Fisher   Website

A wonderous landscape in any season

Tyson Fisher   Website

Unique geology near Leslie Gulch

Greg Burke   Website

Lupine blooms near Three Fingers

Mark Lisk   Website

Native significance

Home to a living cultural richness for the indigenous Northern Paiute, Bannock and Shoshone tribes, these ancestral lands contain areas considered sacred.

There are more than 500 known archaeological sites in the Owyhee, and the landscapes, rivers, fish, and wildlife here support tribal traditions and practices to this day.

Starry skies above

Unbelievable stargazing is a hallmark of the Owyhee Canyonlands. In the coming decade, scientists say it may become one of the last places to view the stars of the night sky and the Milky Way in the lower 48 without light pollution.

Our favorite places in the Owyhee Canyonlands

Our work to protect the Owyhee

Oregon Natural Desert Association leads a group of local, regional and national groups that recognize the conservation, recreation and economic values of the area. ONDA’s goal is to protect more than two million acres of public land in Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands. With strong protections in place, ONDA envisions an Owyhee where plant and animal communities flourish, wide-open spaces abound, and local communities thrive. Protecting the most special places within the Owyhee Canyonlands would safeguard its rich ancient history, healthy wildlife habitat, fascinating geology, and ample recreational opportunities.