watch

Stewardship Fence Building Timelapse

Stewardship Fence Building Timelapse

watch

Time Lapse: a night at Canyon Camp in six seconds

Time Lapse: a night at Canyon Camp in six seconds

voices

Aaron Tani, Sage Society Member

Aaron Tani, Sage Society Member

“It feels good to support ONDA on a monthly basis, because I know they never stop supporting our public lands. ONDA works to help make our lands a better place for the future, and I feel like I’m a part of that every month with my support.”

Celebrating 25 Years of Steens Mountain Wilderness

The Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act was enacted 25 years ago, on October 30, 2000, permanently protecting this icon of Oregon’s high desert. This accomplishment was the result of decades of work led by ONDA and our partners.

Learn More

Calendars On Sale Now!

ONDA's Wild Desert Calendar features stunning images highlighting a full year’s worth of Oregon desert wonders. Support initiatives to protect, defend and restore Oregon’s high desert when you purchase this beloved publication. Calendars can be purchased on our website or from a local retail vendor.

Buy Now

Coming Up in Portland

Join our annual celebration of desert conservation! Commemorate a year of achievements and conservation successes at our High Desert Hootenanny in Portland on November 13.

Learn More

Save the Public Lands Rule

The Trump administration has threatened to eliminate the “Public Lands Rule,” an important new tool designed to balance resource use with protection of wilderness, wildlife, cultural resources and recreation on public lands. Join us to oppose this needless attack on our public lands and the policies that preserve them.

Act Now

Virtual Gallery Open

Enter our Wild Desert Calendar virtual gallery, A High Desert Year, open now through January. Revel in desert beauty from home while learning about photographers and conservation initiatives.

Enter

ONDA's Tribal Stewards Program

In our latest video, we share more about the program and showcase the vital restoration work completed by our 2025 Tribal Stewards this summer.

Watch Now

Take Action for Conservation

Every American owns the public lands, waters and wildlife that make Oregon’s high desert special, and every one of us must be an advocate for their conservation. If you want to go further with your advocacy, sign up to be a Desert Defender.

Act Now

Jon Muyskens

Welcome to Oregon's High Desert

With natural beauty, deep cultural significance and a wide array of plants and wildlife, Oregon’s high desert is an impressive stretch of the Pacific Northwest, situated on the northern edge of the Great Basin.
Much of Oregon’s desert is public land, available to all Americans equally. If you like to hike, bike, raft, fish, hunt, stargaze, go birding, watch wildlife, or enjoy any number of other recreational pursuits, you can find an amazing spot to do that here, and enjoy abundant solitude, too.
Oregon Natural Desert Association invites you to see for yourself how unique and wild Oregon’s dry side is.
Discover Oregon’s Desert

Central Oregon Backcountry

Visit Central Oregon

Greg Burke   Website

Greater Hart-Sheldon Region

Explore Hart-Sheldon

Greg Burke   Website

John Day River Basin

Discover John Day

Steve Roelof   Website

Owyhee Canyonlands

Explore the Owyhee

Mark Darnell

Steens Mountain Region

Visit Steens

Barb Rumer

Oregon Desert Trail

Trek the Oregon Desert Trail

Sage Brown   Website

Caring for the Desert We Love

Oregon Natural Desert Association encourages people to get to know the desert and to take steps to conserve these public lands. ONDA is a non-profit organization that defends public lands from threats, partners with public and private land managers to preserve natural values, encourages conservation advocacy, and restores lands and waters to support healthy habitat for wildlife.    
Our Approach

The Voice of the Desert

ONDA is the only conservation organization dedicated exclusively to preserving Oregon’s high desert. Our active community of conservation advocates hail from all corners of Oregon, with supporters from across the country.
Our dream? We envision a high desert in Oregon where eight million acres of public lands are conserved to ensure that fish and wildlife thrive and wild places exist for all people to treasure and explore, now and always.
About Us

Jim Davis   Website

Gary Calicott   Website

Jill Hardy

Gena Goodman-Campbell

Sage Brown   Website

Get Involved

Looking to get to know this desert and this community better?
The best way to hear about upcoming events, opportunities to join us on volunteer restoration trips in the desert, or when to take part in time-sensitive advocacy actions is to sign up for our email updates.  
Subscribe Today

2025 Deschutes Canyon Group Stewardship (November)

7 Nov

This project takes place along the Middle Deschutes Wild and Scenic River and will involve rehabilitating wildlife habitat that has been damaged by years...

High Desert Hootenanny: Portland

13 Nov

Join Oregon Natural Desert Association’s annual celebration of desert conservation! Commemorate a year of achievements and conservation successes at our High Desert Hootenanny in...

High Desert Hootenanny: Bend

5 Dec

Join Oregon Natural Desert Association’s annual celebration of desert conservation! Commemorate a year of achievements and conservation successes at our High Desert Hootenanny in...

Land Acknowledgment

Oregon’s high desert is the homeland of a diversity of Indigenous people, including the Northern Paiute, Shoshone, Bannock, Wasco, Warm Springs, Yahooskin, Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla peoples organized within several Tribes. These include the Burns Paiute Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, the Klamath Tribes, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and others.

ONDA is committed to collaborating with these communities and eager to continue learning more about how our conservation mission can complement Tribal and Indigenous conservation goals. Learn more about our commitment to justice, equity and inclusion here:

Learn More