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High Desert Chair: Anne Mitchell - highdesert@oregon.sierraclub.org

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Wildhorse Canyon, Steens Mt. - Borden Beck

The High Desert Committee is a Conservation Committee of the Oregon Chapter of Sierra Club. The Committee works to protect and conserve the public wildlands in Oregon's high desert administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Permanent protection for the Owyhee Canyonlands and implementation of the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management Act in Southeast Oregon are current priorities for the High Desert Committee.

Consider joining us on one of our 2008 Outings and Trips!

For more information about High Desert issues and what you can do to help, consider attending one of our monthly meetings held at the Oregon Chapter office on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM.

"Steens Mountain is an Oregon crown jewel. It is phenomenal country..."
Representative Ron Wyden (D-OR), 8/03/99

Upcoming Wilderness Campaigns

Spring Basin - Spring Basin is a Wilderness Study Area along the John Day River between Fossil and Clarno. We are trying to encourage the Oregon delegation to introduce legislation to protect this area as permanent wilderness.

Soda Mountain - Soda Mountain is a Wilderness Study Area within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (created in 2000). We are supporting the effort to permanently protect 23,000 acres of the monument as permanent wilderness.

The Badlands - The Badlands is a Wilderness Study Area just east of Bend full of unique geological features and its proximity to Bend and to off road vehicle areas have helped put it in the spotlight.

For more information, visit our Alerts/Events page.

Hedgehog Cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii)
Spring Basin - Borden Beck

Owyhee Canyonslands Campaign

In April 2003 we kicked off our campaign to protect the Owyhee Canyonlands with a photo exhibition during Portland's First Thursday art event.

Visit the National Sierra Club Wildlands Campaign on the Owyhee Canyonlands to learn more about this wonderful area. There is information about the natural history, conservation challenges, what you can do to help, and a nice slide show of images.

A Cooperative Success for Steens

For over a decade, the Oregon Chapter's High Desert Committee worked to protect special places in southeast Oregon. Our biggest success came October 30, 2000 when President Clinton signed the "Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000".

Among the highlights of the act are:

170,000 acres of wilderness,
97,000 acres of livestock free land,
900,000 acres permanently withdrawn from mining and deothermal development,
three creeks designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers - 28 new miles,
the Donner and Blitzen Redband Trout Reserve,
the Wildland Juniper Management Area for research

A Steens Mountain Advisory Council has been formed, as required by the legislation, to advise the BLM in the design and implementation of a management plan for the area. The SMAC has 12 voting members who represent different groups interested in Steens.More information on the SMAC including meeting dates is available at the Steens Mountain Advisory Council.

However our work is not done. There are still land exchanges, more wilderness designation which needs to take place, and controversy over various land use decisions with the upcoming management plan. The High Desert Committee is continuing its work to insure additional protection and intelligent management for Steens Mountain-Alvord Basin. Additionally, we have initiated an education campaign on the Owyhee River Canyonlands with the goal of accomplishing similiar protection for this outstanding and scenic area.

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Leslie Gulch photo by Richard Wilhelm

This page last updated Saturday, April 05, 2008

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