Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Protected Area
A view of the Steens Mountains from an overlook located in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Country	United States
State	Oregon
Region	Harney County
City	30 miles (48 km) south of Burns
River	Donner und Blitzen River
Location	Harney Basin
- elevation	4,121 ft (1,256 m)
- coordinates
Area	293.37 sq mi (760 km2)
Founded	1908
Harney Basin and surrounding area
Location of the refuge in Oregon

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly 30 miles (48 km) south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the northeast section at Malheur Lake and the northwest section at Harney Lake.

The refuge was created in 1908 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt to protect habitat for diverse waterfowl and migratory birds, and grew to encompass 187,757 acres (760 km²; 293 sq mi) of public lands. A popular site for birding, fishing, hunting and hiking, the refuge gained widespread attention in early 2016 after its headquarters complex was occupied by armed anti-government members of rump militias.

History

Discovery

Archaeological research within the Harney Basin region, including near Burns, Oregon, demonstrates that it likely was home to Native Americans for about the past 16,000 to 15,000 years. The first recognizable remains of seasonal prehistoric dwellings appear later in the Harney Basin at the Dunn Site about 5,500 BP. Around Malheur and Harney lakes, the presence of identifiable remains of numerous settlements and burials of the Boulder Village Period demonstrate that these lakes were heavily utilized by the Paiute for hunting and fishing as part of their seasonal nomadic round of the Harney Valley from before 3,000 BP up until historic contact with and settlement of the area by non-Native peoples. For example, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters lies within a major archaeological site that was once a settlement used by the Paiute seasonally for thousands of years until historic contact.

The arrival of settlers in the region led to restrictions on the use of the land by the Paiute, who were eventually restricted to living in a reservation. The Paiute were forced to leave the area after enacting a brief uprising in 1878, and were resettled in Yakama Reservation, 350 miles (560 km) away in southeastern Washington.

After the removal of the Paiute, much of the region's land became public property. The region hosted large livestock operations while the area's water resources were altered by irrigation and drainage projects.

Hand-painted slide of an American white pelican taken at Malheur Lake in 1908.

The diversity of bird life within the Malheur region was first described by Charles Bendire in the early 1870s. Beginning in the late 1880s, the area's bird populations were diminished by the actions of plume hunters who harvested the showy feathers of Malheur's waterfowl for use as hat ornaments. In 1908, wildlife photographers William L. Finley and Herman Bohlman documented the area's unusual diversity of birds, as well as the detrimental impacts of plume hunting. Finley used the photos to personally lobby President Theodore Roosevelt for federal protection of the region.

Creation of the refuge

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was created on August 18, 1908 by a proclamation from President Roosevelt, under a law which allowed the president to declare game preserves on federal public land. The refuge began as a 81,786-acre (330.98 km²) parcel surrounding Malheur Lake, Harney Lake and Mud Lake, and was originally named the Malheur Lake Refuge.

In the years that followed, the refuge grew to its current size of 187,757 acres (759.83 km²) through federal purchases and acquisitions of surrounding lands. Roads and other infrastructure were built by workers with the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. A large expansion occurred in 1935, when a 65,000-acre (260 km²) parcel was purchased from a meat packing company.

While cattle grazing was permitted on some portions of the property after 1935, the prioritization of the needs of the refuge's wildlife led to reductions in the number of cattle allowed on the property starting in the 1970s. The number of cattle allowed to graze within the refuge remained at a steady level throughout the 1990s and 2000s. As the need for a comprehensive management plan for the refuge was realized, ranch operators became concerned about the possibility of further reductions in grazing allotments.

Recent history

Drafting of a new management plan began in 2008, and was a collaborative process involving varied stakeholders in the refuge's future, including ranch operators. The final plan, completed in 2013 and intended to inform refuge operations for the following 15 years, was accepted by both refuge managers and cattle owners as an agreeable compromise between potentially opposing interests in the land. Grazing was allowed to continue under the plan, and is seen as a valuable tool in some areas to combat invasive plants that threaten the refuge's habitat quality; however, the extent of grazing may be reduced in specific areas if it is scientifically shown to be detrimental to the refuge's wildlife.

2016 occupation incident

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters were seized by armed protesters in January 2016.

Main article: Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

On January 2, 2016, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge's headquarters building was seized by armed protesters related to the 2014 Bundy standoff. The group is protesting the prison sentences of two ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond; both were convicted of arson in wildfires set in 2001 and 2006, in which a jury found them guilty of intentionally setting fires on federal land without authorization. The occupiers additionally demanded that the federal government give up control of the refuge.

Various stakeholders interested in the protection of the refuge, including the Portland Audubon Society and the Burns Paiute Tribe, voiced unease about potential impacts of an extended occupation. Among their concerns were the delayed implementation of work to improve conditions for the annual spring migration of birds, halting of efforts to control invasive common carp, and protection of archaeological sites within the refuge.

Wildlife

An adult American avocet with four chicks at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2006.

Wildlife in the area includes as many as 320 species of birds and 58 species of mammals in desert, grassland, marsh and rimrock habitats. Malheur serves as a Pacific Flyway stop for the northern pintail and tundra swan, lesser and greater sandhill crane, snow goose and Ross’ goose. Ducks, grebes, pelicans and trumpeter swans are drawn to the numerous ponds, marshes and lakes. Deer, antelopes, ducks, pheasants, thrashers and quails can be found in the upland areas in sagebrush, greasewood and wild rye.

Refuge officials have been actively managing an overabundance of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the refuge since at least the 1970s. The invasive fish species was likely introduced to the refuge's waterways prior to the 1920s as a food source, and has been recognized as an ecological threat to the region since the 1950s. Carp are aggressive feeders that have reduced food availability and diminished habitat quality for the bird species that utilize the refuge's marshes and lakes. In 2014, a $35,000 contract to capture and remove carp was awarded to a fishing crew that specializes in the removal of invasive fish species.

Geography

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge waterway at Krumbo Reservoir Road

The Donner und Blitzen River flows northward through the middle of the refuge, and is irrigated out to create a large artificial wetland, where once a natural wetland stood. The Donner und Blitzen River flows into Malheur Lake, which flows into Harney Lake forming a large salt lake. This open water brings thousands of migrating birds through the wildlife refuge every year.

Including the extensive marshland, the total size of the refuge is 187,757 acres (759.83 km²). Exceptionally hot in the summer, and cold in the winter, the late spring and early fall are popular times to visit. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is home to one of the most extensive freshwater marsh ecosystems in the western United States.

See also

• Malheur National Forest, located north of the refuge
• List of National Wildlife Refuges in Oregon

External links

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
• Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan
• Getting, A.C. (1992) Lake and Marsh-Edge Settlements on Malheur Lake, Harney County, Oregon. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. 14(1): 110-129.
• Templeton, A. (2015) Oregon Archaeologists Discover 15,000-Year-Old Knife. (west of Burns, Oregon) Oregon Public Radio, March 5, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
• Vickstrom, D., and L.A. Sirrine (2001) Harney-Maiheur Lakes Sub-Basin Assessment. Harney County Watershed Council. Burns, Oregon.