Today we are celebrating a major conservation win for Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands!

The Bureau of Land Management’s newly released plan for this wild, remote and iconic expanse of Oregon’s high desert establishes new protections for more than 400,000 acres of the region’s most ecologically important habitats.  The Owyhee Canyonlands are a national treasure, featuring miles upon miles of deep, rugged canyons, supporting a rich diversity of wildlife and preserving some of the darkest night skies in the country. The Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plan Amendment is the BLM’s blueprint for managing this far-flung corner of the state.

The new plan addresses everything from conservation of wildlands and cultural resources to livestock grazing, off-road vehicle use and the increasing impacts of climate change on public lands. And its decision to protect more than 417,190 acres of “Lands with Wilderness Characteristics” is precedential: the BLM has never before proposed to protect so many acres of “LWCs” for wilderness values in a single BLM district.This achievement is a direct result of your efforts conducting wilderness inventories, advocating for conservation and pressing for strong, science-based decision-making for public lands.

New and stronger conservation management of this landscape will promote climate resilience, support the recovery of key species like the greater sage-grouse, and provide for abundant backcountry recreation in one of Oregon’s most remote landscapes. In the coming weeks, we’ll continue to review this plan, delving into its management prescriptions, charts, maps and appendices.

We look forward to updating you on all that we discover. All the while we will continue pressing forward on Senator Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley’s recently-introduced legislation that would establish more than 1 million acres of wilderness protections in the Owyhee Canyonlands. In the meantime, we’re glad to share this news and take a moment with our community to enjoy this remarkable conservation outcome for eastern Oregon. Thank you for your abiding support for conserving the Owyhee Canyonlands and Oregon’s high desert!

Ryan Houston
Executive Director