Wilderness Protection

Eastern Oregon's high desert has vast areas of unprotected wildlands that are worthy of preservation as wilderness. ONDA's Desert Wilderness Campaign seeks to protect these special places, which ONDA has inventoried and found to possess outstanding wilderness values. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to pass the Oregon High Desert Protection Act.

Imperiled Species

ONDA actively seeks to protect native populations of imperiled species that live throughout eastern Oregon's high desert landscapes. Our Endangered Species Act and other litigation focuses on protecting key habitat for sage grouse, pygmy rabbit, steelhead, bull trout, redband trout and other important fish and wildlife species.

Land Use Plans

In its land use plans, called Resource Management Plans ("RMPs"), BLM makes broad-scale allocations of various uses on the public lands -- e.g., lands available for grazing or for varying degrees of off-road vehicle use. ONDA's RMP litigation targets BLM's duty to inventory for and evaluate impacts to wilderness at the land use plan level, and the agency's duty to examine alternative grazing allocations and stocking levels which balance grazing against other important resource values, including long-term conservation of wilderness.

Grazing Standards and Guidelines Assessments

BLM's rangeland health regulations require it to ensure that grazing on the public lands meets certain ecological standards related to water quality, upland and riparian habitat, watershed conditions, and fish and wildlife habitat. ONDA's litigation seeks to ensure that BLM is enforcing these regulations in order to address adverse environmental impacts of grazing, including impacts to wilderness, wildlife habitat and other values.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Enforcement

ONDA has a long history of successful enforcement and protection under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. This includes actions on the Blitzen, the John Day and the Owyhee. Most recently, our Malheur grazing litigation addresses overgrazing along the Malheur and North Fork Malheur wild and scenic rivers.

Clean Water Act Enforcement

The Clean Water Act established a comprehensive scheme to restore and maintain the Nation's water quality. ONDA's litigation seeks to ensure that agency decisions comply with state water quality standards, and in particular standards that are critical to the recovery and survival of native fish.

Energy Development

Some of Oregon's unprotected wildlands are under threat from energy development, including oil and gas exploration and poorly conceived hydroelectric projects. These types of projects threaten to irreparably harm wilderness quality lands throughout Oregon's high desert. ONDA's litigation seeks to address these threats in order to protect these special places.

Freedom of Information Act

Congress enacted the FOIA to “ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed to check against corruption and to hold the governors accountable to the governed.” NRLB v. Robbins Tire & Rubber Co., 437 U.S. 214, 242 (1978). ONDA uses the FOIA to track agency compliance with environmental laws intended to protect our natural resources. Occasionally, we must challenge agencies to uphold the public's right to obtain information from the government.

All photos ONDA File, except #5 (sandpiper nest, Malheur Wild & Scenic River, by Chris Christie)