John Day

The John Day River is one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the
West home to wild anadromous salmon. The main stem and its many tributary streams provide spawning, rearing and migratory habitat for all life stages of Middle Columbia River steelhead, resident and migratory bull trout, inland native redband trout, cutthroat trout and other native fish species. Areas like Spring Basin in the lower basin offer outstanding wilderness opportunities in remote and undeveloped desert landscapes.

Malheur River Basin

Originating high in the ponderosa- and lodgepole pine-forested Blue Mountains, the Malheur and North Fork Malheur rivers flow through broad, glacially-carved upstream valleys before cutting
spectacular, rugged canyons that expose up to 1,000 feet of colorful volcanic rock formations and steep cliffs. The forests, the grassy meadows and hillsides accented by western larch, and the stream side riparian areas characterized by grasses, sedges and hardwoods such as willow, alder and cottonwood, provide important habitat for beaver, elk, eagles, sage grouse, spotted frogs and other species. They also provide key habitat for bull trout, redband trout and other native fish.

Greater Hart Mountain-Sheldon Ecosystem

This area in the northwest corner of the Great Basin often  is referred to as "Oregon's Outback." Many of its internal subbasins contain spectacular volcanic features and saline playa lakes such as Summer Lake, Lake Abert and Hart Lake. Ranging from sagebrush shrublands, to low-elevation ponderosa pine forests, to aspen and juniper woodlands, to vitally-important riparian areas and wetlands, the area provides habitat for hundreds of fish and wildlife species, including redband trout, pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, pygmy rabbit, Columbia spotted frog and California wolverine. It includes the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and 7,918-foot Beatys Butte, which form an important corridor of relatively intact sagebrush steppe ranging south to the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northern Nevada.

Owyhee Canyonlands

The Owyhee Canyonlands and the broad sage brush steppe uplands that flank these Wild and Scenic Rivers contain nationally significant public lands. Among them are hundreds of thousands of acres of outstanding desert wilderness and important sage steppe and riparian wildlife habitat. The Owyhee country is home to redband trout, pronghorn, California bighorn sheep, pygmy rabbit, Brewer's sparrow, sage thrasher, horned lark, northern sagebrush lizard, short-horned lizard, and one of the highest concentrations of sage grouse leks (breeding areas) in southeast Oregon.

Steens Mountain

Steens Mountain is the crown jewel of Oregon's high desert. The largest fault block mountain in North America, Steens Mountain soars a vertical mile above the adjacent Alvord Desert. Glaciers have carved steep valleys down its slopes, and the summit of Steens offers unparalleled views of the surrounding desert and mountain ranges. Steens Mountain is home to bighorn sheep, pronghorn, sage grouse, redband trout and the largest stand of aspen trees in Oregon. In 2000, Congress protected nearly 100,000 acres on Steens as the Nation's first cow-free Wilderness.

All photos ONDA File, except #2 (Penstemon fruticosus above Malheur R., by Chris Christie)