In 1988, 72.7 miles of rivers in the Donner und Blitzen watershed were included in the Wild and Scenic River System, and another 14.8 were added by the Steens Wilderness Act.  These wild waters wind through glacier-carved canyons and encompass unique ecosystems that support populations of wild trout.

Donner und Blitzen means “Thunder and Lightning” in German, a name given to this remote desert stream in 1864 when army troops crossing the river encountered a mighty lightning storm.  Several small creeks that flow down the flanks of Steens Mountain come together to form the Donner und Blitzen Wild and Scenic River, which winds from Steens Mountain through the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to Malheur Lake. 

In 1997, ONDA filed a legal protest over the BLM’s management plan for the Donner und Blitzen River, on the grounds that the management plan did not adequately protect the area’s outstanding values under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.  As a result, the court issued a permanent injunction that prohibits livestock grazing in the Wild and Scenic River corridor.