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While everyone has been talking turkeys, we have turkey vultures on our mind. Turkey vultures are consummate carrion eaters, making meals out of dead animals. They have a heightened sense of smell to sniff out carrion from miles away, as well as ironclad stomachs to neutralize any pathogens in their food. They are summer residents at Malheur Refuge, so they’re usually further south this time of year.
Photo by Max Rae
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Winter living in Harney County is magical. The Refuge is quiet and still on these days. The air is clear and you can feel the open expanse of the land laid out in front of you. Geese seem to float endlessly in the sky overhead. The bitter cold is soothed by the warmth of a wood stove.
This time of year encourages us to turn inward; physically for warmth and comfort and mentally for reflection and planning. While you may be counting their blessings, holding tight to comforting memories, and crafting plans to make the most of the year ahead - your Friends at Malheur are doing the same.
Mark your calendars for Giving Tuesday on December 3rd. This is the official kick-off for our year-end-giving campaign. This year's theme is Sustaining Stewardship with a goal of raising $35,000! Our objectives are centered on the following:
- Greater Capacity to do more with more rather than more with less.
- Deeper, Broader Connections with our Refuge, community partners, and stakeholders.
- Improved Communication tools for outreach about the value of the Refuge and important work being done there.
We are thankful that you continue to choose Malheur NWR Friends Group as a worthy beneficiary of your support because we know that we could not do what we do without you. And we aim to sustain our work into the year ahead and beyond.
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In Service to and Celebration of Malheur,
Janelle Wicks
Executive Director
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Russian Olive Treatment on Malheur Refuge
Written by Travis Miller, Supervisory Ecologist
Image of Briggs Bay Russian olive treatment area
Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is native to Europe and western Asia and was introduced to North America in the early 1900s. It was widely distributed across the United States for purposes such as windbreaks, wildlife habitat, ornamentals, shelterbelts, and soil stabilizer along eroded water ways. This use and its ability to thrive under a wide range of ecological conditions led to a rapid expansion and became invasive (feature image above, in the Southwest).
In some states such as Montana it is listed as a Priority 3 species where intentional spread and sale are prohibited. Russian olive prefers a water table near the soil surface like riparian, riverine, lake/marsh shorelines, wet meadows, springs, woody riparian, saline lake shorelines, and irrigation ditches, which makes Malheur National Wildlife Refuge the perfect environment for this exotic species to establish and spread rapidly. Read More
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Harney Birdscape Project
Written by Teresa Wicks, Bird Alliance of Oregon
Photo above of a visual representation of an audio recording known as a spectrogram.
While most people are familiar with landscapes, fewer are familiar with soundscapes. Soundscapes are essentially the collection of sounds in an area. This can include birds, amphibians, mammals, humanmade sounds, weather, etc. Soundscapes provide important information about changes on the landscape, including impacts from human activities on wildlife vocalizations and populations. As part of our work in the Harney Basin, Bird Alliance of Oregon has been working on expanding our monitoring through the use of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). Our PAM projects are scattered across the Harney Basin, with the highest concentration of sites at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
While this monitoring is widely distributed, the scattered nature of our sites creates more of a “birdscape” than a landscape. We’re using this information to better understand the distribution of bird species in the Harney Basin and how habitat treatments and water management, affects bird distribution and bird communities. Read More
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Friends with Benefits
Written by Janelle Wicks
There are approximately 567 National Wildlife Refuges and Hatcheries managed by the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife. Of those. approximately 200 sites have associated Friends organizations. Being a Friends group is a special designation for a non-profit partner that engages in a cooperative relationship with a Refuge or Hatchery. This is, in essence, bridge building between the Refuge and the visiting public or other stakeholders. There are plenty of community partnerships that take shape across the country, but being a Friends group really is something special. Read More
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Species Spotlight: Lesser Scaup
Written by Peter Pearsall/ Photos by Dan Streiffert
The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), also known as the “little bluebill,” is a medium-sized diving duck in the family Anatidae found across North America. Males have a blue-gray bill, yellow eyes, and a black head with a purple iridescent sheen. Females are brownish, with a white patch at the base of the bill.
Lesser scaup and greater scaup are notoriously difficult to distinguish, but the lesser scaup has a peaked rather than rounded shape to its head. Both species feed on aquatic invertebrates (e.g., snails, insects, and crustaceans) as well as seeds and plant matter during the non-breeding season, diving to the bottom of water to gather food. Read More
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Volunteering by the Numbers
Written by Janelle Wicks, FOMR Director Photo (right) of volunteers, led by Alice Elshoff, tending to the Desert Rock Garden at Refuge Headquarters.
Starting in March of every year, volunteers start to arrive. First for assignments in the Crane's Nest Nature Store that are filled monthly through October and then periodically for Stewardship Weekends, Events, or special projects like the Artist in Residence program or Bat Surveys.
We know that our Volunteers give so much more than their time. They are sharing their talents, experience, physical and emotional energy with our organization which could quite literally not accomplish all that we do without them. And yes, they are sharing their time. Not just their time on site at the Refuge but the time it takes to plan and carry out a trip to our remote Refuge. It is no small thing to be one of the 66 volunteers that came and spent time in service to Malheur this year. Read More
TOTAL 2024 Hours: 2669 Hours!
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ATTENTION: The FOMR Volunteer Program manages 6 full hook-up RV pads for volunteers and owns one trailer for volunteer use. Volunteers would benefit from a second trailer available. If you or someone you know has a camper trailer that they no longer need and would be interested in making a tax-deductible donation, contact friends@malheurfriends.org
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The 2025 Stewardship Schedule
Sunday, April 13th - Giving Back to the Birds; A half day stewardship session with FOMR as a wrap up to the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival.
May 29-31 - Spring Spruce up and Migrate Through Malheur Event; In addition to taking care of various stewardship commitments across the Refuge FOMR will hold its annual public outreach event on Saturday 5/31.
August 8-10 - Sod House Ranch; Every year the historic Sod House Ranch site must be prepared for visitors in advance of its August 15th opening date. Other tasks will be taken on as time and energy allows.
September 19-21 - Stewardship tasks TBD
October 17-19 - Stewardship tasks TBD
If you have any questions or would like to sign up for this Stewardship Weekend, please email friends@malheurfriends.org
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Outreach & Events
Be sure to check out the incredible opportunities below and see our website's event calendar for more. Click the links below to learn more about these programs and sign-up!
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December 5th: A Year of Friends - Recap & Social
Janelle Wicks, FOMR Executive Director
Join us for this look into FOMR's past and a look ahead at how we will approach the next 25 years! There are some very exciting projects just waiting for our support. This will be an interactive program in which we invite YOU, our Friends, to share your thoughts on the programs we are engaged in and the content you get from us.
BONUS: A small trivia round on content from this Speaker Series!
SIGN UP TO ATTEND THIS FINAL PRESENTATION FOR 2025 - CLICK HERE!
If you missed any of the presentations, you can check them out on our YouTube Channel. Just search for MalheurFriends or CLICK HERE.
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January 23rd: Culture and History of the Burns Paiute Tribe
Diane Teeman, Burns Paiute Tribe Director of Culture and Natural Resources
The Burns Paiute Tribe is primarily comprised of the descendants of the Wadatika Band of Northern Paiutes. The traditional homelands of the Burns Paiute include 5250 square miles of land in central-southeastern Oregon, Northern Nevada, northwestern California and western Idaho. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge exists today within this boundary. The Burns Paiute are the original stewards of this land and maintain that relationship to this day. This presentation will include much of the history and culture of the Burns Paiute Tribe, it's relationship with the land for which the Refuge exists within, and the future of cooperative management between the Burns Paiute and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
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November's Most Popular
Every month there is excellent content on the Friends Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages. Here we will feature the most popular post of the month.
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November 21st, 2024: The gradual western slope of Steens Mountain boasts an impressive 75-square-kilometer contiguous area above 8,000 feet in elevation–unique among ranges in southeast Oregon. This enormous sheet collects precipitation flowing eastward from the Pacific, up to 28 inches per year at the highest elevations. The mountain thus acts as an enormous winter reservoir for the surrounding lowlands: Snowpack on Steens translates to life-giving water on the Refuge, even through the hottest months of summer. Photo by Ala Nyiri
Follow the Friends of Malheur on Facebook and Instagram at Malheurfriends!
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A New Way to Give
The needs of the Friends and Refuge's programs are changing all the time. This Amazon WishList will be updated seasonally with items supporting the Biology Dept, Volunteer Program, Stewardship Projects and general operational needs!
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Membership Minute
The sustaining support of our members is more important than ever.
If you are unsure of your Membership status you can email us at friends@malheurfriends.org today!
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Current Membership Total: 1323
2024 New Members: 530!
Not a Member or need to RENEW?
Simply visit OUR WEBSITE!
Prefer to send a check? Easy.
Fill out THIS FORM and mail it with your dues to:
Friends of Malheur NWR
36391 Sodhouse Lane
Princeton, OR 97721
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Crane's Nest Nature Center & Store
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON - REOPENING MARCH 1 2025
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My First Year w/ Friends
Written by Jill Bachman, FOMR's Manager
Looking back at the last year, being the Manager of the Crane’s Nest Nature Center & Store has been nothing short of amazing. I feel extremely grateful that I have been able to witness a full year at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. From the grandeur of the spring migration to the arrival of summer songbirds and being able to see all the baby birds emerging from their nests to the reappearance of the birds from spring for the fall Migration and now seeing the skies speckled with all the Canada, Ross and Snow Geese. Not to mention being able to drive to work every day down “Raptor Alley.” Read More
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Malheur HQ Visitor Center
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON - REOPENING MARCH 1 2025
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