The Musings from Malheur!

September Malheur Musings

A loggerhead shrike delivers a grasshopper to its fledgling. These predatory songbirds hunt insects, reptiles, rodents and even other birds, subduing their catch with a quick bite to the spinal cord.

Photo by Volunteer Photographer Lane Wintermute

Greetings Janelle,

Have you ever been so inspired you are left speechless? Or very much the opposite, just overrun with thoughts and feelings that you can hardly be contained? Almost anything can be a catalyst for these feelings. A sunset. A meteor shower. A bird of prey hunting. Or maybe you have had the privilege of knowing, working with, and enjoying the company of our very own dear Friend Alice Elshoff.

Since Alice is a Founding Member of the Friends of Malheur NWR who happens to have a significant birthday this year (90!) just as this organization turns 25 years old - it only makes sense to celebrate BOTH with a memorable Birthday Party.

Our Alice & Friends Birthday Bash will be a tribute to Alice's long legacy of conservation stewardship which in part includes the establishment of The Friends! If you have ever attended a Friends Stewardship event, you know Alice can regularly be found with a shovel in her hand and a bandana around her brow doing good work on the landscape in service to the wildlife that depend on it. She is the human embodiment of why our organization exists.

I hope you will join us on October 5th in Bend for this event! Early RSVP for Members is active now and will open to everyone TOMORROW Sept 1. Also, if you have an 'Alice Story' or a 'Friends Story' that you would like to share with us, please reach out via email. friends@malheurfriends.org

Our upcoming Party is not the only exciting event coming up! Talk about something that will leave you speechless... Malheur After Dark is TONIGHT (8/31)! Be sure to check out the Events Section of the newsletter below.

In Service to and Celebration of Malheur,

Janelle Wicks

Executive Director

Conservation Corner

FWS Announces Almost $3 Mil to Eradicate Invasive Species

On the horizon at Malheur NWR is a new effort to manage the population of invasive carp! Of the nearly $3 million being distributed through the US Fish & Wildlife Service, $540,000 is being granted to the Western Association for Fish and Wildlife Agency's YY Consortium. This Consortium will manage a 3-year effort to control the reproductive success of invasive fish like common carp with Malheur NWR being one of the priority project areas. Read More Here and know that there is more information to come!

Native Fish of Malheur NWR

Written by Pete Baki, ODFW/ODOT Fish Passage Liaison

Photo of resided shiners, speckled dace, and Tui chub

The native fish in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge have been isolated since the Pleistocene or around 11,000 to 13,000 years ago when glacial lakes subsided in the now closed basin. This provides a significant amount of time for the native fish isolated in these waterways and springs to adapt to the habitat conditions of the area.

I spent five days taking underwater photos and collecting genetic samples from several places within the Malheur Refuge. The genetic samples are being sent to Oregon State University in the hopes that funding will come along to look at the genetics of these species and see how unique the fish are in this closed basin to their cousins in other basins. Read More

Steens Mountain Advisory Council; June 2024

Written by Karen Withrow

SMAC Statewide Environmental Representative

The Steens Mt Advisory Council (SMAC) met on June 13th and 14th, 2024 in Burns, Oregon. We welcomed two new members. We are now up to our full membership for the first time in a number of years.

Thursday June 13th, we had a field trip to Steens Mountain. Our first stop was the proposed site of the Moon Hill Campground on the North Loop Road. Efforts to have a water source by drilling a well here have failed. But a dry horse camp could still be established. We then went to the Indian Gorge Overlook on the South Loop Road. The progress of removing the rockfall was discussed. It is currently out for contract to hopefully open the road later in the summer. We also went to the Riddle Brothers Ranch. Read More

Technician Emilee's Farewell

Written by Emilee Gooch, FOMR Seasonal Bio Tech

Photo of Emilee holding a newly banded duck!

This past week wrapped up the end of my time at Malheur. I am sad to see it come to an end, and I have absolutely loved my time here! This internship has been truly transformative and such a phenomenal learning opportunity. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributes to the Friends of Malheur program which makes my position possible; it was wonderful getting to meet many of you this summer!

Ducks dominated the month of August for me. I had the chance to participate in a week of working nights performing duck banding at both Malheur and the Summer Lake Wildlife Area. I worked closely with Alexa, the wildlife biologist for Malheur, along with many scientists from ODF&W. This was my first chance to participate in waterfowl banding, and it was very informative and just an overall fun experience. Read More

Species Spotlight: Canvas Back

Written by Peter Pearsall/ Photos by Peter Pearsall

The distinctive canvasback duck (Aythya valisineria) is North America’s largest diving duck. Adult males have reddish-brown heads, bright red eyes, and long, sloping black bills. Their backs are a canvas-like white, contrasting with their black chests and tails. Females are more subdued in coloration, with a light brown head, dark eyes, and a grayish body, but they share the same elegant, elongated profile as the males. Read More

Sod House Ranch is Open! Aug 15 - Oct 1

Written by Donna Owens, FOMR Project Committee Chair

Photo of volunteers at Sod House Ranch. From left to right BACK: Bo Bonotto, Mike Braet, Michael Imel, Craig Walker, Linda Craig. FRONT: Bob Luce, Alice Elshoff, Clay Crofton

The August Stewardship weekend was a great success! Nine volunteers spend 80+ hours over a day and a half preparing Sod House Ranch for its annual open season and tending to needs at Refuge Headquarters. Read More

An Ode to Sod House Ranch

Volunteering with Friends

THIS MONTH! SEPTEMBER 13th - 15th: General Stewardship at HQ

We are planning to do some trail maintenance and grounds work around the nature center and rock garden. Our primary focus will be to assemble the pavilion for our volunteer campground. This last task was postponed in Aug due to high temperatures and smoke from nearby wildfires.

OCTOBER 18th - 20th: Work for the Wild

P Ranch and Barnes Springs Homestead clean-up and barbed wire removal.

Housing will be provided for FREE to volunteers at The Malheur Field Station.

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for one or more of these Stewardship Weekends please email friends@malheurfriends.org

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!

Upcoming Presentations

Click on each program below to sign up on Zoom or mark your calendars and plan to join us in person at the Harney County Community Room at 484 N Broadway Ave, Burns OR.

September 5th: Comprehensive Conservation Planning; Then and Now Jess Wenick, US FWS Restoration Coordinator

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge’s original CCP process, completed in 2013, is known as a model for collaboration. With 15yrs from its adoption on the horizon, Refuge Leadership is reflecting on the success of implementation from the CCP and making plans for CCP 2.0! Join Jess Wenick for a presentation on this reflection and plans for the future!

October 3rd: Batty for Malheur NWR!

Alexa Martinez, Malheur NWR Wildlife Biologist

November 7th: Program Title TBD Diane Teeman, Burns Paiute Tribe Director of Culture and Natural Resources

December 5th: A Year of Friends - Recap & Social

Janelle Wicks, FOMR Executive Director

Watch this space, there is more to come!

For more Events and Programs Visit FOMR's Calendar

View presentation videos on FOMR's YouTube Channel

While FOMR celebrates 25 years one of our Founding Members, Alice, is celebrating 90!

Our Fall Fundraising Event will be a Birthday Party to celebrate a shared legacy of conservation stewardship!

General Registration will OPEN THURSDAY September 1st!

We are planning to have our most successful fundraising effort yet and YOU can help support the Auction! Do you have: A vacation rental that you could donate a weekend stay? A Vinyard you could donate a tasting at? A business that provides a good or service that our guests may be interested in? Please email Janelle: director@malheurfriends.org

August'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.

August 18th, 2024: Coveys of California quail weave their way among the high-desert shrubs and open woodlands of Harney County, clucking querulously and darting under cover at the slightest hint of danger. (Used as an adjective, “quail” means to shrink in fear.) In Oregon, these birds are originally native to the counties bordering California and Nevada. Beginning as early as 1870, state game regulators introduced California quail to other parts of the state, and today they are found across most of Oregon in brushy upland habitats. They are year-round residents of Harney County, and are common even in rural developments. In Burns and Hines, Christmas Bird Counts regularly turn up many thousands of quail, which have become dependent on backyard seed-feeders to survive the harsh high-desert winter. Photo by Dan Streiffert

#californiaquail #harneycounty #highdesert #oregondesert #greatbasin #malheurnationalwildliferefuge #friendsofmalheur

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