The Malheur Natural Wildlife Reserve is in southeast Oregon. It isn't northwest Oregon where all the Old Growth Forests exist. This is southeast Oregon and this wildlife reserve doesn't have land available for ranching or construction. It is primarily wetlands.
It is 293.4 square miles in size. Rhode Island is 1045 square miles of land area. The wildlife reserve is a nice piece of land, about the size of a quarter of Rhode Island.
This past year the BLM had open sessions for the public to register their observations, opinions and wishes for the future of western Oregon (click here). There was plenty of participation by many groups and private industry. That is an example of what goes on in the USA when the BLM is managing land. There are reviews of any federal program and how that is working by the BLM. I am not sure when there was a comprehensive review of the land at the reserve, but, Fort Collins Science Center out of Colorado does conduct regular reviews of a bird population of Willow Flycatcher. This is not an endangered species, so don't go into some tree hugging scenario. That is NOT what this is.
The reason Fort Collins keeps track of the Willow Flycatcher (click here) is because it catches flies. Why is that important? Because what eats flies in a wetlands? Every fisherman/woman knows this answer. Along rivers that are majority within wild lands without any impact by human activity what is there of interest to tourism?
Fish. Fish are carnivorous. They eat flies. The Willow Flycather is a very hardy bird with extensive ranges. If there was any drop off of Willow Flycather population the BLM or in this case USGS would suspect a problem with the rivers. If there was a problem with the birds, it would be due to a fall off of flies in and around the rivers. It would be suspect of an ecosystem collapse that would be very suspicious. It would have an impact on tourism because the two rivers in the Reserve are nearly pristine and a great place for fishermen and women if they care to.
One more time, these are wetlands. There isn't anything other than tourism that can be conducted on these lands, so what is the problem? Cows? Ranchlands. Only if people want to regularly pull their cows out of the mud.
But, that is the BLM's job, as well as US Fish and Wildlife and USGS. This is what they do and they do it for us. They maintain vigilance of our lands. It is an important job. Those jobs require significant education and in the case of the federal government, plenty of experience.
I will say this, sometimes when it comes to leases for oil and gas there are oversights that should not occur. That is probably just as true for lands that are logged. The BLM is not perfect. But, the BLM also relies on private groups to understand the problems and register those problems with the agency. That information is passed along to Cabinet Secretaries that don't always value the words of conservationists or environmentalists. But, as a rule the 'evil doers' are not within the agency. The agencies do get their marching orders from others.
The agency jobs of the federal government pay well and have good benefits. There is a good retention rate with US agencies. That is probably true of most state agencies as well. The employees usually like to stay out of trouble with the public. I'll leave it there. But, be reassured the agencies are not responsible for the compete decision making process. The agencies gather information, do studies and maintain records. There are protocols such as "The Five Year Review" of the EPA that are written into law. The federal agencies do a lot of good work, regardless of how politics paints them.
This is the land of the Reserve.
A view of the Steens Mountains from the Buena Vista Overlook located in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The Donner and Blitzen River (click here) is commonly referred to as the Blitzen. The river rises on the lower slopes near Steens Mountain at an elevation of about 6500 feet. It is located in the high desert region of eastern Oregon and drains the southern portion of the Harney Basin including the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The river terminates into Matheur Lake.
The Donner and Blitzen Rivers were named by American soldiers of German origin. The soldiers crossed the river and there was "thunder and lightning." There are regular episodes of 'dry lighting' along the river depending on the time of year. In the German language, "Donner and Blitzen" means respectively "thunder and lightning (flash)."
How much tourism for the Reserve?
August 27, 2015
A study (click here) of the economic impact of ecotourism and the demographics of ecotourists was conducted at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, from June 1993 - May 1994. The study focused on birding ecotourism because that is the primary user group that visits Malheur. A total of 481 questionnaires were completed from a total of about 39,750 annual birding ecotourists. Birders who visit Malheur tended to be middle aged 30s - 40s, well educated 85.4 had attended some college, had incomes that were well above the national family average, and women and men are about equally represented. A majority did not fish or hunt. Visitors came from 28 states, 3 foreign countries, and 30 counties in Oregon. Forty-five percent of visitors were from out of state and 88 (percent) stayed more than one day in the area. Visitors averaged 3.4 days in the area. The average amount spent on their entire trips to and from Malheur averaged about 300 and totaled 12,282,750. The economic impact on the local communities was estimated to be nearly 3.02 million in that year.
That is something to pay attention to. The woman in the diner talked about 'the mills closing.' There might reason for that if there were ever mills in the southeast corner of Oregon.
It is 293.4 square miles in size. Rhode Island is 1045 square miles of land area. The wildlife reserve is a nice piece of land, about the size of a quarter of Rhode Island.
This past year the BLM had open sessions for the public to register their observations, opinions and wishes for the future of western Oregon (click here). There was plenty of participation by many groups and private industry. That is an example of what goes on in the USA when the BLM is managing land. There are reviews of any federal program and how that is working by the BLM. I am not sure when there was a comprehensive review of the land at the reserve, but, Fort Collins Science Center out of Colorado does conduct regular reviews of a bird population of Willow Flycatcher. This is not an endangered species, so don't go into some tree hugging scenario. That is NOT what this is.
Fish. Fish are carnivorous. They eat flies. The Willow Flycather is a very hardy bird with extensive ranges. If there was any drop off of Willow Flycather population the BLM or in this case USGS would suspect a problem with the rivers. If there was a problem with the birds, it would be due to a fall off of flies in and around the rivers. It would be suspect of an ecosystem collapse that would be very suspicious. It would have an impact on tourism because the two rivers in the Reserve are nearly pristine and a great place for fishermen and women if they care to.
One more time, these are wetlands. There isn't anything other than tourism that can be conducted on these lands, so what is the problem? Cows? Ranchlands. Only if people want to regularly pull their cows out of the mud.
But, that is the BLM's job, as well as US Fish and Wildlife and USGS. This is what they do and they do it for us. They maintain vigilance of our lands. It is an important job. Those jobs require significant education and in the case of the federal government, plenty of experience.
I will say this, sometimes when it comes to leases for oil and gas there are oversights that should not occur. That is probably just as true for lands that are logged. The BLM is not perfect. But, the BLM also relies on private groups to understand the problems and register those problems with the agency. That information is passed along to Cabinet Secretaries that don't always value the words of conservationists or environmentalists. But, as a rule the 'evil doers' are not within the agency. The agencies do get their marching orders from others.
The agency jobs of the federal government pay well and have good benefits. There is a good retention rate with US agencies. That is probably true of most state agencies as well. The employees usually like to stay out of trouble with the public. I'll leave it there. But, be reassured the agencies are not responsible for the compete decision making process. The agencies gather information, do studies and maintain records. There are protocols such as "The Five Year Review" of the EPA that are written into law. The federal agencies do a lot of good work, regardless of how politics paints them.
A view of the Steens Mountains from the Buena Vista Overlook located in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The Donner and Blitzen River (click here) is commonly referred to as the Blitzen. The river rises on the lower slopes near Steens Mountain at an elevation of about 6500 feet. It is located in the high desert region of eastern Oregon and drains the southern portion of the Harney Basin including the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The river terminates into Matheur Lake.
The Donner and Blitzen Rivers were named by American soldiers of German origin. The soldiers crossed the river and there was "thunder and lightning." There are regular episodes of 'dry lighting' along the river depending on the time of year. In the German language, "Donner and Blitzen" means respectively "thunder and lightning (flash)."
How much tourism for the Reserve?
August 27, 2015
A study (click here) of the economic impact of ecotourism and the demographics of ecotourists was conducted at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, from June 1993 - May 1994. The study focused on birding ecotourism because that is the primary user group that visits Malheur. A total of 481 questionnaires were completed from a total of about 39,750 annual birding ecotourists. Birders who visit Malheur tended to be middle aged 30s - 40s, well educated 85.4 had attended some college, had incomes that were well above the national family average, and women and men are about equally represented. A majority did not fish or hunt. Visitors came from 28 states, 3 foreign countries, and 30 counties in Oregon. Forty-five percent of visitors were from out of state and 88 (percent) stayed more than one day in the area. Visitors averaged 3.4 days in the area. The average amount spent on their entire trips to and from Malheur averaged about 300 and totaled 12,282,750. The economic impact on the local communities was estimated to be nearly 3.02 million in that year.
That is something to pay attention to. The woman in the diner talked about 'the mills closing.' There might reason for that if there were ever mills in the southeast corner of Oregon.
