Lake Abert: IBA of the Month
by Mary Coolidge
Except for the sound of the occasional passing truck or car on lonesome Highway 395, Lake Abert is a wild place where the wind carries the cries of birds, insects whir in the underbrush, and the ghosts of ancient petroglyph artists haunt the mighty rim. 
--John Howard
The great salt lake of Oregon, Lake Abert stretches majestically across nearly 55 square miles of Lake County desert, making it the largest saline lake in the Pacific Northwest, and as enchanting as it is remote. Bordered on the east by sheer face of Abert Rim, the lake itself is ringed with alkali playas and mudflats and supports high density of brine shrimp and brine flies, themselves the major attractant to staggering numbers of waterbirds. Breeding and staging shorebirds ferry between Lake Abert and two neighboring lakes—Goose and Summer (both also IBA’s)—and together these three are proposed as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site.
- Lake Abert 2 - George Ostertag
The Bureau of Land Management owns and manages Lake Abert, its shoreline and surrounding habitat as a 49,900-acre Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), a designation that identifies features on the landscape that warrant special protection. Lake Abert was identified as an ACEC in 1996 for a myriad of reasons including: significant prehistoric cultural resources, importance to wildlife (including state sensitive and threatened species), scenic value, and important aquatic ecology. Within this management area, Off-Highway Vehicle use is restricted to existing roads and trails, livestock grazing is limited (though still occurs on the north and south end of the lake), and mineral extraction is limited. Owing to its outstanding habitat value, Lake Abert is also a Conservation Opportunity Area designated by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and has therefore been prioritized for cooperative conservation investments.
Allies of this place have identified what may be the most pressing issue at work in the fragile Lake Abert ecosystem: fluctuating water levels and the cascade of associated effects. Reduced water level increases salinity beyond the upper tolerance for brine shrimp reproduction. This in turn impacts breeding and migrating birds that depend on this vital food source. Lake Abert’s elevation has now dropped below a critical low point (Kiester 1992), which is likely a combination of both drought conditions and anthropogenic factors. Water rights on the Chewaucan River are arguably over-allocated, and restrictions on diversions for irrigation during low flows (which were at one time written into such permits) need to be considered by Oregon Water Resources Department when evaluating water allocations. Portland Audubon will soon be meeting with a group of interested parties to consider potential measures to conserve the ecological integrity of the lake.
Ornithological Significance
Lake Abert (and the adjoining Chewaucan Marsh) is a critical resource for numerous waterbird species. Shoreline habitats of alkali playas, mudflats, and sand and gravel beaches have supported peaks of over 30,000 American Avocets and 150,000 phalaropes here. This lake is particularly important to Wilson’s Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, American Avocet, Eared Grebes, and Northern Shoveler, as well as other species of grebes and gulls. Total waterbird use is estimated at more than 3.25 million bird-use days (one bird use day=one bird spending 24 hours within a study area during a study period). Peak numbers of shorebirds occur from mid-July to mid-September.
Lake Abert also has what may be the largest breeding population of Western Snowy Plover in Oregon. The Snowy Plover is a federally and state-threatened species, with a total of 298 adults counted here in 1990. Other common breeders here include Killdeer and Willet.
The Lake and its surrounding also host Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Burrowing Owl, Short-eared Owl, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Kite, Prairie Falcon, and American Kestrel.
If you go
The best time to visit is during fall migration in August and September when most shorebirds are present. The Lake is approximately 240 miles from Portland in south central Lake County. Take US-26 East to US-97 South (The Dalles-California Hwy) to Madras. Continue on US-97/Bend Pkwy through Bend and La Pine. Turn left at OR-31 South/Fremont Highway toward Paisley. This road will take you past Summer Lake Wildlife Area, which deserves more than a passing glance. Continuing on to Lake Abert, once in Paisley, take a slight left at OR-31 South/West Street and turn sharply left onto US-395 North.
Contact Lakeview District of the BLM 1300 S. G Street, Lakeview, Oregon 541.947.2177.
