IBA of the Month: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
by Mary Coolidge, Assistant Conservation Director
- Yellow-headed Blackbird - Don Baccus
In 1908, when conservationist William L. Finley visited the Harney Basin to photograph birds and wildlife, he discovered the carnage of Great egrets stripped of their feathers by plume hunters in order to satisfy a demand for feathered hats. The decimation of the egret population and the reduction of tern, ibis, and grebe colonies spurred him to lobby President Theodore Roosevelt to add Malheur to the growing list of National Wildlife Refuges. Thus, it became the 3rd NWR in Oregon, and the 19th of 51 refuges that Roosevelt would designate during his presidency. Today, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is 187,000 acres of protected rivers, wetlands, wet meadows, playas, alkali flats, and lakes in the Northern Great Basin ecoregion, a diversity of habitats supporting 320 bird species, 58 mammal species, and 10 native fish species. A combined concentration of visiting birders and outstanding bird habitat along the Pacific Flyway has afforded Malheur what may be the highest all-time bird list of any location in Oregon!
- Common Snipe - Don Baccus
While it is one of the premiere properties in the refuge system, Malheur is not free of complex and controversial challenges. The Refuge is currently undergoing a public Comprehensive Conservation Planning process to draft a new Management Plan which will guide the next 15 years of wildlife, habitat, public use, and cultural resources management. Management of the refuge involves over 500 water control structures, an invasive carp problem that’s stifling avian productivity on the lake, invasive plant species, elevated water temperatures in the channelized Blitzen River (before it ever enters the refuge), mounting fuel costs associated with moving staff and equipment between 3 substations, and budgetary constraints influencing all of this. Refuge Manager, Tim Bodeen, has reached out to outside organizations (Oregon Audubon Chapters, High Desert Partnership, The Burns-Paiute Tribe, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Harney County Court, Ducks Unlimited, Harney County Chamber of Commerce, Sierra Club, and others) and has held numerous public meetings about the CCP throughout Oregon. He has convened a “Carp Coalition” to address carp solutions, is working to build relationships in Harney County, and is thinking about the value of a landscape approach to the Blitzen Valley as a whole.
A sign of the times in Oregon, and of particular conservation interest, is the proposal to run a wind energy transmission line across the Refuge, a proposal that is currently undergoing a USFWS compatibility assessment to determine whether such activity supports the National Wildlife Refuge System mandate that the original purpose of the refuge not be undermined. While Audubon supports alternative energy development, we are concerned both about the siting of wind facilities near Steens Mountain and placement of transmission lines across miles of sensitive wildlife habitat, including, but not limited to, Malheur.
Ornithological Significance
- White-faced Ibis - Don Baccus
The avian resources at Malheur NWR are staggering. Malheur is important to the Watch-listed Western Snowy Plover, Long-billed Curlew, Franklin's Gull, Short-eared Owl, Greater Sage-Grouse, Bobolink, and Trumpeter Swan, all of which breed here. The Refuge has one of the highest Breeding Bird Survey counts for the Watch-listed Brewer's Sparrow and its riparian habitat supports the highest known densities of Willow Flycatcher. Malheur supports up to 20% of the world population of White-faced ibis, up to 1,500 pairs of breeding American white pelican, and 20% of Oregon’s breeding population of Greater sandhill crane. Up to half of the entire population of Watch-listed Ross' Geese migrate through here. The Refuge regularly supports hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl, including Snow geese, Green-winged teal, Mallard, Northern pintail, Northern shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-necked duck, Lesser scaup, and Ruddy duck. Breeding populations include Green-winged teal, Northern pintail, Blue-winged teal, Northern shoveler, Gadwall, American wigeon, Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser scaup, and Ruddy duck.
August concentrations of up to 25,000 Ring-billed Gulls have been recorded on the Refuge and Forster's tern, Franklin’s gull, Black tern, and Caspian tern all breed here. During spring and fall migration, Harney and Malheur lakes have hosted up to 25,000 Western sandpipers, 350 Pectoral sandpipers, 35,000 Long-billed dowitchers, 15,000 Wilson's phalaropes, 15,000 American avocets, and 200 Black-necked stilts. Up to 400 Western snowy have nested at Harney and Stinking Lakes. Great blue heron, Great egret, Snowy egret, and Black-crowned night heron all breed on the Refuge.
Rough-legged hawk, Red-tailed hawk, Northern harrier, American kestrel, and Bald eagles have all been recorded during Christmas Bird Count. Golden eagle and Prairie falcon are present year-round.
If you go:
30 miles south of Burns in Harney County, thousands of birders visit Malheur each year to witness the sheer spectacle. Driving directions are available at http://www.fws.gov/malheur/driving.html. For volunteer or internship opportunities, contact Carey Goss, Volunteer Coordinator at (541)493.2612.
images courtesy of Don Baccus
