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Malheur Musings
October 2023
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Belding's ground squirrels are a common and often comical sight at Malheur NWR Headquarters throughout the spring and into summer. By August these little critters have gone underground for estivation.
There has been much speculation as to what inspired this little one to emerge from their burrow. Could it have been the rain loosening the gravel? Is it just young and confused? Perhaps it escaped the clutches of a hungry badger?
Photo of Belding's ground squirrel beneath the bird feeders at the Crane's Nest Nature Center & Store, September 27th. Taken by FOMR volunteer Bailey DeLongh
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Refuge Celebration Week is the second week of October every year. This year it takes place from October 8th - 14th and we are celebrating Malheur NWR a few different ways! | |
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October 7th, 5:30pm - 8:30pm - A Night with Friends will feature renowned Poet and Author, Ellen Waterston alongside Pine Mountain Observatory Director, Scott Fisher, and Bill Kowalik of DarkSky Oregon. These knowledgeable and passionate individuals will be speaking to the personal and ecological importance of dark skies. Registration is FULL! If you are attending, we look forward to seeing you there!
October 11th, 3:00pm - Birding Harney County with Harry Fuller will be a virtual program all about... you guessed it, birding in Harney County. This is the title of Harry's newly published book and he is eager to share it with our community! Sign up HERE.
October 14th, 7:00am - 4:00pm - Walk the Big Day! This is a walk/run event paired with community science and will feature a viewing of the annular eclipse from P Ranch in Frenchglen, OR. The BIG DAY is an annual effort much like a Christmas Bird Count. Participants are encouraged to walk the trails on the south end of the Refuge to participate in Walk for the Wild and eBird their sightings to report for the Big Day! Sign up HERE.
How will YOU celebrate Malheur National Wildlife Refuge?
If you can't make it to one of the events above, check out the handful of upcoming volunteer opportunities outlined further down in this newsletter!
As always, thank you for being a Friend.
Janelle
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A Message from Our President
Written by Wm. Tweed
As I write this, a few days before the end of September, it appears likely that we are headed for another shutdown of the federal government. I know this game. In the more than three decades that I worked for a federal land management agency, I went through more than a dozen such events, and the practice has, if anything, only intensified since then. The longest such event, which lasted 35 days, took place in 2019.
Now, we seem ready to march off into this morass yet again. Read More
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A Farewell and Thank You to Tara Wertz!
After a nearly 40-year career in wildlife conservation—including 22 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Deputy Project Leader Tara Wertz is retiring.

As Deputy Project Leader beginning in October 2021, Wertz worked with and supervised Refuge staff who execute the day-to-day duties of the various programs at the Refuge, including the Biological Program and Refuge Maintenance. Read More
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Freshwater Mussel Surveys at Malheur NWR!
Written by Michele Weaver, Emma Neill, and Jessica Diaz – Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Photos by Michele Weaver

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation was recently awarded a US Fish and Wildlife Service grant to advance the understanding of freshwater mussel populations across the region. For the past three months two crews (one in Washington and one in Oregon) have been traveling across the two states in search of freshwater mussels. During the week of Sept 18, the Oregon crew got to visit the Malheur NWR and spend the last week of our field season surveying the waters in and around the refuge for these amazing animals.
The Malheur NWR is home to all three of our native mussel species, making it an especially exciting place to survey. Read More
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MNWR Wet Meadow Review
By Teresa Wicks, Portland Audubon's Eastern OR Biologist

From August 1-3, Refuge staff and partners participated in a Wet Meadow Review workshop. The Wet Meadow Review is a technical, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and multi-interest effort that focuses on an abiotic process-based approach to key wet meadow habitat management challenges and questions. It incorporates the historical and modern landscape, future climate predictions, geomorphic features, hydrologic processes, soils, and ecological function of the area, with an emphasis on wet and mesic meadows and adjacent seasonal marshes. The review utilizes a technical process that explores meadow-related Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) goals and objectives and identifies adaptive management strategies for this critical wildlife habitat. Read More
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Follow That Swan!
September update by Gary Ivey, PhD.

During September, four of the 12 trumpeter swans marked in our study transmitted data. Two remained in Alberta, one in British Columbia and one in the Northwest Territories.
Read More
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How Big is the Lake? Starring Malheur Lake! | |
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HOW BIG IS THE LAKE? Fall edition! That's right, fall is now upon us. Say goodbye to hot summer heat and nasty mosquitoes Hello sweaters, hunting season, and pumpkin spice lattes!
September has brought us cooler temperatures, fall migration of birds and an increase in visiting birders as well. As of September 23, 2023 the lake is around 19,563.3 acres. You know what that means? Looks like we will actually allow the lake for waterfowl hunting this year since we are above 10,000 acres!
As you can see from the satellite imagery, brought to us by Sentinel Hub EO Brower, the lake has been maintaining its size and depth of water. There is still plenty of emergent vegetation growing on the edges and making its way to the open water. This is truly amazing.
Well, hopefully you all enjoyed this month's short episode of "HOW BIG IS THE LAKE?!" Please stay warm and control yourselves on those pumpkin spiced lattes! Till next time!
~ Alexa Martinex, MNWR Wildlife Biologist
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By Janelle Wicks
Photos by Dan Streiffert
Marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa) is a large and unique shorebird, with their long, two-toned bill which is lightly upturned. These birds breed in the prairies of US states such as Montana and the Dakotas and central Canadian provinces. In the non-breeding season, they stick to coastal areas of the Americas. As they make the trip between their territories, they are a reliable, though not abundant, sight at Malheur during both spring and fall migration. Read More
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Celebrating Malheur
By Teresa Wicks, Portland Audubon's Eastern OR Biologist

Refuge Celebration Week is right around the corner and we have plenty of things to celebrate about Malheur. We could celebrate the emergent and submergent vegetation growing on Malheur Lake for the first time in well over a decade. We could celebrate the thousands of birds reared on Malheur Lake this year. Or we could celebrate the partnerships that help get work done at Malheur. That helped make Malheur an inspiration for collaborative conservation work since I was an undergraduate.
But I’m going to take this opportunity instead to step out of my typical biology or conservation zone and I’m going to step into something akin to a socio-emotional celebration of the place that I have called home for over five years now. Read More
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Headquarters Stewardship Work Party
October 13th - 15th | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Volunteers are needed to assist the Friends of Malheur NWR in developing a Volunteer Campground at Refuge Headquarters!
Project 1. For the super hardy, laying down weed cloth and raking gravel for the volunteer campground under construction. One lucky helper will get to run the walk-behind, motorized compactor.
Project 2. For the gardeners among us, removing some small areas of sod around the Nature Center, planting native species there and around the headquarters. The pollinator will love us come spring!
Housing at Malheur Field Station is being provided at no cost to participants, but sign-up soon as space is limited. For more information, please contact Alice Elshoff at calice58@gmail, with a cc to friends@malheurfriends.org
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Native Planting Day @ Refuge HQ
October 15th | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Join Worthy Enivronmental’s Evan Heeb for the initial native planting for Phase 1 of the Malheur NWR Dry-Scaping Project at Refuge Headquarters. Volunteers will be provided gloves and tools, but should come prepared with closed toed shoes, a refillable water bottle, sun protection, and clothing layers appropriate for changing fall weather.

Check out THIS BLOG POST that Evan wrote about the Headquarters Landscaping project for FOMR’s newsletter!
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Barnes Springs Homestead Work Party
October 27th-29th | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Volunteers are critical to helping us meet our mission of conserving the natural and cultural resources of the Refuge. YOU can join this work and help maintain the Barnes Springs Homestead site. Work will focus on the collection and removal of barbed wire.

Housing will be provided at P Ranch with no cost to participants, but sign-up soon as space is limited. For more information, please contact Alice Elshoff at calice58@gmail, with a cc to friends@malheurfriends.org
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A Night with Friends
Saturday October 7th | Registration CLOSED
McMenamin's Old St Francis School - Bend, OR
We are kicking off National Wildlife Refuge Celebration Week with an evening of fun in honor of Malheur NWR and the mystical dark skies that blanket the Refuge. Did you know that Malheur NWR lies beneath the largest contiguous expanse of dark skies in the lower 48? This little known fact is gaining attention from scientists, naturalists, and creatives alike.
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Birding Harney County w/ Harry Fuller!
October 11th @ 3:00 PM | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Join us via ZOOM to learn all about this NEW BOOK by Harry Fuller! This book will help you find new places to bird in eastern Oregon. It will also help you find the birds you are looking for. Where and when are always crucial elements when seeking that special bird, but Author Harry Fuller is eager to share some of his tips and tricks accrued from years of birding the region.
Order your copy from the Crane's Nest Nature Store. CLICK HERE!
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Walk for the Big Day!
Saturday October 14th | REGISTER HERE
P Ranch - Frenchglen, OR
Wrapping up National Wildlife Refuge Celebration Week, October 14th is the confluence of many exciting opportunities to explore and celebrate natural spaces and wildlife at Malheur NWR. The October Big Day is an annual community science bird count to recognize the importance of monitoring fall migration. List and report your bird sightings while you Walk for the Wild! We will start the day with a morning bird walk at P Ranch before enjoying the view of the annular eclipse. Then choose one or more walking route options to get moving as part of the nationwide effort to Walk for the Wild!
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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: 946 | |
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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
Pair bonding behavior between two adult great horned owls. Photo by Loree Johnson
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Introducing the Sandhill Crane Society
Beginning this year, Friends of Malheur are welcoming the 17 inaugural members of the Sandhill Crane Society. Any supporter who contributes $1,000 or more through Membership dues and/or donations throughout the year will become a Member of this new program. Our depth of our gratitude for those individuals who support our mission at this level of ongoing support cannot be expressed, but we sure will try!
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Crane's Nest Nature Center & Store
7 Days/Week | 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Malheur HQ Visitor Center
7 Days/Week | 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
36391 Sodhouse Lane
Princeton, OR 97721
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