Malheur Musings
June 2023
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This Black-and-White Warbler is just one species of nine warblers that has been reported on eBird from Refuge Headquarters between May 20th and May 31st. Other species include both Nashville and Magnolia Warblers! As spring slides into summer, there is just no telling what will show up in the arboreal oasis of Refuge Headquarters.
This image was taken on May 20th, 2023 by Friends Member, Nader Khoury
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Did you know that the Friends of Malheur NWR were instrumental in bringing together Refuge staff, the Oregon Department of Transportation, County Transportation Commission, Harney County Court, and the Harney County Chamber of Commerce to secure safe off-road parking at The Narrows for wildlife viewing? This project was made possible by donations of time, equipment, and dollars from the above participants as well as dedicated funds from the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival. The viewing and parking area was completed in October 2003, and interpretative panels were installed in spring 2007. The interpretive panels were upgraded and replaced in 2019.
Projects like this wayside are a part of FOMR's impactful legacy and I have been thinking about this project a lot lately. It's a special little place that holds space in the minds of many, particularly this time of year. Will water reach The Narrows this summer? No one can know for sure, but we can all speculate and share in the excitement of anticipation.
It is not uncommon for projects like this to fall into the fog of history. This is one reason that we recently redesigned our website and filled it FULL of great information like this! If you haven't been to our website recently, I highly encourage you to do so!
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We believe that one of the most important roles our organization serves is to cultivate and deepen the connections between YOU and the Refuge. We hope that you enjoy our new website and that it serves as just such a connection point for you, our Friends.
Thank you, as always, for being a Friend.
Janelle L Wicks
FOMR Executive Director
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Written by Wm. Tweed
Imagine a Mediterranean climate -- miles of hilly oak woodland crossed by occasional river valleys. Imagine also a region where the winter rains have fallen far below average for three consecutive years, where farmers are competing for irrigation water, and where rivers and natural wetlands have largely dried up. Imagine a land where wildlife is struggling to survive.
If all this sounds familiar, let me tell you that I’m not talking about California but somewhere much further away. The region I am describing is Andalucía, a province in southern Spain. Read More
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By David R. Maddison, OSU
In 2015, I taught a class called Discovering Insect Species at Oregon State University. The eleven of us (nine students, a graduate teaching assistant, and me) formed a research team studying the diversity of ground beetles of the genus Bembidion. That’s a worldwide genus of little, terrestrial, predatory beetles, with about 130 species in Oregon. We were focusing on one subgenus called Trepanedoris, a group that lives at the edges of marshes. Some of these have little orange dots on them, others are solid dark brown, but all have distinctive heads with a V-shaped groove. We bonded as a research team, and we called ourselves the Trepaneleven.
Together we collected beetles, examined them under the microscope, sequenced and analyzed their DNA. To our amazement, we discovered a new species that lives in the marshes of both Klamath Marsh NWR and Malheur NWR. Read More
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By Jeff Mackay/ Photo by Alan Nyiri
In my waning days at Malheur NWR, I got to spend a few hours in an airboat on Malheur Lake. I saw an abundance of marshbirds, white-faced ibis attempting to nest on Russian thistle (tumbleweed), clear water, and, as a silver lining of the recent severe drought, new emergent plant growth. Restoration progress! What I did not see was evidence of invasive common carp. I know this is only temporary as they are still entrenched in basin waters and will rebound eventually. To me this is validation that our collaborative efforts, together with the forces of nature, will enable the marsh to resemble its former ecological glory!
Out on the lake, I was reminded of the continual journey to restore Malheur Lake that many truly dedicated Refuge staff and partners began years ago and that continues with more clarity today. Read More
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Follow That Swan!
A JUNE update by Gary Ivey, PhD.
Only 2 of the GPS collars of the 12 trumpeter swans marked in the study transmitted data during the month of May. The other ten are apparently in locations without cell tower coverage and we should receive their location data when they return to cell coverage (likely next fall). Trumpeter swan @10 (top right track) settled on a small unnamed wetland in extreme northwest Alberta, just northeast of Chateh. Trumpeter Swan @19 (bottom right track) settled in a wetland in western central Alberta, just east of Valhalla Centre called "La Glace Lake".
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So far during my internship here at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, I have been collecting data for irrigation and water rights use for the refuge. To do this, I have been using a Flow Tracker at each of the following four locations: East Canal, West Canal, Center Ditch, and Sodhouse. The other two locations, Buena Vista Canal and Stuble Field Ditch, are currently too deep to measure; the Flow Tracker can only measure a maximum stream depth of four feet. (NOTE: FOMR assisted MNWR with the purchase of this equipment in 2022!) Read More
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How Big is the Lake? Starring Malheur Lake! |
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This month has brought us some lovely rains and lot more warmer temperatures! Wooooohoooo!!! Because of this, the lake has definitely grown in size. As of May 21, 2023 the lake is roughly around 23,134 acres!!! AMAZING! Last I checked on May 16 imagery, the lake was around 20,000 acres!
Above is a side by side compaison of Malheur Lake from April 29th and May 21st. Can you believe it?! The Silvies and Malheur Lake have finally met! "Reeeeuunited and it feeeeels soooo goood!!!"
I hope you enjoyed this episode of "HOW BIG IS THE LAKE?!!" Stay tuned to next months episode....will the lake grow in size or just get deeper? Will it finally reach the Narrows? Stay tuned to find out! By Alexa Martinez
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Written by Beth Macinko, ONDA
Photos by Sage Brown
If you visit the Refuge this month, you may notice a crew of young adults assisting with lake surveys, harvesting willow for fence repairs, and learning how to conduct bird surveys. This crew is part of the Tribal Stewards program which offers Native American young adults an introduction to conservation careers and provides hands‐on experience and opportunities for personal growth. The program is a partnership between Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) and Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) that began in 2019. The inaugural crew worked at the Refuge and this year’s crew is looking forward to being back.
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The Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge have committed to supporting the 2023 Tribal Stewards Program with a MINIMUM of $5,000 and we are asking our Members to MATCH US!
Tribal Stewards are returning to Malheur this summer and YOU can be a part of supporting this program!
Click HERE to read about the 2019 Program.
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MAKE A DIFFERENCE...
for Tribal Youth
for Malheur NWR
for the future of Conservation!
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Currently sending $7,081.89! |
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By Peter Pearsall
Photos by Peter Pearsall
The American coot, scientifically known as Fulica americana, is a medium-sized waterbird found throughout North America. Despite its duck-like appearance, the American coot is not closely related to waterfowl but belongs to the family Rallidae, which includes rails and gallinules. Read More
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A weekend to celebrate Malheur NWR and our Friends Members
FRIDAY, June 9th
- 9am - 2pm Board of Directors Business Meeting and Strategy Session
- 2pm - 4pm Program: Malheur Refuge Staff Informational Panel
- Refuge Management, Maintenance, and Biology Staff will be sharing some highlights of their work on the ground. They will answer questions and mingle with attendees.
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Evening Happy Hour, Banquet, and Presentation: Wetlands of the Klamath Basin - Historical Conditions are the Path to a Successful (Wetter) Future with FWS Biologist John Vradenburg
SATURDAY, June 10th
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Migrate Across Malheur Event: Hotspot Hosts will greet visitors and tell them all about cultural and natural history of the popular Refuge site they are assigned. Of course, you will also encourage people to bird the site and share what they see! To volunteer, email Janelle at friends@malheurfriends.org
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Do YOU have an Auction worthy item or activity that you would like to contribute as an In-Kind donation to the Friends Membership Weekend?
Email Janelle, friends@malheurfriends.org
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The programs taking place during our 2023 Members Weekend will be FREE with Donations gladly accepted. |
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Come celebrate dark skies and all things nocturnal at Malheur NWR Headquarters. This program takes visitors behind the gates to the Blitzen River Boat Launch. There, we’ll take a sunset bird walk (6:30pm-8:00pm), then look for owls, bats, and badgers (8:00pm-9:00pm), and enjoy a star viewing experience with the Oregon Observatory (9:15pm until we end!).
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Muddy Work but Someone's Gotta Do It!
Rain, wind, and snow couldn’t stop ten intrepid volunteers from gathering at the refuge for a work party on May 5th for a weekend of stewardship work. Fortunately, the following day was more cooperative - both old timers and newbies worked under blue skies - but in ankle deep mud!
Yes, mud, but even that couldn’t keep them from removing several hundred yards of old, wildlife unfriendly, barbed wire fencing!
Why do they do it? Listen to the things they say while working.
“It’s actually fun doing this!”
“This is so satisfying!”
“Feels like honest, worthwhile work!”
“Bet the deer will be surprised!”
Aren’t volunteers wonderful? The Friends of Malheur NWR are endlessly grateful for folks like YOU who support this important work with muddy boots and all!
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Thank you to Alice Elshoff and Donna Owens for providing leadership for this work party.
The team consisted of Christine Psyk, Kristina Edson, Jan Kinney, Jennifer Haynes, Judy Meredith, Cindy Zalunardo, Jody Golightly, Clay Crofton, and Ken Kendall!
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By Lynn Fox, FOMR Volunteer
There is nothing more exciting than springtime at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Driving from Portland during the first week of April, this year’s excitement started with icy roads on Mt. Hood and a dusting of powder that blew me into Burns as I drove my old RV, Maxine, east from Bend. Maxine is a 1985 Toyota RV that is generally reliable and safe as long as I peg the speedometer at about 55 mph. She no longer has a functioning heater fan motor, so I happily bundle up for my drive to the refuge where high temperatures can be in the 30s if we’re lucky.
This being my fourth year of volunteering, I approached the refuge slowly, circling around Hotchkiss and Greenhouse Lanes, surveying the farm fields for my first sighting of Snow and Rosses geese. They take off with a whoosh and a cacophony of honks that thrills me and tells me I have arrived! READ MORE
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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.
May 5, 2023: Enjoy this visual bouquet of high-desert wildflowers!
Top to bottom, Left to right: Sagebrush buttercup (Ranunculus glaberrimus) • Yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica) • Bighead clover (Trifolium macrocephalum) x2 • Great Basin violet (Viola beckwithii) • Anderson's larkspur (Delphinium andersonii) • Long-leaf phlox (Phlox longifolia) x2 • Sand lily (Leucocrinum montanum) x2
Photos by Peter Pearsall
Follow the Friends of Malheur on Facebook and Instagram at Malheurfriends!
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Malheur HQ Visitor Center
7 Days/Week | 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Current Membership Total: 953 |
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Not a Member or need to RENEW?
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
Mink at Refuge HQ by Dan Streiffert
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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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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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Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
36391 Sodhouse Lane
Princeton, OR 97721
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