HARNEY COUNTY WATERSHED COUNCIL

The Harney-Malheur-Lakes Basin Watershed Council recognizes that the economic and ecological prosperity of the basin and watershed is "dependant upon the current and future availability and quality of water". Based on this belief, the watershed council has advanced a three-part goal: 1) Determine the health of individual watersheds or watershed segments; 2) Retain the health of high quality watersheds; and 3) Restore and enhance those watersheds, or portions thereof that can be improved. One ecological enhancement project spearheaded by the Council is the Five Creeks Rangeland Restoration Project. Located north of Steens Mountain, this enormous restoration effort covers 75,000 acres and focuses on restoring native sagebrush steppe and riparian plant communities, with the goal of improving habitat for wildlife, fish, livestock, and wild horses. The landscape-based approach being used for this project will take several years to show positive results, but experts hope that it will become a successful model that can be used at other sites.

For more information on the Harney County Watershed Council, contact:

Karen Moon
450 N Buena Vista
Burns, OR 97720
541-573-8199

References

Harney County Watershed Council. Accessed February 10, 2010.

Authored by Caitlin Bell, Science Writer, Oregon Explorer