Please welcome Liz Jones, Friends of Malheur Refuge’s newest board member!

Born in Springfield, OR, and raised in Eugene, Liz attended the University of Oregon and has lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of her life.

She first stumbled upon the high desert of Harney County in the early 1980s, while returning from a two-week trip to Yellowstone National Park with her husband Jeff. They stopped at Page Springs Campground, near the southern edge of Malheur Refuge.

Liz knew immediately that they had found a special place. “I went, ‘Wow, I have to come back here,’” she said.

Living in Seattle at the time, she and her husband revisited Harney County on occasion over the years. After they moved back to Oregon in the early 90s to “come home,” as she puts it, she estimates that they’ve been back to visit every year since.

The waters of Harney County are what initially drew her here. “I’m not a passionate birder or a biologist. My passion is flyfishing,” she said. But over the years, she’s come to appreciate the collaborative efforts between stakeholders in the area to conserve natural resources, including those at Malheur Refuge.

Liz learned of FOMR recently, after she and her husband volunteered at the Refuge and the Nature Center & Store. She became a FOMR member soon afterward, and last month she accepted FOMR’s invitation to join the Board of Directors.

“I’m one of those people who join to make a difference,” she said. Liz comes from a corporate business background and brings years of organizational experience to FOMR. We’re very pleased to have her on board!