Written by Peter Pearsall/Photo by Sage Brown

The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) is partnering with the Lomakatsi Restoration Project to lead the Inter-Tribal Ecological Stewardship Training, using public lands of Oregon’s high desert as an outdoor classroom. 

ONDA launched the Tribal Stewards program in 2019 to provide paid opportunities for Indigenous youth and young adults to work on restoration projects and gain experience in conservation and stewardship career paths. The goal of this program is to support emerging conservation leaders in tribal communities while completing projects to improve ecosystem health in Oregon’s high desert. 

This year’s program lasts 6 weeks and takes place in Malheur National Forest, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 

While on the Refuge, the crew will conduct Point Blue Bird Observatory and National Audubon’s Intermountain West Shorebird Surveys on Harney Lake and Stinking Lake playas with Teresa Wicks of Bird Alliance of Oregon. 

Other activities will include a tour of Malheur Lake to learn about cutting-edge passive bird monitoring through Automated Recording Units, and potentially a bat fly-out survey at dusk. There will be opportunities to work with local Burns Paiute Tribal Leaders to provide Cultural Harvest opportunities. 

Lomakatsi has a proven track record of coordinating successful, culturally conscious, and enriching natural resources career experiences for Indigenous youth.   

“Partnering with ONDA for this program gives us an opportunity to kickstart a young, stewardship-focused workforce in the Burns Paiute Tribe area, providing a living wage job that hopefully leads to something bigger and better,” said George Swartzlender, Tribal Initiatives Project Manager at Lomakatsi. “The skills and experience that youth gain from this program will keep them going for years, not just six weeks.” 

This is the first time all six members of the Tribal Stewards cohort hail from the Burns Paiute Tribe. 

“One of the underlying goals of the Tribal Stewards program is to give opportunities for young tribal members from tribes around Oregon’s High Desert to work on their ancestral homelands,” said Gena Goodman-Campbell, Stewardship Program Director at ONDA. “We’re very excited that the partnership with Lomakatsi has allowed us to have, for the first time, an entire crew made up of members of the Burns Paiute Tribe.  

She added, “The crew will be exposed to a broad array of career possibilities in stewardship, restoration, and natural resource science on public lands. Our hope is that the Tribal Stewards program is a positive experience for these young people, who may come back to work for Burns Paiute Tribe after college some day.” 

FOMR’s sponsorship of this program includes funds from a $5,000 FOMR Grant, a $6,000 grant from the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission, and Member donations.