Written by Peter Pearsall/Photos by Richard Hamilton, Lomakatsi Restoration Project
The 2024 Tribal Stewards have finished their six-week summer fieldwork program. The six-person crew, all members of the Burns Paiute Tribe, participated in conservation work at Malheur National Forest, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
During the first week, the crew was busy collecting and planting more than 2,000 willow stakes along creek beds and other riparian habitats in Malheur National Forest. They also created enclosures for the willow stakes in open areas to prevent trampling by cows, deer, or people.
Week two was focused on fence removal (~2 miles of fence) from pastures near Big Creek Campground, Malheur National Forest. The crew removed about two miles of fence, including associated rockjacks, posts, and barbed wire.
Week three took the group to Malheur Refuge. The crew started out their time on the Refuge with an airboat tour of Malheur Lake, learning about the different bird species that use Tern Island. Here they were able to take in the vastness of the once heavily vegitated hemi-marsh we refer to as a Lake. Then they joined Teresa ‘Bird’ Wicks of Bird Alliance of Oregon for training on Passive Acoustic Monitoring devices which are being used heavily throughout the Basin. Habitat Ecologist Travis Miller and FOMR’s Seasonal Technician Emilee Gooch took the crew on a tour of the Refuge’s Blitzen Valley to inspect fish ladders and collect data on fish on the Donner und Blitzen River. Perhaps the highlight for the group was spending a morning with Rhonda Holtby of the Burns Paiute Tribe learning about and harvesting bull rush. Rhonda then sat with the crew and shared stories while teaching them to make traditional duck decoys with their bull rushes. Lastly, they conducted snowy plover surveys on the Harney Lake playa with Teresa Wicks. In addition to the jam packed week of experiential learning at Malheur NWR, Friends of Malheur were also able to provide all 6 crew members and both Leads with field packs stuffed with goodies like bug spray and head nets, first aid kits, sunscreen, and field journaling kits!
Weeks four, five and six involved native seed collection and planting at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. In particular, they collected Thurber’s needlegrass seed for post-fire rehabilitation. The group also explored exhibits and interpretive offerings at the Monument’s visitor center.
“This stewardship program is bringing Native youth into the conservation field, giving them professional experience that is relevant to caring for their own homelands,” said Richard Hamilton of Lomakatsi Restoration Project. “It was really cool to see these youth interested and engaged throughout the six-week program. It’s also really cool to see staff within government agencies so enthusiastic about working with Tribes, incorporating Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (ITEK) to care for resources on public lands.”
Read a related article from Lomakatsi.
The 2024 Crew’s time at Malheur was funded in part by a grant from Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission and individual Member donations. Friends of Malheur NWR are interested in continuing our annual support of the Tribal Stewards Program spending a week at Malheur NWR and we can do that with YOUR help!
