Wet meadows across Malheur are buzzing with spring activity, but it is not all what you might expect. Biologists are continuing their work to monitor the bird communities with passive audio recording units, vegetation surveys are soon to begin, and water is being moved through the system to maintain quality habitat for a variety of species that are nesting or already raising young.

 

In one particular meadow, a single-site experiment is underway as part of the Malheur Wet Meadow Study, with the goal of testing whether virtual fencing and targeted cattle use can help suppress the rapid expansion of hybrid cattail and reed canary grass while supporting wet meadow habitat goals.

 

The project moved into its active field phase in May with a series of key steps. On May 11, Refuge Staff, with assistance from FOMR’s Conservation Stewardship Technician Ian Snyder, installed a Halter Base Tower at the Lava Beds Field study site (Photo below; left). The tower provides the communication infrastructure needed for GPS-enabled Halter collars, which will allow cattle movements to be guided remotely as part of the virtual fencing pilot.

 

On May 14, cattle selected for the grazing study were fitted with electronic GPS collars at Dan Otley’s ranch (Photo below; bottom-center). Refuge staff, including Habitat Ecologist Travis Miller, helped coordinate the process and enter the collar information into the Halter mobile application. This is where Miller will be able to monitor cattle movement and make adjustments to the position of the virtual fence boundary to apply pressure on areas of highest concern for invasives or move cattle away from identified sensitive areas.

 

Meanwhile, the Otley family and ranch hand Levi handled corralling and fitting the animals. After the collars were installed, Dan Otley was able to set up an initial, or test, fence boundary on his own property to begin training the herd before its move to the study site.

 

To protect monitoring equipment, cattle panels were installed around the autonomous recording units, or ARUs, on May 19 by Travis Miller, Ian Snyder, and HDP Technician Kate Barry (Photos below; top-center and top-right). The ARUs, deployed and monitored by Bird Alliance of Oregon biological staff are collecting acoustic data on bird use in the study area, and the protective panels help ensure the equipment remains in place and continues recording reliably while cattle are present.

 

 

On May 20, the Otley Ranch team and refuge staff moved 225 head of cattle, including bulls, cows, and calves, to Lava Beds Field. The move marked an important milestone for the project, bringing livestock into the study area for the first time under the virtual fencing system. Early follow-up checks were encouraging. On May 21 and again on May 26 (Photo above; bottom-right), all 225 cattle remained within the boundary of the virtual fence, showing that the system was effectively containing the herd and supporting the pilot’s initial objectives.

 

The experiment will help refuge staff and partners evaluate whether virtual fencing can be used as a practical management tool to direct grazing on invasive species within sensitive wet meadow habitat. If successful, the approach could help reduce dominant invasive vegetation, improve meadow structure, and support bird habitat goals while minimizing the need to utilize more intensive management actions