Owyhee Conservation Groups

Leslie Gulch with Friends

Friends of the Owyhee

Friends of the Owyhee (aka FOTO) is a grassroots organization, located in Ontario, Oregon, that supports protecting the Owyhee Canyonlands by organizing trips & informing the public. They have recently organized as a non-profit with a mission statement that reads “Friends of the Owyhee exist to build community around conservation advocacy, stewardship and recreation.”

The Owyhee region is vast and isolated, so if the area is new to you, or you are not comfortable going into the Owyhee on your own, or you just want to learn more about this unique region, you won’t find a better group of people to tag along with. You can check out the kinds of things they do and the organized trips they make by clicking on their Facebook Page.

Additional contact Info: Tim Davis (541) 212-1907.

You may also email the Friends at: owyheefriends@gmail.com to ask questions. Better yet, become a member, make a donation, or consider participating in some of their stewardship projects!

Burrowing Owl in the Owyhee Uplands
Burrowing Owl In the Owyhee Uplands

Learn More About the Owyhee Canyonlands Monument Proposal from ONDA (Oregon Natural Desert Assoc.)

Why does the Owyhee Canyonlands need to be protected?
 
The Owyhee Canyonlands is the largest conservation opportunity in the American West with millions of acres of wilderness quality lands and hundreds of miles of rivers and streams. But only five percent of the Owyhee Canyonlands is permanently protected, leaving vast expanses — and the hundreds of native species that call the land home — vulnerable to looming threats of industrial development, climate change, unmanaged recreation, and more. With the Owyhee Canyonlands, we have the opportunity to manage and preserve an expansive, intact natural wonder before it suffers irreparable damage and degradation.
 
What is the monument proposal?
 
The campaign to Protect the Owyhee is urging President Biden to establish a national monument based on the broadly supported proposal developed by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and co-sponsored by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley known as the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act (S.1890). With the legislation’s fate in Congress uncertain, President Biden has the power to enact the Senators’ community-led, consensus-driven vision through monument designation.
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