Hart Lake is a shallow lake in the
Warner Valley
The Warner Valley is a valley in south-central Oregon in the United States. It is a remote valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Basin and Range Province. The valley is home to a chain of lakes and wetlands known as the Warner ...
of eastern
Lake County, Oregon
Lake County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,160. Its county seat is Lakeview. The county is named after the many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Abert, Summe ...
, United States. The lake covers and has the most stable water level within the valley's
Warner Lakes
The Warner Lakes are a chain of shallow lakes and marshes in the Warner Valley of eastern Lake County, Oregon, United States. The lakes extend the length of the valley, covering approximately .
The lakes are named in honor of Captain William H ...
chain. The lake is named for the heart-shaped brand used by the pioneer Wilson and Alexander cattle ranch established near the lake. Much of the land around Hart Lake is administered by the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
(BLM) and the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
(FWS). The lake and the surrounding
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s support a wide variety of birds and other wildlife. Recreational opportunities on and near Hart Lake include
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
,
bird watching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, ...
, and
boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...
.
Geography and geology
Hart Lake is located in the Warner Valley in south-central Oregon. It is a natural lake that covers and is approximately long and wide. Annual precipitation in the Hart Lake basin averages from .
The valley is approximately long and wide. Most of the valley is in Lake County; however, the north end extends about into
Harney County
Harney County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,495, making it the sixth-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Burns. Established in 1889, the county is named in ho ...
. It is an
alluvial
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
basin containing numerous lakes, remnants of a single lake that covered the valley floor up to deep during the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
epoch. Today, steep cliffs rise above a chain of
endorheic
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
lakes, such as Hart Lake, known collectively as the Warner Lakes. The valley has two regions commonly referred to as the South Warner Valley and the North Warner Valley. The two areas transition between Crump Lake and Hart Lake at a point where the valley narrows to about in width.
[Whistler, John T. and John H. Lewis]
"Location and General Conditions"
''Warner Valley and White River Projects'', United States Reclamation Service, United States Department of Interior in cooperation with the State of Oregon, Washington D.C., February 1916, pp. 16–19.["Hart Lake (Lake County)"](_blank)
, ''Online Atlas of Oregon Lakes'', Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, August 14, 2013.["Warner Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern"](_blank)
(PDF), Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Lakeview, Oregon, August 26, 2005.
Hydrology
![Northern Hart Lake (Lake County, Oregon scenic images) (lakDA0090)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Northern_Hart_Lake_%28Lake_County%2C_Oregon_scenic_images%29_%28lakDA0090%29.jpg)
The entire lake has an average depth of and a maximum depth of at a normal water level. The deepest part of the lake is at its north end, while the south half is comparatively shallow. Hart Lake not only gets the overflow from Crump Lake, but also receives a steady flow of fresh water from Honey Creek. As a result, Hart Lake has the most stable water level within the Warner Lakes chain. Any outflow during high water drains into Anderson Lake, just north of Hart Lake.
The water in Hart Lake is quite murky due to suspended particles stirred up from the shallow bottom by wave action. However, water clarity is not a good indicator of the lake's
trophic state. The amount of nutrients in the lake is very high;
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
and
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
levels indicate a
hypereutrophic
The Trophic State Index (TSI) is a classification system designed to rate water bodies based on the amount of biological productivity they sustain. Although the term "trophic index" is commonly applied to lakes, any surface water body may be inde ...
condition. This is counterbalanced by the
chlorophyll
Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...
level and related
phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Ph ...
growth, which are typical of a
mesotrophic lake. This is due to the reduced light level in the lake's cloudy waters, so overall, the lake is classified as
eutrophic
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplank ...
, with very high
turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can ...
.
Ecology
In addition to the lake's fish population, Hart Lake provides a unique
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
for plants and animals along the shore. The west-facing slope of Hart Mountain runs along the eastern shore of the lake. This area is typical
high desert scrubland dominated by
big sagebrush
''Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in ari ...
and desert grasses. The areas to the north, south, and west of the lake are mostly meadows and marshland, where marsh grasses are common along lake shores.
[Gottberg, John Anderson]
"Pronghorn Paradise"
, ''The Bulletin'', Bend, Oregon, August 16, 2009. In addition,
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
,
cottonwood,
choke cherry
''Prunus virginiana'', commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, Virginia bird cherry, and western chokecherry (also black chokecherry for ''P. virginiana'' var. ''demissa''), is a species of bird cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Padus'') nat ...
, and
wild roses are found near the lake. Local wildlife includes common high desert mammals, resident birds, and migrant waterfowl.
[Ivey, Gary L.]
"Warner Basin"
(PDF), ''Oregon Closed Basins'', Oregon Wetlands Joint Venture, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Ducks Unlimited, Lake Oswego, Oregon, September 28, 2000, pp. 21–22.[Rakestraw, John]
"Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and the Warner Valley"
in ''Birding Oregon: 44 Prime Birding Areas with More Than 200 Specific Sites'', Falcon, Guilford, Connecticut, 2007, pp. 20–22, .
, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Interior, Jamestown, North Dakota, February 1, 2013.
![Hart Lake Area (Lake County, Oregon scenic images) (lakDA0084)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Hart_Lake_Area_%28Lake_County%2C_Oregon_scenic_images%29_%28lakDA0084%29.jpg)
Hart Lake's native fish species include the Warner sucker,
tui chub
The tui chub (''Siphateles bicolor'') is a cyprinid fish native to western North America. Widespread in many areas, it is an important food source for other fish, including the cutthroat trout.
Range
The tui chub's range includes the Lahonta ...
, and
Great Basin redband trout
The Great Basin redband trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii'') is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the western United States.
The Great Basin redband trout is native to drainages in south central Oregon east of th ...
. The redband trout and small populations of the other species are also found in Honey Creek. These stream-dwelling populations have likely been the source for re-colonizing Hart Lake after extended drought killed the lake populations. In addition to the native fish,
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
,
crappie
Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.
Etymology
The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...
,
smallmouth bass, and
bullhead catfish
''Ameiurus'' is a genus of catfishes in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the United States, the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas''), the brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus''), a ...
have been introduced into the lake. These non-native species have put significant pressure on some of the native fish, which is why the Warner sucker is classified as ''threatened'' species. A 1996 fish survey estimated the total population of adult Warner suckers resident in Hart Lake at only 493 individuals. To help preserve and restore the lake's threatened fish populations, the Fish and Wildlife Service developed a species recovery plan in 1998.
There are 42 mammal species that live in the areas around Hart Lake. Mammals common in the Hart Lake shoreline and marshes include
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
s,
striped skunk
The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ac ...
s, and
muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
s.
There are 264 species of birds that inhabit the area around Hart Lake or stop at the lake during migration.
Species that nest near the lake include
sandhill crane
The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...
s,
American white pelican
The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winte ...
s,
double-crested cormorant
The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes, and in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alas ...
s,
willet
The willet (''Tringa semipalmata'') is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a relatively large and robust sandpiper, and is the largest of the species called "shanks" in the genus ''Tringa''. Its closest relative is the lesser yel ...
s,
Wilson's phalarope
Wilson's phalarope (''Phalaropus tricolor'') is a small wader. This bird, the largest of the phalaropes, breeds in the prairies of North America in western Canada and the western United States. It is migratory, wintering in inland salt lakes ...
s,
gadwall
The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.
Taxonomy
The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...
s,
northern shoveler
The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Euro ...
s,
American coots
The American coot (''Fulica americana''), also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family (biology), family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate or ...
,
western grebe
The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe".
Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America we ...
s,
Clark's grebe
Clark's grebe (''Aechmophorus clarkii'') is a North American waterbird species in the grebe family. Until the 1980s, it was thought to be a pale Polymorphism (biology), morph of the western grebe, which it resembles in size, range, and behavior. ...
s,
black-crowned night heron
The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...
s,
Canada geese
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
,
mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
s, and numerous other varieties of
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
s and
tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...
s. In addition,
white-faced ibis
The white-faced ibis (''Plegadis chihi'') is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.
This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south ...
,
great white egrets,
great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
s, and
American avocet
The American avocet (''Recurvirostra americana'') is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae, that is found in North America. It spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill fro ...
s are found in the marshes and along the lake shores.
Just north of Hart Lake, at the Warner Wetlands Interpretive Site, there are bird observation blinds maintained by the Bureau of Land Management where
American bittern
The American bittern (''Botaurus lentiginosus'') is a species of wading bird in the heron family. It has a Nearctic distribution, breeding in Canada and the northern and central parts of the United States, and wintering in the U.S. Gulf Coast ...
s,
black-necked stilts,
cinnamon teal
The cinnamon teal (''Spatula cyanoptera'') is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, ...
,
tundra swan
The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the w ...
s,
Brewer's blackbird
Brewer's blackbird (''Euphagus cyanocephalus'') is a medium-sized New World blackbird. It is named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.
Description
Adult males have black Feather, plumage with an iridescent purple head and neck and glo ...
s,
western meadowlark
The western meadowlark (''Sturnella neglecta'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, about in length. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berri ...
s,
nighthawk
The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name i ...
s, and several
swallow
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...
varieties are commonly observed.
[Douglas, Jeff (producer)]
"Warner Wetlands"
, ''Oregon Field Guide'' video (Episode 1005), Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland, Oregon, 1999.
In the meadows and marshes around Hart Lake,
dusky flycatchers,
yellow warbler
The yellow warbler (''Setophaga petechia'') is a New World warbler species. Yellow warblers are the most widespread species in the diverse genus ''Setophaga'', breeding in almost the whole of North America, the Caribbean, and down to northern S ...
s,
orange-crowned warbler
The orange-crowned warbler (''Leiothlypis celata'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Taxonomy
The orange-crowned warbler was formally described in 1822 by the American zoologist Thomas Say under the binomial name ''Sylvia ...
s,
house wren
The house wren (''Troglodytes aedon'') is a very small bird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed native bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban ar ...
s, and
spotted towhee
The spotted towhee (''Pipilo maculatus'') is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and until 1995 this bird and the eastern towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided towhee. A ...
s are common in the summer months. The larger birds common to the Hart Lake area include
great horned owl
The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...
s,
long-eared owl
The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...
s,
turkey vulture
The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus ''Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South ...
s,
prairie falcon
The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&nb ...
s,
red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...
s,
marsh hawks,
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
s, and
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
s.
History
Native Americans used the Warner Valley's lakes and wetlands for thousands of years before the first white explorers arrived. The natives made
petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s along the eastern shore of Hart Lake, some of which are dated to 12,000 years ago. The
Greaser Petroglyph Site, approximately southeast of Hart Lake, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
In December 1843, Captain
John C. Fremont led a party of explorers through the Warner Valley. Fremont and his party spent Christmas Day camped near Hart Lake. In honor of the date, Fremont named it "Christmas Valley" and the lake "Christmas Lake". However, early mapmakers mistakenly plotted Christmas Valley northwest of its actual location, leaving the valley and its lakes unnamed on early maps.
[McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, "Warner Valley", ''Oregon Geographic Names'' (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, pp. 1010–1011, .]
In 1867, General
George Crook
George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...
decided to build a fort in the Warner Valley to prevent Indian raiding parties from passing through the area. To get his wagons across the wetlands, he had a bridge built across a narrow, marshy channel between Hart Lake and Crump Lake.
["Stone Bridge and the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road", ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form'', National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., August 13, 1974.] Known as the
Stone Bridge, the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hart Lake is named for the heart-shaped brand used by the pioneer Wilson and Alexander cattle ranch. The ranch was established in the Warner Valley near Hart Lake prior to 1878 by Henry C. Wilson and his son-in-law C.G. Alexander. Later in the 19th century, much of the private land near Hart Lake was acquired by physician
Bernard Daly
Bernard Daly (17 February 1858 – 4 January 1920) was an American country doctor, businessman, banker, rancher, state representative, state senator, county judge, and regent of Oregon State Agricultural College (today's Oregon State University) ...
and became part of his "7T Ranch". By 1916, the 7T Ranch encompassed more than north and west of Hart Lake.
Beginning with the earliest pioneer ranchers, water from Honey Creek was diverted for
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
. By the 1930s, irrigation canals had significantly reduced the flow of water into Hart Lake. In most years, the diversions did not stop the flow into the lake. However, during periods of drought, the entire flow of fresh water was diverted, visibly lowering the water level in Hart Lake. The canal structures also impeded fish migration between the lake and Honey Creek's habitat. In 1950, a
dike
Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to:
General uses
* Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian"
* Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment
* Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice
* Dikes ...
was constructed at the north end of the lake to increase its water holding capacity.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Warner Valley experienced an extended drought, reducing the water in Hart Lake to a dangerously low level. In 1992, the lake dried up completely. Before the lake water had disappeared, the Fish and Wildlife Service captured a number of
Warner sucker
The Warner sucker (''Catostomus warnerensis'') is a rare species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. Native to Oregon in the United States and found only in the Warner Lakes, Warner Basin, its distribution extends just into ...
s for temporary relocation. Upon the end of the drought, the fish were reintroduced in the lake.
"Salvage, Refuge Populations, and Captive Propagation"
, ''Recovery Plan for the Native Fishes of the Warner Basin and Alkali Subbasin'', Oregon State office, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Interior, Portland, Oregon, April 1998, pp. 32–33. In 1998, the FWS published a recovery plan for threatened fish species in the Warner Lakes system.["Recovery Plan for the Native Fishes of the Warner Basin and Alkali Subbasin"](_blank)
(PDF), Oregon State office, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Interior, Portland, Oregon, April 1998.
Recreation
Most of the land to the south and east of Hart Lake is privately owned. However, the Bureau of Land Management administers the Warner Wetlands north of the lake. In addition, the land along the east shore is part of the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on Hart Mountain in southeastern Oregon, which protects more than and more than 300 species of wildlife, including pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mule deer, sage grouse, and Great ...
, which is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. These public lands offer numerous recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing, bird watching, boating, and camping. However, some of these activities are dependent on the water levels of the Warner Lakes, which can fluctuate dramatically.["Warner Wetlands"](_blank)
, Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Portland, Oregon, October 12, 2009.
Due to Hart Lake's stable water level, it is usually available for fishing and boating. There are no developed campgrounds near Hart Lake, although dispersed camping is allowed on BLM-administered lands adjacent to the lake. There is a day-use recreation site at the north end of Hart Lake at Hart Bar. There are also public restrooms, sheltered picnic tables, and hiking trails at the Warner Wetlands Interpretive Site, north of Hart Lake.
References
External links
Bureau of Land Management information on Warner Wetlands
Oregon Public Broadcasting video: ''Warner Wetlands''
{{authority control
Bureau of Land Management areas in Oregon
Endorheic lakes of Oregon
Lakes of Lake County, Oregon
Lakes of Oregon
Wetlands of Oregon