Oregon Badlands Wilderness
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The Oregon Badlands Wilderness is a
wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
located east of Bend in Deschutes and
Crook Crook is another name for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places * Crook, County Durham, England, a town * Crook, Cumbria, England, village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derbyshire, England * Crook, Colorado, United States, a ...
counties in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
. The wilderness is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the
National Landscape Conservation System National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West.Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected a ...
, which was signed into law by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
on 30 March 2009. The area is known for igneous castle-like rock formations, harsh terrain, ancient Juniper trees,
sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...
, and extensive arid land. Desert wildflowers, dry river canyons, and Native American
pictographs A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...
can be found. The blind iditarod racer Rachel Scdoris trained in the area, and the wilderness is home to the western terminus of the Oregon Desert Trail.


Geology

The wilderness is situated on high desert terrain and is associated with a volcanic rootless shield. This broad volcanic shield issued
lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
from a rootless vent. The lava flow dates to about 80,000 years old and comes from a main vent further up the slopes of
Newberry Volcano Newberry Volcano is a large active shield-shaped stratovolcano located about south of Bend, Oregon, United States, east of the major crest of the Cascade Range, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Its highest point is Paulina Peak ...
. This main vent was located near Lava Top Butte and the lava that came out of this vent travelled through the Arnold Lava Tube System to arrive at the current location of the Badlands. An irregularly-shaped pit crater at the top of the shield marks the site where lava flowed in all directions to create the Badlands.Badlands Natural History
- Oregon Natural Desert Association
Lava tubes A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...
acted as conduits for the lava in some instances and are evidenced on the surface by
tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
, also known as pressure ridges. Soils in the Badlands were largely formed from ash associated with the eruption of
Mount Mazama Mount Mazama (''Giiwas'' in the Native American language Klamath) is a complex volcano in the state of Oregon, United States, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. Most of the mountain collapsed following a major erupt ...
some 7,700 years ago. It is the northwesternmost part of the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion, described as Pluvial Lake Basin, and shares many characteristics of the Great Basin.


Ecology

Native vegetation in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness have adapted to the less than of annual rainfall. Western juniper can live to be over 1,000 years old in the region. The oldest dated tree in Oregon – estimated to be over 1,600 years old – grows near the wilderness. Other common plants found in the Badlands wilderness include big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and various bunchgrasses, including Idaho fescue and
bluebunch wheatgrass ''Pseudoroegneria spicata'' is a species of grass known by the common name bluebunch wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is also known by the scientific synonyms ''Elymus spicatus'' and ''Agropyron spicatum''. The g ...
. In the spring, the area blooms with a variety of wildflowers, including
Oregon sunshine ''Eriophyllum lanatum'', with the common names common woolly sunflower, Oregon sunshine and golden yarrow, is a common, widespread, North American plant in the family Asteraceae.Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 116 Descri ...
, dwarf monkeyflower, sulfur buckwheat, Indian paintbrush, and
mariposa lily ''Calochortus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family. The group includes herbaceous, perennial and bulbous species, all native to North America (primarily the Western United States). The genus ''Calochortus'' includes mariposa ...
. The wilderness is home to a variety of wildlife, including
black-tailed jackrabbit The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...
,
mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...
, elk,
pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...
,
cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...
, coyote,
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s and six species of lizard. More than 100 species of bird live in the area, including
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 birds of ...
,
sage grouse Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed throug ...
, and
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&n ...
.


Administration and stewardship

The Oregon Badlands Wilderness is administered by the Bureau of Land Management, and is situated within the agency's Prineville District. Before the wilderness designation, the Prineville District's BLM Liaison partnered with outside volunteers to develop physical restoration projects. These volunteers later incorporated as Friends of Oregon Badlands Wilderness after having donated over 1,200 hours of work mapping the area, repairing trailheads, installing kiosks and signs, and removing obsolete fencing that was a hazard to wildlife. As of 2010, Friends of the Oregon Badlands Wilderness had used social media tools to organize over 200 Bend-area residents to execute these projects. In 2010, the BLM approved the retirement of a grazing permit called the Lynch Allotment, which allowed cattle grazing on a parcel adjoining the wilderness. The parcel is part of a region called the Juniper Woodlands Special Management Area, and contains old-growth juniper home to deer and elk. The Oregon Natural Desert Foundation paid the value of the permit, roughly $10,000, to the compensate the rancher who previously grazed the parcel. The move was supported by adjoining landowners and the unanimous Deschutes County Commission. Because the grazing permit had limited demand and presented significant social and environmental conflicts, the Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan did not require the BLM to initiate a burdensome retirement process. According to ONDA, conflicts with hikers and equestrians contributed to the ranchers interest in retiring the permit. The Prineville District of the Bureau of Land Management is currently developing a management plan for the area. The plan is intended to provide guidance for "preserving and enhancing wilderness values while offering opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, as well as managing other land uses and activities".


Wilderness designation

The BLM designated the Oregon Badlands a wilderness study area in 1980, and proposed federal wilderness designation for the Oregon Badlands in 1989. Although there was popular local support for wilderness status in the years that followed, issues such as grazing rights and off-highway vehicle (OHV) access were subjects of contention. Wilderness designation was opposed by the Oregon Cattleman's Association and a non-profit group devoted to trail access for OHVs. Among the groups that supported wilderness designation were the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), the Bend city commissioners, and a rancher named Ray Clarno, who held a grazing permit within the proposed wilderness area. Clarno, alleging that off-road riders cut his fences and left cattle gates open, promised to retire his grazing rights if OHVs were barred from the area. He followed through on this promise in 2005, when the BLM banned OHVs from the Badlands. ONDA estimated the cost of buying out grazing permits from a total of four affected ranchers at about $100,000. The proposed and final legislation designating the wilderness area included provisions for land swaps between private and public holders. The
Central Oregon Irrigation District Central Oregon Irrigation District is a municipal corporation to provide irrigation water for Central Oregon, U.S. The canals serve agricultural and industrial users in the arid lands between Alfalfa, Bend, Redmond, Terrebonne, and Powell Butte ...
, which was neutral on the matter of the wilderness itself, supported the proposed legislation because it would benefit from the land swap. As of 1999, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden supported wilderness designation, and Oregon Senator
Gordon H. Smith Gordon Harold Smith (born May 25, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and academic administrator who served as a United States Senator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009. On Septe ...
opposed it. Because the Deschutes County commissioners disagreed about wilderness designation, the Deschutes County Commission ultimately took no official position on the issue. The County Commission received 1,572 comments on the subject, with 75% of them favoring wilderness designation. Polls of Deschutes County residents conducted in 2002 and 2004 showed an increasing majority support for wilderness designation. In the 2004 poll, 57% of respondents favored the creation of a wilderness area, and 28% were opposed. Wilderness designation was officially granted on 30 March 2009, with the passage of the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected a ...
.


See also

*
List of Oregon Wildernesses The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies: *United States National Park Service (NPS) *United States Forest Service (USFS) *United States Fish and Wild ...
*
List of U.S. Wilderness Areas The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies: *United States National Park Service (NPS) *United States Forest Service (USFS) *United States Fish and Wild ...


References


External links


Hiking the Badlands
* Badlands petroglyph
page 1
an
page 2

BLM Brochure and Trail Map
(PDF)
Oregon Badlands Wilderness Area
- BLM page {{authority control Wilderness areas of Oregon Badlands of the United States Protected areas of Crook County, Oregon Protected areas of Deschutes County, Oregon Bureau of Land Management wilderness areas in Oregon Protected areas established in 2009 2009 establishments in Oregon Units of the National Landscape Conservation System