Willow Creek Field Tour – June 2022

Various partners (i.e., Owyhee and Malheur Watershed Councils, Malheur SWCD, NRCS, and BLM) showcased project work recently completed through programs including the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.  All projects used low-tech restoration techniques to restore a contiguous reach of Willow Creek and includes a patchwork of various private landowners and BLM administered lands. 

Indian Creek Fire Field Tour - May 2021

Staff from the Vale BLM District Office, Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Natural Resource staff for the Burns Paiute Tribe showcased post fire recovery efforts one year after the 50,000-acre Indian Creek Fire.  Twenty-five participants from various interest groups attended the field tour to see treatments and discuss ideas about how the LIT space could help streamline future response efforts.  

Accomplishments

• Winter 2022 - Vale LIT partners collaborative with the Harney County Wildfire Collaborative to receive a $5 million grant through Senate Bill 762 (held by the High Desert Partnership).  Treatments under the Southeast Oregon Wildfire Recovery (SOWR) project within the Vale LIT area include spraying IAGs along roadsides and across pastures of publicly administered and privately owned lands.  Vale LIT partners identified above were able to use this partnership with HDP and the funding opportunity to treat more than 26,000 acres across ownership boundaries.

• Spring 2022 – Vale and Baker LIT partners applied for BIL funds to treat IAGs and remove Phase I and II junipers across 22,000 acres of private and state lands.  The proposal was partially funded, and partners agreed to prioritize IAG treatments adjacent to the SOWR project.  Because this team set themselves up for success, they were able to easily repackage their initial proposal and recently submitted anther request for funding offered through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.  Funds for this opportunity also derive from BIL and intend to support partners collaborating to treat hazardous fuels that generate large-scale wildfires.  Grant awards will not be announced until FY23.

Partners

BLM, ODFW, USFWS, NRCS, DSL, Malheur County, Malheur SWCD, Malheur and Owyhee Watershed Councils, Burns Paiute Tribe, and Private Landowners