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| Birdwatchers at Malheur NWR David B. Marshall |
Established in 1908, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is situated on 185,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat in southeastern Oregon. Composed of 120,000 acres of wetland and sagebrush, this refuge protects a vast complex of wetlands in the desert of Oregon and is home to more than 320 species of birds, 58 species of mammals, including the pronghorn antelope, 10 species of native fish and many reptiles. Birdwatchers come to Malheur to see the waterfowl, northern pintail, tundra swans, sandhill cranes, snow geese and white faced ibises. Spring is the most spectacular season here, when more than 130 species of birds can be seen nesting.
South of
Malheur, Hart
Mountain National Antelope Range was created in 1936 as habitat
for remnant herds of pronghorn. Bighorn sheep, mule deer, sage grouse,
and redband trout also live in this high desert habitat, where the elevation
varies from 4500 to 8065 feet above sea level. From the rugged cliffs
and steep ridges on the west of Hart Mountain to the rolling hills and
sagebrush grasslands on the east, this refuge protects a rich mix of
native habitat types.
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Cabeza Prieta NWR
John & Karen Hollingsworth |
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, the third largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states, is about the size of Rhode Island. Over 90 percent of the refuge is designated wilderness. The climate extremes of daytime temperatures of over 100 degrees F for months on end and annual rainfalls varying from 3 inches in the west to 9 inches on the east combine to form a stark desert that nevertheless supports a variety of plants and animals. The endangered Sonoran pronghorn and lesser-long nosed bats, as well as desert bighorns, lizards, rattlesnakes, desert tortoises, elf owls, and Gila woodpeckers, are among the more than 300 kinds of wildlife that have adapted to the harsh conditions.
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