Steens Backcountry Fence Repair Trip

The Oregon Natural Desert Association has openings for a few more volunteers to join us for the Steens Backcountry Fence Repair Trip July 8-13. Volunteers will backpack into our base camp located along the Donner und Blitzen River. The work includes several days of repairing sections of the Steens Mountain Wilderness boundary fence and opportunities to explore the area. This giant fault block Mountain, nearly 10,000 feet high, carved by glaciers, and covered by wildflowers elicits terms such as “gem”, “jewel”, and “iconic”. This year, the Oregon Natural Desert Association is offering an additional backpacking work trip on Steens Mountain.

Helping remove obsolete fences from cow-free areas has been an ONDA priority since it was founded in 1987. Recently, ONDA has acquired the skill set to build and repair fences. Sometimes fences can be a good thing for wildlife. This is certainly the case for the cow free boundary fence to the Steens Wilderness that is the only thing keeping the cows out. On this trip we will backpack to the edge of the Wilderness boundary and spend several days working with the BLM to repair the boundary fence.

Register and learn more about this trip at the Oregon Natural Desert Association’s website.