Wildfire Season Preparations
Wildfire Season Preparations

People Who Collaborate

Mark Owens first stepped foot in Harney County when he was 16; he came with a high school friend to work on their ranch. Born in Walnut Creek, CA where he spent the first 8 years of his life his family then moved to the Boring/Gresham area outside of Portland. "The first time I came into Harney County I was turning 16, didn't know what alfalfa was, didn't know what ground water irrigation was, I didn't really know what rural frontier Oregon was. It was a great experience, great people, a great way to spend a summer." Little did Mark know at the time but this place he spent his summer would one day become his home.  READ MORE.

Wildfire Season Preparation

The Harney Basin has witnessed a relatively wet spring and early summer, which logic suggests is good news for the upcoming wildfire season. Burns Interagency Fire Zone (BIFZ) Fire Planner, Casey O’Connor suggests there’s a little more to the story though. “Despite the welcome relief from a fairly wet April and May, most of our area is still listed as being in an extreme to exceptional drought by the Drought Monitor. Weak snowpacks are a large factor in this.” READ MORE.
Pictured: Crew member on the 2021 Black Butte Fire, source InciWeb

Special Issue of Rangelands Available

Available from ScienceDirect a special issue of Rangelands authored by presenters at the December 2020 Invasive Annual Grass Workshop.
High Desert Partnership, with help from the Oregon SageCon Partnership and Oregon State University Extension Service, brought together the rangeland community to provide a forum for discussion among practitioners addressing invasive annual grasses in the rangelands of Oregon and surrounding states. The success of the workshop led to the development of this special peer-reviewed issue of Rangelands. The authors came together with their respective research and management perspectives to provide a comprehensive picture for effectively coordinating and collaborating in managing invasive annual grasses at a landscape scale.
Click the button below to access this special issue.
Rangelands Special Issue

As a 501c3 nonprofit High Desert Partnership has a board of directors that guide this vessel. It's a group of nine individuals who volunteer their time to be vested in collaborative problem solving and opportunity seeking in Harney County and beyond.


They're people who don't relish the limelight but rather exhibit quiet leadership that helps the HDP team navigate the various roads being taken while anticipating future journeys. Their role is critical and one of the reasons HDP is celebrating 15 years.


Pictured above are three board members, Chad Karges, Gary Marshall and Anna Gahley taken during a spring field tour in the Harney Basin.

Celebrating Harney County Youth

Save the date and join us for celebration and conversation.
  • Thursday, September 29 | Community Dinner | 6pm, downtown Burns
  • Friday, September 30, 9am-3:30pm, multiple locations
Contact Denise Rose at denise.youthconnect@gmail.com with any questions.

Ag Succession Planning and Easement Workshops

Oregon Agricultural Trust is offering two free farm and ranch succession planning and working land easement workshops in Harney County Monday July 18 and Friday September 9. Check out the flyer below for information and contact Marc Hudson at marc@oregonagtrust.org with any questions.
 2022 Upcoming Events 
Monday, July 18 | Harney County Forest Restoration Collaborative Forest Tour
Wednesday, July 20 | Harney County Wildfire Collaborative Range Tour
Wednesday, July 20 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Thursday, July 21 | Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan Collaborative Meeting
Tuesday, July 26 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, August 17 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Tuesday, August 23 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, August 24 | Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, September 7 - Sunday, September 11 | Harney County Fair & Rodeo
Wednesday, September 21 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Tuesday, September 27 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Thursday, September 29 & Friday, September 30 | Youth Changing The Community Collaborative, Community Event
Check out High Desert Partnership's event calendar.

Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative and

Reviving Malheur Lake

Harney County Wildfire Collaborative and
Megafire Prevention

Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative and
Wild Flood Irrigation

Six Collaboratives Supported By

High Desert Partnership
HDP Website
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