People Who Collaborate

Ben Cate is homegrown Harney County. A Highlander, he’s a 2005 graduate of Burns High School and after graduating from Oregon State University and starting his career, Ben returned to Burns in 2014 to begin work as the Wildlife Program Manager for the Burns Paiute Tribe.  Read more. . . 

It's About The Whole System

If you talked with doctoral student James Pearson you would hear hope in his voice for the research he, Dr. Tamara Wood and others are doing at Malheur Lake. Malheur Lake is a critical rest stop on the Pacific Flyway for 100’s of species of migrating birds, but at this point in time carp, wind and water level fluctuations have done serious damage to this important habitat. The research of Pearson and Wood could help those collaborating with the Harney Basin Wetland Initiative Collaborative determine steps to take to make sustainable improvements to Malheur Lake.

This year, 2019, proves to be another busy year of research looking at:
  • CARP: How will carp removal methods affect the carp population and subsequently the overall health of Malheur Lake? 
  • WATER LEVELS: How will lake level fluctuations affect the carp population and do these lake fluctuations uncover any vulnerabilities within the carp population that can be exploited?
  • WIND & TURBIDITY (how murky is water): How does wind and phytoplankton affect the turbidity in Malheur Lake? Can we positively influence light penetration via management tools in order to promote vegetation growth in Malheur Lake? 
The research at Malheur Lake is at a stage in which it’s about getting a deeper understanding of the system as a whole. This research will be crucial in determining specific management actions that will ultimately be used in the future to promote and maintain the restoration of Malheur Lake.

We’re looking forward to keeping you updated throughout the year as this research moves us forward.

"Full Contact Citizenship" Rewarded

Thank you to The Ford Family Foundation for their recent 3 year, $300,000 grant award to High Desert Partnership for "community building".
Harney County is known as a place where people practice "full contact citizenship" and this grant award will enable High Desert Partnership to continue the powerful practice of collaboration. The Harney County brand of collaboration uses the voices and perspectives of those who live, work and play in Harney County and this funding will help us continue the work of finding meaningful and impactful solutions for the social, economic and ecological issues facing Harney County.
The Ford Family Foundation was established in 1957 by Kenneth W. and Hallie E. Ford. Its mission is “successful citizens and vital rural communities” in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. The Foundation is located in Roseburg, Oregon, with a Scholarship office in Eugene.  

Special Event

Harney County Migratory Bird Festival
SAVE THE WEEKEND & mark your calendar for April 11-14
Registration for members began February 4 and begins for everyone February 11
Photo of yellow headed blackbirds by Peter Pearsall

Upcoming Events


Tuesday, February 5 | Harney County Restoration Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, February 6 | Business Development Workshop: Opportunities Knocks 
Wednesday, March 20 | Harney Basin Wetlands Initiative Collaborative Meeting 
Thursday, March 21 | Harney County Wildfire Collaborative Meeting
Thursday-Sunday, April 11-14  | Harney County Migratory Bird Festival
Check out High Desert Partnership's event calendar.

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” ~Thomas A. Edison

The Harney County Way

Reflections from The Harney County Way May 2018 Collaborative Summit.
You can be the difference!
Donate today and help us strengthen Harney County through collaboration. 
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Sagebrush Collaboration

A heavily researched story by professor and author Peter Walker of the strength and resilience of Harney County as the community faced a challenge it could have never anticipated.
It's been 3 years since the Bundys and their followers entered Harney County and disrupted life in this rural, tight knit county. This book revisits those days and how decades of collaboration lead to a community rejecting a revolution in favor of working together as it has done for many years. 
If interested, books can be purchased through Oregon State University Press, The Duck Store and Amazon. 
High Desert Partnership PO Box 252, Burns, OR 97720
541 573 7820 info@highdesertpartnership.org
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