People Who Collaborate

Bringing back a spotlight on Casie Smith, U.S. Geological Survey Ecologist, who we previously profiled. Casie is an instrumental contributor to the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative; below is a story about one of the projects she has been key toward making happen.

What's unique about Casie's work with USGS is that she does not design or implement restoration actions, but conducts scientific investigations. "We can assess the scientific merit of restoration designs and can monitor effectiveness of actions. For example, you would not see USGS staff transplanting bulrush with shovels and backhoes. But we (USGS) could 1) apply knowledge from past studies to hypothesize how transplanting bulrush could affect lake water quality and habitat, and 2) monitor bulrush survival and the effect on water quality after transplanting." Studies like these can then influence future restoration actions. READ MORE.

Malheur Lake Project Looks to Improve Habitat by Clearing Turbid Water

The refuge serves as an important stop on the Pacific Flyway, as millions of birds migrate north in the spring. Malheur Lake and the wet meadows of the Great Basin offer birds a place to stop and refuel on the long journey. On a global scale, wetland habitats are disappearing at a rate three times faster than forests according to the Global Wetland Outlook. To conserve the bird species and other wildlife that depend on these places, it is important to look at ways to preserve these crucial wetlands.

In the case of Malheur Lake, the turbid water was discouraging both emergent and submergent vegetation. This vegetation is what helps to create a habitat that can fuel birds on their migratory journey.

Partners of the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative, including U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, have worked together to study conditions in Malheur Lake and its surrounding wet meadows to see what will help improve habitat and what won’t.

Casie Smith, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and partners started a mesocosm study in Malheur Lake in 2021. The study involved using wave barriers and flocculation to see how both would impact turbidity in the lake.READ MORE.

Pictured: A mesocosm installed in Malheur Lake is an enclosed structure that allows scientists to study conditions — including reduced wind-wave action — in a controlled setting.

When HDP Travels West to Portland

Last week, the majority of the team from High Desert Partnership traveled to Portland for two days to connect with partners, funders, see the work of the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative represented in a new exhibit at OMSI and meet with a new friend in the urban neighborhood of Albina.

The trip opened with lunch at the McMenamins on Broadway, where we gathered with a remarkable group of partners and funders: Gray Family Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Humanities, National Policy Consensus Center, Oregon Consensus, Oregon Solutions, Oregon's Kitchen Table, Oregon Desert Land Trust, and Kelley Nonprofit Consulting as well as past board members and current partners. Over good food and great company we enjoyed a relaxed lunch on the west side of the state.

From there, we made a quick jaunt to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, where we toured the newly opened Nancy Stueber Natural Sciences Hall with Cecilia Nguyen as our guide. Inside, at the 'Voices of Change Theatre' within the hall we watched Stewarding Shared Water — a film centered on the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative — as part of a rotating loop featuring six groups across Oregon doing work to address climate resiliency. Watching the Harney Basin, and the work of so many dedicated partners, rendered on a museum screen in the heart of Portland was an extraordinary moment. To see the work we live and breathe daily reflected back through the eyes of the filmmaker and OMSI staff who traveled from a distance to capture the story was incredibly rewarding. [OMSI projects the Natural Sciences Hall could serve more than 800,000 visitors annually.]

The second day took us in a different direction. We spent time in the Albina neighborhood with JT Flowers of Albina Vision Trust, learning about a community that has faced its own version of erasure and displacement, shaped by decades of urban policy and disinvestment. Earlier in the week JT had spent a couple days in Harney County experiencing the place, meeting the people and participating in collaborative meetings. On the surface it may appear that an urban Portland neighborhood and a rural, remote community may not have much in common but as JT shared: "We both live in a desert, ours is concrete, yours is sagebrush."

Rural and urban communities may look nothing alike on the surface, but the dynamics of exclusion, of being talked about rather than talked with, of trying to hold place in the face of outside forces — those run surprisingly parallel. The work of building collaborative capacity, of centering local voice and long-term trust, matters everywhere.

THIS IS HARNEY

2026 Upcoming Events

Tuesday, May 19| Harney County Wildfire Collaborative Meeting

Tuesday, May 26 | Youth Changing the Community Collaborative Meeting

Wednesday, May 27 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting

Wednesday, May 27 | Harney County Forest Restoration Collaborative Field Tour

Monday, June 1 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting

Wednesday, June 24 | Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative Meeting

Wednesday, June 24 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting

Monday, June 29 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting

Check out High Desert Partnership's event calendar.

Six Collaboratives Supported By

High Desert Partnership

HDP Website

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