People Who CollaborateRon Whiting was born in Harney County and has spent his life ranching and participating in the community. His great grandparents arrived in 1874 and raised horses. Ron's granddad shifted from raising horses to operating a cow/calf business and started Lone Pine Ranch which Ron and his wife Linda are operating today just east of Burns. "When I first got out of college [Oregon State University, B.S. with a major in Animal Science] I always felt that I had to put in all my time here [on the ranch] and didn't have time to participate in groups like this collaborative [Harney County Wildfire Collaborative], but over the years my attitude has changed. The reality of the situation is that if we ranchers are going to stay in business, we have to put in the time participating in collaborative type groups." READ MORE.
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Meet the Ranchers Who Fight Wildfire in Oregon's Remote Ranglands
by Alejandro Figueroa, OPB
An article by OPB from June 30 about the role of Rangeland Fire Protection Associations on Oregon's rangelands. As OPB summarizes: As resources run thin, cattle ranchers in Oregon’s remote rangelands may not get fire protection right away, so ranchers are filling in the gaps. READ or LISTENCecil Dick, left, a member of the Burns Paiute Tribe, discusses the pump and valve assembly on a volunteer-built water tank trailer with a Burns-based U.S. Forest Service fire officer during field training May 20, 2026. Eleanor Moseman / OPB
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Harney Water Collaborative BeginsGroundwater is a vital resource in the Harney Basin. It supports ecosystems and agriculture, which forms the backbone of the area’s economy. For decades, the state permitted more groundwater use for agriculture in some parts of the basin than is replenished. This gap went unrecognized until the early 2000s, when groundwater levels started dropping quickly in certain areas of the basin. Today, the Harney Basin is designated a Critical Groundwater Management Area (CGWA), with state rules requiring reductions in groundwater use, and a Serious Water Management Problem Area (SWMPA), which requires flow meters be installed on all irrigation wells by March 2028.
The stakes are high. Agriculture is foundational to the area’s local economy, culture, and ways of life for past, current and future generations. While the rules aim to stabilize the aquifer, they present significant challenges for local water users, especially irrigators and ranchers. There are pathways within the rules—encouraging voluntary actions and allowing for adaptive management—that leave room for creative, community-led solutions, but their success depends on collaboration, trust, and practical implementation. Without a coordinated and community-driven response, state-mandated reductions risk serious harm to the agricultural economy and the broader community.
Harney County is not navigating this alone. Groundwater management is a critical issue worldwide, and lessons from other regions’ governance approaches may be instructive. Across Oregon, half the state's counties have experienced severe drought conditions in recent years. Seven counties face groundwater basins of serious concern due to decreasing water yields from pumping and/or declining groundwater levels. Harney County is among several Oregon counties where agricultural dependence and decreasing groundwater levels converge, making the path forward both urgent and consequential.
The Harney Water Collaborative formed to chart that path: finding durable, community-supported solutions that restore long-term water sustainability while protecting the economic, environmental, and social needs of the Harney Basin.
The first meeting of this new collaborative is July 29, 1-4pm at the Harney County Community Center. If you want to join this work RSVP here.
Photo by Jon Black, Destination by Design.
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Where You'll Find the Seasonal Monitoring Crew
This summer you could see the Seasonal Monitoring Crew out in rangelands around Drewsey and the OO conducting surveys to see whether treatments like the spraying of invasive weeds are having the intended effect. You could see them working with the Burns and Hines Fire Departments to reduce wildfire risk as well as studying post wildfire rangelands. You could see them in streams in the Malheur National Forest working alongside Forest Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel studying fish and stream conditions. You could also see them at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge conducting vegetation and aquatic inventory surveys to help with refuge management. You may also find them helping to farm a test plot of land in Crane that is running plant trials on a drip irrigation system, helping at weekly Burns Farmers Markets and helping students make art at the Art in the Park summer camp.
Summer crews of high school and college students are in Harney County each summer, participating in a program of High Desert Partnership's that is committed to strengthening the local workforce by providing meaningful, paid employment opportunities that foster career exploration, professional development, and hands-on learning.
Through partnerships with federal and state agencies, researchers, and local producers, college and high school students gain real-world experience across a variety of fields, including natural resources, agriculture, food systems, conservation, and community-based initiatives. The program equips seasonal employees with valuable technical and transferable skills, builds professional networks, enhances resumes, and exposes participants to diverse career pathways while developing communication, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. This program helps cultivate a skilled workforce and their work supports multiple collaborative efforts in Harney County.
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Oregon Rangeland Monitoring Program
Five of the summer seasonal crew is working on the Oregon Rangeland Monitoring Protocol (ORMP), a long-term monitoring effort designed to evaluate the durability of restoration projects over time. Their work involves collecting and analyzing data to help land managers determine weather treatments-such as the spraying of invasive weeds, have improved overall ecosystem function. Learn more about this from this recent article from SageCon Partnership.
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Dam Replacement Projects Manage Water More Efficiently
Since 2019, the High Desert Partnership’s Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative and a participant in the collaborative, Ducks Unlimited, have worked together to replace five key water diversion structures in the Harney Basin.
The new dams replaced derelict structures that were 75 to 100 years old. “These structures were largely a hodgepodge of crumbling cement, wood or rested metal braces that were operational burdens and were oftentimes dysfunctional either because they couldn’t appropriately divert water or they were in danger of breaches,” said Ashley Tunstall, Ducks Unlimited Southeast Oregon Biologist. Tunstall has been involved in overseeing these projects as well as monitoring them afterward.
In most cases, installing new structures would have been financially out of reach for individual ranchers. Through Oregon Water Enhancement Board (OWEB) grants and other funding, the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative (HBWC) and Ducks Unlimited can obtain funding for the necessary engineering and planning costs as well as the removal and construction of the replacement dams. The new structures offer ranchers and land managers a safer and more efficient way to manage flood irrigated meadows. These irrigated meadows also provide better migratory bird habitat. READ MORE
Below short videos of Sweek Dam before and after restoration.
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Showtime!
Earlier this year, seven community-led projects across Harney County were selected to receive Civic Experiment Grants through Trust for Civic Life.
One of these projects is the Missoula Children's Theater, organized by the Harney County Arts in Education Foundation. June 8-13—students from kindergarten through high school—had a week-long immersive experience in acting, singing and choreography that included two public performances. Enjoy a few pictures from the show!
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Treasure Valley Community College Names Marcus Nichols Teacher of the YearWe're proud to say Marcus Nichols is a High Desert Partnership board member and excited to share this honor he's recently been recognized with based on student selection.
From HDP's Director, Brenda Smith: I am a huge Marcus fan, so much so it is hard for me to put into words what he has done for Harney County.I started working with Marcus in 2009 when we had this idea to start a Rangeland Sciences Camp. He gets students real-life experiences and makes sure they have the connections to be hired after graduation. This includes a past student, Josey Wilson, who is HDP's Harney Basin Ecological Coordinator.
From Denise Rose, Youth Changing the Community Collaborative Coordinator: I think the Fire Ready program exists because of his inspiration. We were problem solving an agency concern that local kids were not applying for wildland firefighting jobs. He helped develop the idea of exploring operations across multiple fire organizations with kids unable to apply due to age limits. From last year's seasonal staff, 4 are in fire operations this summer.
He also played a role on campus, increasing TVCC Harney County presence by encouraging a revamp of the Burns High School outreach program. This summer, TVCC is providing guidance to locals in the Continuing Work Experience program for 13 high school students. They will receive credits for their summer jobs.
Congratulations Marcus!
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2026 Upcoming Events
Wednesday July 22| Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Planning Collaborative Field Tour
Monday, July 27 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Tuesday, July 28| Youth Changing the Community Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, July 29 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, July 29 | Harney Water Collaborative Meeting
Monday, August 24 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 26| Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, August 26| Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative Meeting
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