People Who CollaborateDerek Shoun is a Fire Mitigation Specialist working with the U.S. Wildland Fire Service. In this role, he focuses on wildfire mitigation, preparedness, prevention, and education, working collaboratively with various community partners to develop projects to benefit southeast Oregon. "As a Fire Mitigation Specialist, I get to work a lot with the community and partners. My primary duties are to work with our partners and community in a collaborative manner to develop wildfire mitigation and preparedness projects. READ MORE.
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Wildfire Season2026 is setting an unfortunate record for Oregon as the worst wildfire season on record with more than 2 million acres burned so far. A total of 1,332 fires had been reported by late July. Harney County is a major hotspot — this time driven by the Coleman Creek, Second Flat, Bald Mountain and Jackass Butte fires.
"We thought that 2024 was going to be as busy as a July could get, and I can confidently say that 2026 has outpaced that year in terms of fires, scale of those fires, stretching of the resources, threats to communities," said Kyle Williams, the Oregon Department of Forestry's deputy director of fire operations during the Explore Oregon Podcast. "As far as the impact on eastern Oregon goes, it's probably the worst that we've had it, at least in modern times," Williams added. These quotes are from an article that originally appeared in Salem Statesmen Journal: Oregon wildfires near record for acres burned, new fires spark evacuations.
We want to extend our gratitude for the efforts of thousands of firefighters from across the U.S. and around the world for their hard work under extreme conditions to salvage what they can of the landscape and habitat while protecting homes, other structures and livestock. Many of these firefighters are participants of the Harney County Wildfire Collaborative and the Harney County Forest Restoration Collaborative, they know the land well and we're so thankful for their hard work. We also want to extend a special thanks to all the Rangeland Fire Protection Association (RFPA) volunteers working tirelessly along the firefighters.
Pictured: July 24, smoke from Second Flat Fire, photo by Mary Woodbury.
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How Trust Tames Wildfires—An article from Chronicle of Philanthropy
Mid June, 2024, weeks before the Falls Fire started, journalist Geoff Nudelman spent a day with rancher Gary Miller and his good friend Mike Fox. The reason for the visit, Geoff was writing an article for the Chronicle of Philanthropy about wildfire mitigation and the ability of ranchers and agencies to work together on this complex issue. The story is told through a profile of Gary, his difficult history with catastrophic wildfires and the Bureau of Land Management. It's about what has changed since the 1990 Pine Springs Fire and the 2012 Miller Homestead Fire caused so much devastation; the role Rangeland Fire Protection Associations, the Harney County Wildfire Collaborate and High Desert Partnership play and the ability of people to work together around a complicated, contentious issue. READAs this year's wildfire season continues we wanted to reshare this profile from 2024 that reflects some of where we've been and how far we've come toward working together during a wildfire season like the one we're having.
Photo by Bob Keefer.
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Refuge Turns to Electronic Barrier to Block Carp from Blitzen River
The proliferation of the invasive common carp has been an issue in Malheur Lake for a century. There have been numerous efforts over the years by Malheur National Wildlife Refuge staff to remove carp from the lake. Most recently, the refuge has been battling to keep the destructive fish out of the Donner und Blitzen River through fish traps. The Sodhouse fish trap can catch up to 1,800 carp if left open overnight. “Working with that can be a nightmare, and it jams up the system,” said Dominic Bachman, aquatic biologist with Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
This has prompted Bachman to seek out a different method, electric fish barrier, to keep carp out of the river. The new electric carp barrier will be installed in September and offers the refuge more flexibility in handling the carp than a traditional cement water diversion structure with a fish ladder. READ MORE
Rounding up carp through electrofishing, retrieving them from the water and tossing them to the bank.
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Anna Gahley about Living in Hines
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Nighttime Duck Banding
July 16 the annual nighttime duck banding effort took place. Each year this is conducted in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Working at Boca Lake ducks are captured from an airboat, where the driver uses a spotlight to locate birds while two netters stationed on the bow carefully capture them with handheld nets and place them into crates. Once the crates are full, the airboat returns to shore, where the ducks are unloaded, sorted by species, sexed, banded, and then released at the end of the night.
Duck banding provides valuable data on waterfowl populations, survival, and migration patterns, helping biologists better understand these species. Some of the ducks featured in these photos include the ring-necked duck (the black-and-gray duck with the bright yellow eye), the ruddy duck (recognized by its bright blue bill), the cinnamon teal (showing its vibrant blue wing patch), the northern pintail (the brown, speckled duck with its wing spread), and the northern shoveler (easily identified by its distinctive wide, spoon-shaped bill).
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Art in the Park, Inside Art in the Park came inside recently due to smoke for the final day of this annual summer camp where kids paint, draw, clog, craft, make fairy homes and more.
Summer Art in the Park is provided by Youth Changing the Community Collaborative, Kids Club, Harney County Service District #3 and the local arts community.
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2026 Upcoming Events
Monday, August 24 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 26| Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Date TBD | Harney Water Collaborative Meeting
Tuesday, Sep 22| Youth Changing the Community Collaborative Meeting
Tuesday, Sep 22| Harney County Wildfire Collaborative Meeting
Monday, Sep 28 | High Desert Partnership Board Meeting
Wednesday, Sep 30 | Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative Meeting
Wednesday, Sep 30 | Harney County Forest Restoration Collaborative Meeting
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