The U.S. Bureau of Land Management gathered nearly 40 wild horses in a management area in northern Malheur County just west of Harper as part of its 10-year plan to curb the growing horse population on more than 20,000 acres of public land.
Outdoors
Idaho reports first human West Nile case of 2023
Officials in Idaho confirmed a Weiser man was infected with the West Nile virus, the first human case this year in the state. Health officials in Oregon and Idaho urge people to take precautions in mosquito areas and to vaccinate their horses.
Range fire contained southeast of Harper
Overnight showers helped fire crews contain a range fire burning on 160 acres eight miles southwest of Harper.
BLM names Blustain to field manager post in Vale
The Vale District U.S. Bureau of Land Management has a new field manager.
Jonah Blustain took over the role on April 10.
New finding: Lack of humidity, not rainfall, is bigger problem for trees
An OSU team untangles the complicated way Northwest trees battle for survival during droughts. A story originally published in Climate Insight details the findings.
BLM wild horse plan will substantially reduce the population in two management areas in Malheur County
Malheur County is home to about 500 wild horses with the population doubling every four years. Federal officials say the area can sustain 150. Later this month the U.S. Bureau of Land Management will publish a 10-year plan to reduce the growing population on more than a quarter million acres of public land.
Wyden looks to expand protections for Owyhee River and Canyonlands
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s proposed legislation has been dubbed a bipartisan effort. The legislation would protect 15 miles of the Owyhee River from new damming and diversion of the river and designates 1.1 million acres of the canyonlands as wilderness. Additionally, there are provisions to establish broader public land management around cattle grazing. Meanwhile, some ranchers who are otherwise supportive of the bill are concerned about how the legislation will be implemented.
Community history – Carved in stone in Malheur County
Rock carvings on the remote sandstone bluffs of Malheur County present glimpses of local history, according to Michael Wanzenried, an archaeologist with the Bureau of Land Management in Vale.
Backcountry deputy patrols remote Malheur County
Deputy Brian Belnap’s job takes him to the remote reaches of Malheur County, watching not just for crime but for ranchers and outback adventurers in need of help. The Vale native’s job, funded by the Bureau of Land Management, suits him just fine.
Ontario prison-based project boosts future of sagebrush, vital for rangelands
Sagebrush, a vital plant for water and wildlife in the rangelands of the West, is getting a boost from a cultivation project at Snake River Correctional Institution.