Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly 30 miles (48 km) south of the town of Burns, Oregon

Burns, Oregon

Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,806.-History:Burns was established in the early 1880s and incorporated upon Harney county's creation in 1889...

. The refuge area is roughly T shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen

Frenchglen, Oregon

Frenchglen is an unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon, United States. It is south of Burns on Oregon Route 205 and its population is approximately 12....

, the left top at Malheur Lake

Malheur Lake

Malheur Lake is a lake in an arid region of eastern Oregon, United States near Burns, Oregon. The lake is fed by Donner und Blitzen River from the south and the Silvies River from the north. Malheur Lake has no outlet, though water escapes through ground seepage and by evaporation; widespread...

 and the right top at Harney Lake

Harney Lake

Harney Lake is a shallow alkali lake basin located in southeast Oregon, United States, approximately thirty miles south of the town of Burns. The lake lies within the boundary of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and is the lowest point in the Blitzen Valley drainage.- History :The lake has been...

.

Named for an early pioneer, the refuge is a hotspot for birding, fishing and hiking.

Wildlife

Numerous wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

 occurs in the area, with as many as 320 species of birds and 58 species of mammals found in the refuge. A large number of birds and mammals can be found amongst the deserts, grasslands, marshes and rimrock. Malheur serves as a Pacific Flyway

Pacific Flyway

The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south route of travel for migratory birds in America, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or travelling to...

 stop for the Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...

 and Tundra Swan, Lesser and Greater Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane

The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...

, Snow Goose

Snow Goose

The Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...

 and Ross’ Goose

Ross's Goose

The Ross's Goose is a North American species of goose.The American Ornithologists' Union places this species and the other two "white" geese in the genus Chen rather than the more traditional "grey" goose genus Anser.This goose breeds in northern Canada, mainly in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory...

. Ducks, grebe

Grebe

A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s, pelicans and trumpeter swan

Trumpeter Swan

The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...

s are drawn to the numerous ponds, marshes and lakes. Deer, antelopes, ducks, pheasants, thrasher

Thrasher

Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the Mimidae family. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera.These do not form a clade but are a phenetic assemblage...

s and quails can be found in the upland areas amongst the sagebrush, greasewood

Greasewood

Greasewood, Sarcobatus, is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants. Traditionally it has been treated in the family Chenopodiaceae, but the APG II system, of 2003, places it in the family Sarcobataceae....

 and wild rye.

Geography

The Donner und Blitzen River

Donner und Blitzen River

The Donner und Blitzen River is a river on the eastern Oregon high desert which drains a relatively arid basin, the southern portion of Harney Basin, from roughly 20 to 80 miles south-southeast of Burns including Malheur National Wildlife Refuge...

 flows northward through the middle of the refuge, and is irrigated out to create a large artificial wetland, where once a natural wetland stood. The Donner und Blitzen River flows into Malheur Lake, which flows into Harney Lake forming a large salt sea (Harney Basin

Harney Basin

The Harney Basin is a structural basin in southeastern Oregon in the United States at the northwestern corner of the Great Basin. One of the least populated areas of the contiguous United States, it is located largely in northern Harney County, bounded on the north and east by the Columbia Plateau,...

). This open water brings thousands of migrating birds through the wildlife refuge every year. Along with the extensive marshland, the total size is 187000 acres (757 km²). Exceptionally hot in the summer, and cold in the winter, the late spring and early fall are popular times to visit this desert oasis.

In addition to being one of the most extensive freshwater marsh ecosystems in the western United States, Malheur NWR has sometimes generated controversy about land management practices.

External links

• Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

43.27°N 118.84°W