“Filling Up on the Dark Night Skies of the Owyhee Desert"
Recently a group of Friends of the Owyhee ventured to Birch Creek Historic Ranch for a sun-drenched, quiet celebration of Public Lands...
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Notes from the Field
denispijetlovic
Sep 42 min read
Encounters in the Wild: Leslie, the Old Wild Horse of the Owyhee
Author: Denis Pijetlovic (Germany) | Trail-Name: Rooster On my thru-hike (May-July 2024) along the Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) in the...
566 views0 comments
MJ Winter - Community Organizer
Aug 143 min read
PERSONAL STEWARDSHIP IN OUR PUBLIC LANDS
Stewardship on our public lands.
44 views0 comments
Andrea Bonadiman
May 224 min read
Mental Health & the Outdoors
In an age where we are all constantly going from task to task oftentimes with our eyes suctioned upon a screen for hours on end, it can...
42 views0 comments
Andrea Bonadiman
Apr 12 min read
Guardians of the Owyhee: A Call to Protect Our Western Frontier
Out on the Western front, when you grow up in the vastness of open spaces, rolling hills, and abundance of access to public lands; it is...
87 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
Mar 28, 20235 min read
Owyhee Challenge!
Supporting community, supporting health, and supporting responsible recreation! [Most of the] Friends of the Owyhee "team" for the Owyhee...
215 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
Oct 20, 20226 min read
Partners Building Community: EUVALCREE and Friends of the Owyhee
“Can you put together some outdoor activities for us? Things that are fun but also educational about the outdoors, about nature? About...
107 views0 comments
Katalin Plummer
Jul 29, 20224 min read
A Morning at Succor Creek
I’m not sure which month is the hottest here in eastern Oregon, July or August. In any case, the stifling heat of the summer months makes...
233 views1 comment
Steve Silva
Jul 22, 20227 min read
Trail Dust: A Desert of a Different Stripe: The Trans-Zion Trek
All photos below are by Steve Silva. All this year, I've enjoyed a great and regular routine of wandering around our local desert,...
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Steve Silva
Jun 20, 20226 min read
Trail Dust: Trail Angels & Purposeful Kindness
Wow! What started out as a dry and nervous spring has turned into one wild and wooly early season to be remembered. I had given up on any...
87 views1 comment
Katalin Plummer
Apr 8, 20227 min read
Lucky #12: Group Size Limits in Wilderness Standards
Maybe it's just me, but when a colleague that has been working in the industry longer than I have tells me a piece of information, I...
411 views0 comments
Katalin Plummer
Mar 11, 20226 min read
Leave the Arrowhead: Respecting Public Lands & Their Resources
A couple of weeks ago, we had our donor recognition celebration at our favorite Ontario hangout, Berts Growler Garage. While we had some...
534 views0 comments
Steve Silva
Feb 4, 20225 min read
Trail Dust: Owyhee Hiking Club (Or Looking at Cool Rocks Club)
As another month rolls in, I couldn’t help but think that January just wasn't going to end. Between the cold temperatures, the sun...
102 views1 comment
Steve Silva
Jan 7, 20225 min read
Trail Dust: Oregon Desert Trail
The new year is upon us, and for me, that's an exciting mark on my calendar. While many think that winter is still in charge, I challenge...
203 views0 comments
Steve Silva
Dec 17, 20216 min read
Trail Dust: Use Your Winter Wisely
Winter. What does the word mean to you? Do you see mountains of white or feel the bone-numbing cold of the Arctic? We have four distinct...
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Sammy Castonguay
Nov 8, 20216 min read
Mission Fulfilling Day
We were on the road before sunrise. “Just left Ontario,” Tim texted. “Grabbing the coffee,” I replied. Sunrise cast pink-orange light on...
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Sammy Castonguay
Sep 28, 20218 min read
In Search of Owyhee's Oldest Rocks
Jack Peak—standing at just over 10,000 feet and seen here at the head of a glacial valley—is made of approximately 400 million-year-old...
545 views0 comments
Chris Chalmers
Aug 27, 20213 min read
A Leslie Gulch Adventure
This guest post comes from Chris Chalmers, a web developer and proud dad. All photos are his. This April, I took my family to Leslie...
280 views0 comments
Tim Davis
Jul 27, 20214 min read
The US Air Force & the Owyhee
The United States Air Force (“Air Force”) has proposed to lower the flight ceiling as well as the subsonic and supersonic barriers over...
285 views2 comments
Katalin Plummer
Jun 3, 20213 min read
A Day in the Owyhee
I’m learning that, in this industry, sometimes the work is well-timed and easily planned out. Other times, it’s a mad rush to the...
123 views0 comments
Katalin Plummer
May 14, 20214 min read
How To Leave No Trace
Summer is just around the corner, and we’re all spending much more time outdoors, whether it’s with FOTO or not (although, you know, it...
74 views0 comments
Katalin Plummer
Apr 30, 20213 min read
Owyhee or Owyhees: Which One Is It?
When I first started at Friends of the Owyhee, one of the first conversations I had with Tim was about this very subject. He clarified...
441 views0 comments
Katalin Plummer
Apr 16, 20215 min read
International Dark Sky Week & Light Pollution
A couple of years ago, I got a smartwatch for Christmas from my dad. When I was looking at the display options, I had a fleeting thought...
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Katalin Plummer
Apr 1, 20215 min read
Lower Owyhee Canyon: History, Recreation, & Conservation
Even if you haven’t been to the Owyhee yourself and have just heard about it, you’ve likely heard of the Lower Owyhee Canyon. Its name...
317 views0 comments
Katalin Plummer
Mar 19, 20215 min read
Sagebrush: the Ever-present Plant of the Owyhee
If you’ve been outdoors in eastern Oregon, western Idaho, or northern Nevada, you are guaranteed to have seen sagebrush. Sagebrush is the...
373 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
Feb 16, 20212 min read
Owyhee Land Acknowledgement: Bannock-Shoshone and Northern Paiute Ancestral Land
Patulaykaspa or "stands beside place" is the Sahaptin language word for Malheur Butte, which is just west of Ontario, Oregon (home base...
603 views1 comment
Sammy Castonguay
Feb 9, 20213 min read
Clean-Ups are Cool!
Does unsightly garbage along the road, in parking lots, or—the worst!—stuck in a sagebrush a hundred miles from town make you cringe? Us...
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Sammy Castonguay
Dec 16, 20203 min read
"Plogging" Our Way Through the Community!
Friends of the Owyhee joined forces with the Kiwanis Club of Ontario to pick up litter around town. I have been a member of the Kiwanis...
33 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
Oct 30, 20205 min read
Owyhee Science Field Camp October 2020
"I've never seen a rainbow so clear!" exclaimed Aiden, Ontario 6th grader that took part in our recent Owyhee Science Field Camp. Quinn,...
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Kelsea Jones
Aug 28, 20202 min read
Doing Owyhee Work
My first month of work with FOTO has been incredibly inspiring. Let me tell you why.
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Sammy Castonguay
Aug 14, 20203 min read
We Adopted Succor Creek State Natural Area!
...and just in time, too. As Tim discussed in this local news article, public lands in the Owyhee saw a great deal of use at the...
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Sammy Castonguay
Jul 25, 20203 min read
Did the Beaver Give the Owyhee its Name?
Not exactly, but long story short: yes! Sounds a bit mythological, right? Beavers in the Owyhee? The Owyhee beaver is indeed present and...
314 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
Jul 9, 20207 min read
10 Naturalist Field Guides for the Owyhee
Plants! Trees! Birds! Rocks! Amphibians! Reptiles! Mammals! Stars! Clouds! Mushrooms! Insects! During our guided day hikes, we are often...
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Sammy Castonguay
Jun 12, 20205 min read
Owyhee Fungi
Puhpowee: Potawatomi word describing the phenomenon of a mushroom emerging from the ground overnight. (Source: Braiding Sweetgrass by...
690 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
May 22, 20204 min read
Canyon Time: Timefulness Along Dry Creek
Canyon Time. That’s what I call it. That feeling that you get while camping, on a trail, or just chilling under the cliffs—the feeling...
190 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
May 13, 20203 min read
Geologic Work at Jordan Craters
This content originates from the BLM Oregon and Washington Facebook site and has been reproduced with permission. As far as Oregon...
202 views0 comments
Sammy Castonguay
Apr 7, 20207 min read
Lost Time at Hole-in-the-Ground
After a long dirt road—as per usual in the Owyhee—we arrived at an impressive rim that overlooked a sight of such grandeur, my mind...
1,141 views1 comment
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