Notes from the Field

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...

A couple of weeks ago, we had our donor recognition celebration at our favorite Ontario hangout, Berts Growler Garage. While we had some...

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...

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...

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...

We were on the road before sunrise. “Just left Ontario,” Tim texted. “Grabbing the coffee,” I replied. Sunrise cast pink-orange light on...

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...

This guest post comes from Chris Chalmers, a web developer and proud dad. This April, I took my family to Leslie Gulch in 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

If you’ve been outdoors in eastern Oregon, western Idaho, or northern Nevada, you have guaranteed seen sagebrush. Sagebrush is the common...

"Patulaykaspa" or 'stands beside place' is the Sahaptin language word for Malheur Butte, which is just west of Ontario, Oregon (home-base...

Unsightly garbage along the road, in parking lots, or [the worst!] stuck in a sagebrush a hundred miles from town. Make you cringe? Us...

Friends of the Owyhee joined forces with the Kiwanis Club of Ontario to pick up litter around town. New Kiwanian and Ontario City Council...

"I've never seen a rainbow so clear!" exclaimed Aiden, Ontario 6th grader on Owyhee Science Field Camp. Quinn, in the red in the distant...

My first month of work with FOTO has been incredibly inspiring. Let me tell you why.

… and just in time. As Tim discussed in this local news article, Public Lands in the Owyhee had high use in the beginning of the...

Not exactly, but YES! Photo from National Wildlife Federation blog "Beavers, Water and Fire: A new formula for success" by Brianna...

Plants! Trees! Birds! Rocks! Amphibians! Reptiles! Mammals! Stars! Clouds! Mushrooms! Insects! Photo by Devin Dahlgren, devindahlgren.com...

"Puhpowee!" Potawatomi word describing "the phenomenon of a mushroom emerging from the ground overnight". -- from Braiding Sweetgrass, by...

Photo of Dry Creek by Devin Dahlgren -- devindahlgren.com Canyon Time. That’s what I call it. That feeling while camping, on a trail, or...

This content originates from the BLM Oregon and Washington Facebook site. Reproduced with permission. As far as Oregon geology goes, a...

After a long dirt road, as per usual in the Owyhee, we arrive at an impressive rim overlooking such a sight of grandeur my mind skips a...