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| Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area | |
|---|---|
| Name | Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area |
| Location | Harney County, Oregon, United States |
| Nearest city | Burns, Oregon |
| Area | 425000acre |
| Established | 2000 |
| Governing body | Bureau of Land Management |
Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area is a federally designated conservation and lands-management region in southeastern Oregon centered on a fault-block massif known as Steens Mountain. The area preserves striking Great Basin high-desert landscapes, endemic flora and fauna, and Native American cultural sites while accommodating grazing, recreation, and research. Management is directed through cooperative frameworks involving federal agencies, tribal governments, and local stakeholders.
The CMPA was created by the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000 and is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, in partnership with the Burns Paiute Tribe, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and local entities such as Harney County. The designation balances multiple-use mandates from laws such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 with conservation objectives influenced by precedents like the Wilderness Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The area encompasses alpine plateaus, steep escarpments, and valley basins adjacent to public lands administered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state agencies like the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Steens Mountain is a steep-sided fault block rising from the Alvord Desert and the Harney Basin; its escarpment faces the Alvord Desert to the east and the Steens Mountain Wilderness to the west. Geologically, the massif records Miocene and Pliocene volcanic and tectonic events tied to the Basin and Range Province and the Columbia River Basalt Group. Prominent features include the Kiger Gorge, glacial cirques, and talus slopes; hydrologic elements include headwaters that feed Blitzen River tributaries flowing toward Malheur Lake. Elevation gradients create distinct biogeographic zones similar to transitions found in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains.
Human use of the Steens area spans millennia with archaeological and ethnographic ties to Northern Paiute, Shoshone, and other Plateau peoples who practiced seasonal hunting, gathering, and trade along routes comparable to those documented for the Columbia Plateau. Euro-American exploration and settlement in the 19th century involved figures and events such as the Oregon Trail, Hudson's Bay Company trapping networks, and U.S. Army surveys. In the 20th century, land uses included ranching by families and companies, sheep grazing conflicts, and federal grazing allotments administered under the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. The 1990s conservation movement, influenced by organizations like The Nature Conservancy and legal actions under the Endangered Species Act, culminated in the 2000 Act establishing cooperative management, a permanent U.S. Senate-sponsored statute championed by regional delegates.
Elevational and climatic gradients support alpine meadows, sagebrush steppe, subalpine fir stands, and riparian corridors similar to habitats protected in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. Plant communities include endemic and disjunct populations of species comparable to those in the Klamath Mountains and Blue Mountains. Fauna include large mammals such as bighorn sheep, elk, and pronghorn, avifauna like sage grouse and golden eagle, and predators including cougar and coyote. Wetland and riparian birds link to migration routes cataloged by the Audubon Society and federal partners. The area provides critical habitat for species addressed in recovery plans under the Endangered Species Act and regional conservation strategies coordinated with the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center.
Public access is managed to accommodate scenic driving, backcountry hiking, horseback riding, hunting, and fishing; notable access routes include the Steens Loop Road, managed seasonally by the Bureau of Land Management. Recreation planning coordinates with state entities such as the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and national programs like the National Historic Trails System when interpreting historic routes. Visitor use is regulated by allotments, permits, and closures informed by assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act and collaborative agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs when cultural sites are affected. Nearby gateways and services are concentrated in towns such as Burns, Oregon and Juntura, Oregon.
The CMPA protects archaeological sites, traditional plant-gathering areas, and ceremonial locations important to the Burns Paiute Tribe and other tribes represented by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and regional tribal governments. Cooperative management emphasizes traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and co-stewardship models advocated by entities like the Department of the Interior and tribal nonprofits. Conservation partners range from federal agencies to NGOs including the Oregon Natural Desert Association and academic institutions such as Oregon State University and University of Oregon conducting inventories and ecological research. The area is frequently cited in landscape-scale conservation initiatives linking to the Northern Great Basin Experimental Range and regional biodiversity corridors.
Key threats include invasive species such as cheatgrass and conifer encroachment that alter fire regimes, competition from domestic livestock tied to historical grazing allotments, and impacts from unregulated recreation similar to challenges faced in Joshua Tree National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Climate change projections modeled by agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest shifts in precipitation and snowpack affecting water resources that supply downstream systems such as Malheur Lake. Management challenges involve reconciling multiple-use mandates under statutes like the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 with species recovery goals under the Endangered Species Act, securing funding through Congressional appropriations, and implementing co-management frameworks that honor tribal sovereignty and treaty rights represented in cases before the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
Category:Protected areas of Oregon Category:Harney County, Oregon