Wildlife Preserves
By Wendy BeyeLesson 2: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
This refuge plays an important part in the future existence of many species of birds that pass through the area during migrations, or that nest here in the spring.
History
The Malheur (mal-'hewer, meaning "misfortune" in French) National Wildlife Refuge is located in southeast Oregon, on the high desert of the Harney Basin. The lakes in the area are shallow, filled with alkaline water that was of no value to wagon trains of thirsty settlers that passed through in the mid-1800s, though the Northern Paiute Indians had successfully lived in the area for centuries. In 1872, a cattle ranch was established in the Blitzen Valley just south of Malheur Lake. The ranch eventually encompassed over 190,000 acres and more white settlers began moving in to claim land. Plume hunters swarmed the lakes to harvest swans, egrets, herons and grebes for feathers for the eastern millinery trade. Feathers were literally worth more by weight than gold, and the beautiful white egrets were nearly exterminated by hunters eager to cash in on the fashion craze. Additional pressure was put on bird species by degradation of habitat through overgrazing by the ranchers' cattle.
Finally, at the prompting of the National Audubon Society, Theodore Roosevelt created the Lake Malheur Reservation by proclamation in 1908. Malheur, Mud, and Harney Lakes were included in the Reservation, and were patrolled by wardens to prevent poaching of birds nesting or resting on their annual migration routes. Ranchers continued to drain wetlands in the area, and the lakes began to dry up. The government stepped in after several years of drought to buy property in the Blitzen Valley to ensure an uninterrupted flow of water into the lakes. By the early 1940s the last purchase of land was made to increase the preserve's size to its present 187,000 acres, the Civilian Conservation Corps built stone headquarters buildings, and the name of the Reservation was officially changed to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
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