Fish & wildlife Field Guide

Northeast Oregon Wildlife Mitigation Project: "Precious Land"

The Northeast Oregon Wildlife Mitigation Project began as an opportunity to return a parcel of canyon land in Wallowa County to its original owners, the Nez Perce Tribe, to manage as a wildlife preserve.

In the mid-1990s, the tribe, working with the Trust for Public Land, a non-profit organization dedicated to land preservation, purchased the Chief Joseph Ranch, a 10,300-acre parcel of land, to provide diverse habitat, native grasslands, and riparian stream bank habitat for the many kinds of wildlife living there. The project was designed to manage high quality canyon grassland to benefit targeted wildlife species, as well as Endangered Species Act-listed summer steelhead, and serves as partial mitigation for the wildlife losses attributed to the lower Snake River complex of dams.

Joseph Canyon from the east side (photo by Ron Cronin). Click to enlarge.

The property's somewhat limited access, and the possibility of future land acquisitions, made it strategically attractive. Since the initial purchase of the ranch in 1996, the project has used land acquisition and management as a tool to improve habitat conditions for native species. All project lands lie within the lower Grande Ronde watershed and have a special significance for the Nez Perce Tribe. Until the arrival of white settlers, this rugged and lush country in northeastern Oregon was home to the Wallowa band of Nez Perce for thousands of years. The project represents the first land the tribe has owned in Wallowa County since the Nez Perce War in 1877. In a simple ceremony, on a rainy spring day, people gathered in Joseph Canyon to commemorate the historic return of the Nez Perce to their ancestral home. The blessing named the land in Nez Perce ?Hetewisniix Wetes,? or ?Precious Land.?

Currently, 15,359 acres have been purchased and are being managed in perpetuity for wildlife and watershed benefits. The project's goal is to ultimately obtain 16,500 acres of land. Approximately 14.6 miles of perennial streams are being managed to improve riparian habitat conditions to benefit wildlife and ESA-listed Snake River steelhead. Native plants are being restored through a combination of techniques, including removal of domestic livestock, noxious weed control, and the re-establishment of native species on disturbed sites. Additionally, 123 acres of low-productivity agricultural land will be converted back to native bunchgrasses, trees, and shrubs.

The overall goal of the project is to protect, restore, and manage the canyon land for the benefit of native species like elk, big horn sheep, quail, and other wildlife while protecting native vegetation and the watershed.