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Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is situated in Southeast Oregon. It is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 39 miles (62.7km) in width and 40 miles (64.3km) in length, this part looks much like a lopsided tree. It encompasses a high desert region that receives water from the snowmelt. It is due to a number of lakes and a 32 mile (51.4km) long river here that there exists a wide variety of birds in the refuge.
In the late 1800s, President Theodore Roosevelt realized that this area is quite rich but is under threat and needs to be preserved. Therefore, in 1908, he established an 81,786 acre (331.2 square km) ground to persevere the birds. Later on this area became one of the biggest refuges in the refuge system.
In the 1850s, some miners heard about this green valley that had 8-foot-tall (2.4m) grasses right in the heart of the desert. This information was conveyed to the stockmen and they moved in without any delay. So, this area was under the control of the French people at that time.
When it was time to name this refuge, a French trapper got this opportunity. He named it as “Malheur”, which means “misfortune”. Misfortune came with the incident of a murder that happened due to the conflict of land. So, this area, which was flourishing under the control of the French people, started to become worse. However, at present, this refuge is spread in 185,540 acres (751.4 km2) of land.
The life of birds was affected badly when heavy flood hit the area once. It took a lot of time to recover from the flood that had resulted from heavy snowmelt some years ago. However, today, this refuge protects wild life constantly.
- Mailing Address:
PO Box 245,
Princeton, OR 97721
- Telephone: (541) 493-2612
- Website: www.fws.gov/malheur
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