Protecting a Great Western Stream: WRC Buys Ranch Along John Day River

Western Rivers Conservancy has completed purchase of the Murtha Ranch, a stunning stretch of the lower John Day River celebrated for its fish and wildlife habitat.

The 8,114-acre ranch, together with its 8,000-acre Bureau of Land Management grazing lease, encompasses 16 miles of exceptional wild lands along the lower John Day in north-central Oregon.

In the entire Columbia River basin, precious few corridors remain of wild, unfragmented habitat at this scale – more than 16,000 acres in all.

The Murtha Ranch’s landscape is breathtaking, and it can be restored to even greater beauty and biological health. Desert bighorn sheep roam the rocky canyon. In the uplands, restoring the native shrub-steppe ecosystem will enhance habitat for a number of rare native species, including: ground-nesting birds like the grasshopper sparrow and burrowing owl; birds of prey like the ferruginous hawk and loggerhead shrike; and reptiles like the sagebrush lizard.

Along the river, what was once a tall cottonwood forest can be reestablished on more than 350 acres of the Murtha Ranch’s lowlands. Large trees would shade the river and benefit the entire ecosystem.

The Murtha Ranch also includes the bottom three miles of Hay Creek, a tributary that summer steelhead depend on to spawn and rear because it runs cold and clear year-round. The John Day River has the healthiest runs of wild summer steelhead in the Columbia basin, where they are listed as a Threatened species.

Conservation of the ranch presents a great opportunity to enhance low-impact recreation. Public access that is compatible with the conservation goals will offer a premier outdoor experience for anglers, boaters, hikers and hunters.

Western Rivers Conservancy will hold title to the Murtha Ranch while a long-term management plan is developed. WRC's vision is to see the 16,114 acres of deeded and leased lands restored to high-quality native habitat. Conservation of this property will also fill a gap in a 148-mile-long reach of protected land in the lower John Day Wild and Scenic River Corridor, and help complete the larger community vision for conservation activities across the entire John Day River basin.

Critical support for our work on the John Day River has been provided by the Mead Foundation, Weeden Foundation, Charlotte Martin Foundation and Jubitz Family Foundation.