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Otter Bench Trail System Trailhead
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Lone Pine Trail sign near Lower Crooked River
Wildlands Monitoring Project
The Prineville Bureau of Land Management (BLM) needs help monitoring the conditions of Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) on their district.  If you enjoy hiking, this is a great opportunity, as you can help ensure that public land trails are in good condition.

Monitoring work involves hiking cross-country routes, designated trails, and some driving within these areas to steward these places, pick up trash and keep an eye out for any positive or negative changes you see taking place on the landscape.

Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA)  will train volunteers to know what to look for on the ground and how to navigate and record data.  Once trained, you can go out on your own year-round, pick up litter, and send a short Trail Monitoring Report to BLM.

Choose one trail or several, monitor once a week or once a month. The choice is yours.  

TRAILS THAT YOU CAN "ADOPT" FOR MONITORING:

Within the WSA on Deschutes River side of Crooked River Ranch:
Steelhead Falls Trail
Steelhead Falls Rim Trail (could be combined with above)
Foley Waters Trail
Scout Camp Trail
Sand Ridge Trail

BLM land on Crooked River side of Crooked River Ranch:
Otter Bench Trail
Horny Hollow Trail (could be combined with above)
Lone Pine Trail
Pink Trail
Opal Canyon Loop Trail

If you are interested, please contact Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area's Hiking Coordinator, Jeff Scheetz, at 503-277-9110 or jscheetz@ix.netcom.com or e-mail fansofdeschutes@gmail.com.