Chintro Malheur WQ Study Introduction
Hydrology and Water Quality at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Tim Mayer, Rick Roy, Tyler Hallock, Kenny Janssen U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service INTRODUCTION Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is located in Harney Basin in southeastern Oregon (Figure 1). The refuge encompasses 187,000 acres of open water, wetlands, springs, riparian areas, irrigated meadows and grain fields, and uplands. The original executive order in 1908 protected Harney, Mud, and Malheur Lakes. The refuge was expanded to include the Blitzen Valley in 1935 and the Double-O Unit in 1941. The refuge serves as a major feeding, resting, and nesting area for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, marsh birds, colonial nesting waterbirds, raptors, and passerine bird species. Water and marsh habitat management on the refuge benefit large numbers of breeding and migrating birds including ducks, geese, swans, colonial nesting species, and other marsh and shorebirds. The refuge also supports large numbers of greater sandhill cranes. The value of the habitat on the refuge is largely dependent on the availability and management of water resources. Much of the water management on the refuge occurs in the Blitzen Valley, where the infrastructure for water management exists. The Donner and Blitzen (Blitzen) River begins on Steens Mountain and flows north through the Blitzen Valley unit of the refuge and into Malheur Lake (Figure 2). A system of dikes, canals, drains, and water control structures was developed in the early 1900s to facilitate grazing and farming. Twenty miles of the river was channelized and straightened at the same time. The water distribution system still exists and is used by the refuge to manage water in the Blitzen Valley.
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