University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2001 Steens Mountain Divide: Beyond compromise in the Oregon high desert Tara Rae Gunter The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Gunter, Tara Rae, "Steens Mountain Divide: Beyond compromise in the Oregon high desert" (2001). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 4808. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/4808 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission No, I do not grant permission Signature: 2Author's 10 • O Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. 8/98 THE STEENS MOUNTAIN DIVIDE: BEYOND COMPROMISE IN THE OREGON HIGH DESERT by Tara Rae Gunter B.A. University o f Oregon, 1996 presented in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The University o f Montana August 2001 iroved by: lerson Dean, Graduate School -01 Date UMI Number: EP40272 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP40272 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQ uest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ' ProQ uest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Gunter, Tara Rae. M.S., August 2001 Environmental Studies The Steens Mountain Divide: Beyond Compromise in the Oregon High Desert (109 pp.) Committee Chair: Donald Snow Steens Mountain is located in the southeast comer of the Oregon High Desert, at the northern edge o f the Great Basin. The mountain is a place of exceptional ecological diversity—a “sky island” that is home to rare, endangered, and endemic flora and fauna as well as approximately 18,000 head o f cattle and thirty-five ranchers. Recently designated as the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area, it stands in contrast to the many national monuments declared by former President Clinton during the last years of his presidency. In August 1999, former Interior Secretary Bmce Babbitt visited Steens Mountain to settle the long-standing question of special designation. Instead of calling for administrative protection, Babbitt indicated that he would support legislation that would protect the mountain, designated through congressional action and local involvement. However, Secretary Babbitt also stated that if the legislative effort proved unsuccessful, he would recommend national monument designation through an executive order. This explicit threat set the wheels in motion for collaboration and intense negotiations between locals, environmentalists, state and federal government officials, and ranchers. It ultimately resulted in a legislative solution that many see as a new model for solving land management conflicts in the West. This is the first agreement of its kind. The results include the first legislated cattle-free wilderness area; land exchanges that help consolidate and protect the fragile, alpine areas on the mountain; the maintenance o f economically viable ranches in the low country; and the establishment of a diverse citizens’ advisory committee that will assist the BLM in managing the mountain—among other precedent-setting acts. Contents Acknowledgements iv I. Mountain Lure 1 II. Basin and Range 6 III. Frenchglen 12 IV. Cascade Divide: The Rise of Desert Conservation 3 2 V. A Legacy of Conquest? 43 VI. Collaboration, Cowboys,and Environmentalists 53 VII. A Balance of Power 63 VIII. What They Could Not Walk Away From 71 IX. Reconciling 83 X. Hammer Over the Table: A Model? 95 References 105 iii Acknowledgements I must first thank every person who granted me interviews during my research. This thesis would not have been possible without their generosity and guidance. Specifically, I want to thank Alice Elshoffi, Stacy Davies, and Fred Otley, who not only gave me their time but also food, shelter, and laughter. My trips to the desert were all the better because of the kindness of these people. My committee members deserve special recognition for their insight and critical feedback. Many thanks to Jim Burchfield, Don Snow, and Daniel Kemmis. I feel very lucky to have worked with such a combination of accomplished and intelligent people. Don Snow, especially, has been essential to this project and my graduate studies. He is a committed teacher, editor, mentor, and friend. I owe much of my growth, as a writer and as a person, to him. I must acknowledge all of my fellow students and aspiring writers in the Environmental Studies program. Dan Berger has been inspiring for his doggedness, honesty, and good humor. Ann Whitesides has always amazed with her depth of emotion, compassion, and equanimity. Mary Anne Peine’s dedication and willingness to lend a hand is unsurpassed. Beth Peluso was kind enough to cat-sit while I traveled to southeastern Oregon. Thanks, also, to Ron and Nancy Erickson for providing scholarships to students interested in environmental writing and endorsing the notion that art and activism are intimately linked. My family is my first, true source of support. My grandfather, Clarence Bullock, deserves praise for teaching me how to listen to a good story. Finally, I must thank my husband, Ethan Hasenstein. He accompanied me on this journey and many others. His patience is unparalleled. My life is full of adventure because of him. This thesis is dedicated to Louise, my constant desk companion and comfort during months of writing. She will not be forgotten. v I Mountain Lure More than any other American place I know, this desert comer bespeaks change, the subtle changes sometimes a mask for grand upheavals. -William Least Heat Moon, “Oregon’s Outback” A deep autumn chill accompanied the fading light. I sat within the screened porch of the ranch bunkhouse, a well-used, worn building—its white paint chipped and peeling to reveal a weathered gray. Though I had stripped to a tank top while hiking only hours earlier that day, thin triangles of ice began to coalesce in the dog’s water bowl. Unworried mule deer grazed within my touch. They gathered on the refuge for safety during the hunting season. Their oversized ears flicked back and forth at the sounds of night settling—a barn owl, coyote, or distant diesel truck kicking up gravel on a solitary desert road. In an hour, I would sleep in this little bunkhouse at the southern end of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. My hosts, Alice and Cal Elshoff, were caretakers of the recently acquired property, a ranch they had lobbied for and helped procure the funds for the refuge to purchase. They graciously offered me the building during my week of research. A wood stove was welcome warmth; the night before I had slept cocooned in a down sleeping bag in the back o f my truck while the temperature hovered in the teens. I had returned to this desert comer in southeastern Oregon in early October o f 2000 to research the ongoing political changes at Steens Mountain—changes that evolved almost too quickly for me to track them. They would ultimately result in unique legislation passed by the House of Representatives on October 4th o f2000, the Senate on October 12th, and signed into law by President Clinton on October 30th. The bill was l bom of bipartisan cooperation as well as the involvement of local ranchers and environmentalists. It designates the 425,550-acre Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area; involves ecologically and economically important land trades between ranchers and the federal government; establishes the first legislatively created cattle-free wilderness area; promotes a cooperative grazing agreement with ranchers; and a creates a reserve for the endemic redband trout—among other precedent- setting acts. But, on that deepening October night, as I prepared to sleep on the marshy wildlife refuge that lay below the mountain, I had no idea if H.R. 4828, at that time under consideration in the House, would be severely altered, stalled, or killed. I had no idea if Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt would fulfill his threat and Steens Mountain would instead become a national monument through executive action. The sun slipped away under a volcanic bluff, and the stars began feasting on a plum-wine sky. The subtle, slow changes required patient observation. Despite the cold, I lingered on the porch awhile longer. Almost a year earlier, I had read about the conflict at Steens while trying to calm my nerves on a flight to Chicago. As the plane accelerated down the runway, I focused upon the unknown fate o f this virtually unknown mountain in my home state. Back on the ground, my curiosity held, and soon thereafter I began combing the newspapers and looking for more information on Steens Mountain.