Baker County Grazing Meeting Addresses Wildfire Risk, Riparian Resilience March 12

Ranchers, agency specialists, and conservation advocates packed the meeting room at Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative on 23rd Street last Wednesday evening for a two-hour session on one of Eastern Oregon's most pressing land management questions: how to keep livestock grazing viable as wildfire risk grows and riparian systems face mounting stress.

The Baker Sage Grouse Local Implementation Team, known as Baker LIT, organized the free March 12 event, which ran from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and included a free dinner. The group has overseen sage grouse conservation efforts in the county for several years, and the meeting brought together the Oregon State University Extension Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service for presentations on grazing management amid wildfire, climate change, and shifting riparian conditions.

The Powder Basin Watershed Council led a panel discussion with local ranchers that centered on two practical challenges: improving riparian areas without pulling livestock off productive ground, and rebuilding grazing operations after the kind of large fires that have reshaped Baker County's landscape in recent years. Virtual fencing also drew attention as a topic, alongside information on grant programs available to help ranchers strengthen their grazing programs.

The meeting came as Baker LIT navigates a significant funding transition. A $6.1 million, six-year grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, drawn from Oregon Lottery funds and awarded in 2019, concluded at the end of 2025. Caitlin Harrold, who has served as sage grouse team coordinator since February 2025, is pursuing a follow-on grant of up to $13 million over six years from the same source. "There's been so much great work done by all the Baker LIT partners," Harrold said last September. "Our goal is to keep that momentum going."

Baker County's stake in sage grouse conservation carries some distinctive characteristics. The county sits at the northern fringe of the bird's range in Eastern Oregon, and its sage grouse population accounts for less than 10% of the state's total. Unlike in comparable counties, much of that habitat falls on private land, making voluntary cooperation from ranchers central to any conservation strategy. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife designates the Baker Priority Area of Conservation, roughly 285,000 acres east of Baker City, as the core habitat zone. That area takes in Virtue Flat, the Love Reservoir area, parts of the Keating area, and reaches into the southern portion of Union County.

Those wanting more information about the meeting or Baker LIT's programs can contact Harrold at 541-239-7016 or charrold@bakercountyor.gov.