Oregon Natural Desert Association

grant award: $100,000; year awarded: 2022

Climate change is driving numerous impacts in desert riparian ecosystems, including changes in water availability. For example, in the John Day River Basin, climate models predict streamflow reductions of up to 10% for the John Day River through 2040, increases in average annual temperature of up to 11°F by 2071, and reduced and more variable precipitation. These impacts undermine ecosystem resilience, most acutely in riparian areas that are already degraded by human activities and natural disruptions like wildfire and drought. Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) will promote a suite of actions to maximize the potential for process-based restoration to help desert riparian ecosystems adapt to climate change, specifically through working with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by equipping them with the demonstrations and technical knowledge to implement these adaptation practices on many more acres in need. New national-level guidance seeking to establish BLM as a leader in stream restoration, provides an opportunity for BLM districts in Oregon to adopt process-based restoration and then influence the broader BLM network to uptake and apply these techniques as well. This project will overcome existing barriers by working at the district level to provide the tools, expertise, resources and information needed to fully adopt and implement effective restoration projects.