Minam River – Oregon
Imagine having access to a massive swath of public land larger than Yellowstone National Park to hunt, fish or enjoy other recreational activities.
Thanks to a collaborative effort completed in 2023 by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Manulife Investment Management Timber and Agriculture, and other partners, you can find exactly that in northeast Oregon.
A two-phase project placed 15,573 acres into the newly expanded Minam River Wildlife Area, making it the fifth largest management area in the state, linking it with the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Minam State Recreation Area, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.
Thirty miles from La Grande and accessible off Highway 82 and the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, it supplies habitat connectivity and critical winter range for up to 1,200 elk. It’s also transitional and migration range for elk, mule deer and other species.
The project also protects 114 miles of riparian habitat and stands as a monumental, landscape-scale conservation win for fish and wildlife as well as biologists to better manage the public land and its natural resources.
And it marks a massive win for hunters, anglers, hikers and public access.
Creating and improving public access is a long-time focus of RMEF’s mission.
Since 1984 RMEF has opened or improved public access to 1.5 million acres.
To view the sites and boundaries of RMEF land conservation and access projects, turn on the RMEF layer and use the code RMEF when you sign up for your onX subscription to receive a 20 percent discount.