(Courtesy of Damon Knight)

Western Oregon gets all the love.

As someone who has spent a lifetime living west of the Cascades, I know firsthand that it can be easy to reduce Oregon to a state of evergreens, stormy beaches and winding rivers. Across that jagged mountain range, however, lies an entirely different side of our state — one that is less populous but no less beautiful.

When I was nine years old, my parents took me on a road trip to the desert. I was less than thrilled — I imagined myself sweating in a tent amid a scorching hot wasteland, barren except for tumbleweeds and maybe a rattlesnake or two.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was awestruck by the otherworldly beauty of Smith Rock and the intricate rock formations of the Painted Hills. We hiked through cliffs carved with thousand-year-old petroglyphs and woke up at midnight to hear coyotes howl.

Many of these stunning attractions were located within a 2 million-acre region called the Owyhee Canyonlands. This region, while currently unrecognized by the federal government, is one of utmost importance.

Located in the far southeast, the Owyhee Canyonlands is one of the most remote sites in Oregon, and thus has been preserved from the ecological devastation caused by urbanization and industrialization.

The canyon is home to some of the most endangered species in the Northwest, such as the kit fox, the big-eared bat, and the California big-horned sheep. My family was even lucky enough to see the elusive wild mustangs gallop through the hills. The Owyhee’s Sagebrush Sea conceals a wealth of biodiversity, including 26 native plants that are found nowhere else on earth.

But the Canyonlands isn’t just alluring to visitors. The area’s natural wonders are beloved by locals, especially to the Shoshone, Bannock and Northern Paiute tribes, for whom it is a cherished heritage site.

However, this desert paradise is in danger of destruction. As the rural Northwest slowly develops, once-pristine habitats are becoming polluted by large-scale ranching, mining and oil and gas extraction.

The Owyhee’s advocates, including Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Gov. Tina Kotek, conservationists, family ranchers, and local city and tribal representatives, have pushed for the federal government to recognize the Owyhee Canyonlands as a national monument. This designation would limit further development, protect native species, preserve important cultural sites and keep the land public and accessible for future generations to experience its beauty.

Despite its sweeping bipartisan popularity within Oregon, Sen. Wyden’s bill to designate the location as a national monument died in Congress in 2024. While many conservationists hoped that President Biden would heed Gov. Kotek’s plea to unilaterally designate the region as a national monument, he failed to act, leaving the Owyhee in limbo as the anti-conservation President Trump took office.

“National Parks guarantee the preservation of the natural world,” said Clyde Oglesby, a UO junior majoring in political science. “The only force that has proven capable of averting, even temporarily, the course of environmental destruction, has been the state. National Parks are the foremost instance of that federal environmental regulation.”

A new, less protective bill passed in Dec. 2024, created in a collaboration between Wyden and Republican Senator Cliff Bentz but it has been criticized as a bare-bones first step towards federal protection.

The fight to protect Owyhee is not over — and as Oregonians, we must join the effort.

“As an environmental science major, I feel that it is very important for the Owyhee Canyonlands to be preserved as a national park,” Mallory Hartung, a UO freshman, said. “Protecting the Canyonlands would maintain biodiversity and prevent anthropogenic pollution.”

If you are an Oregon or Idaho resident, you can contact your senators to express support for the Owyhee’s designation as a national monument. Even if you hail from out of state, you can spread awareness by discussing the importance of the Owyhee within your community.

As a child, I was awed by the Owyhee Canyonlands, and I hope to share that experience with my future children. For this dream to be possible, we must act — before it is too late.