| This North Fork of the Malheur River was one of forty rivers originally designated in the Omnibus Oregon Wild and Scenic River Act of 1988. Residing completely on National Forest System lands, the entire wild and scenic river boundary encompasses 7,034 acres with 22.9 miles of river. Being recognized for its outstanding remarkable values of scenery, fisheries, geology, and wildlife habitat, the river corridor is a diverse display of an upper "headwaters" riparian ecosystem. An ecosystem which originates in a mixed conifer forest, flows through ponderosa pine forests, and exits into a sagebrush/juniper desert. The upper end of the river is generally characterized by a rather broad valley carved by glacial activity. Lodgepole forests sprinkled with native wet meadows dominate, as the river slowly flows in this upper valley. Fisheries habitat along the river is excellent with native stocks of bull trout (threatened) and redband trout (sensitive). |
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