Submitted photo

Rancher Mitch Baker cutting native meadow hay in July 2020.

by Amy S. Morfas
for Burns Times-Herald

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 100 percent of Harney County is in a severe drought. What does this mean for local ranchers who depend on water to sustain and grow hay to feed their livestock? What does this mean for resident and migrating birds that rely on the Harney Basin for fuel and rest?

Dan Nichols has called Harney County home since the mid 1970s. He is a rancher and business owner at McCoy Creek Ranch. He is also a former Harney County commissioner and current member of the High Desert Partnership’s board of directors. With decades of ranching experience under his belt, Nichols has seen his share of weather conditions and considers fluctuating water supplies, and the resulting challenges, to be a part of ranching and farming in the unpredictable Harney Basin.

“We turned [cattle] out six weeks later this year than what we normally do,” Nichols said.

In order to keep them fed, ranchers must hold their cattle on private lands longer, resulting in increased costs from hay consumption.

Nichols said that they’ve also had to put cattle in other locales across the state to graze. While this is not unprecedented, Nichols conceded that it is “not the norm.”

Assuming very limited grass and feed, many ranchers are considering decreasing their herd sizes, a common strategy during a prolonged drought. But as more cattle are sold across the range, the markets naturally drop, making the cull less profitable. 

Mitch Baker, who manages the family ranch that his grandparents bought in 1918, said, “Everything revolves around water.” 

He said decisions are made, and actions are adjusted, on a daily basis. 

Baker added that water levels and availability “play a big role” in his operations and in the operations of ranchers and farmers throughout the area. 

“Without it — or with very little water, as in the last few years — we’ve had to make some hard decisions on what we can produce or how we need to change or downsize our practices to still be in business,” Baker said.

He explained that ranch operations are tied to the bigger picture of the surrounding ecosystem — including the birds that either call Harney County home, or migrate through the area.

“The birds depend on what we do,” Baker said, adding, “One complements the other. If we [ranchers] are not around, the ecosystem won’t be either.”

Each ranch is managed independently, so there are no universal solutions. Historical knowledge and experience, as well as adaptability, are crucial to success.

“You sink or swim on your own,” Nichols joked.

While each ranch must respond differently to their location and available water sources, coming together at collaborative tables (such the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative) provides the opportunities to address challenges together. Challenges like the uncertainty of weather, which affects everyone. 

“The best thing about the collaborative and the diversity of participation is the opportunity to get to know people, answer questions, point things out, offer ranch visits, and share perspectives,” Nichols said. “When you see something for yourself, and it gets explained why it’s done that way, that puts a whole different perspective on things. That’s been a wonderful attribute of the collaborative.”

Over the years, Baker has learned how to work with less water. Through the collaborative, he is able to share his knowledge, while learning from others. 

Baker added that the collaborative also helps people outside of the agricultural industry understand it better.

With the drought, Baker plans to rotate the ranch’s cattle around, based on water availability. Even so, given the high price of hay, Baker is anticipating the need to divest a meaningful portion of cattle for the first time in the ranch’s history. 

“That’s what you gotta do to stay in business,” he said.

Ranchers work for years to build and maintain the best genetic stock to produce a consistently high-quality product. But they must calculate how much they can invest to maintain the stock they have and remain viable. It becomes a matter of economics on whether to keep cattle or take them to market.

The lack of water also impacts Malheur Lake and surrounding wetlands, which serve as a crucial stopover on the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds and habitat for Eastern Oregon’s resident bird population. 

Teresa Wicks, Eastern Oregon field coordinator with Audubon Society of Portland and a participant in the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative, explained that, like ranchers, birds respond to water availability.

Many bird species will only nest in places that are surrounded by water. Wet meadows with emergent vegetation, such as those found in the Harney Basin, are critical nesting grounds because the surrounding water helps protect nests from predators. In low-water years, fewer meadows and fields are flooded, limiting nesting options.

“Most bird populations can handle a few scarce years where there’s not a lot of successful breeding,” Wicks said. “But if the trend continues, then you’ll see a population decline down the road.”

Migratory birds are impacted in a different way. They’re looking for areas that have adequate fuel sources to recover and build strength on each stop of their long migration. If they’re underweight after not getting adequate fuel in the Harney Basin, then they’re less likely to have a successful nesting season.

Although Harney County is in a drought, the Harney Basin still offers some of the best habitat along the Pacific Flyway.

Still, Wicks said, “If we start losing habitat here as well, then the birds don’t really have another place to go.”