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Lindsay Prairie

©Ellen Morris Bishop
Long-billed Curlew

Why You Should Visit    
This native prairie remnant on the Columbia Plateau hosts several rare grassland habitats and their associated wildlife.

Location
In the hills north of Heppner, north-central Oregon

Size
387 acres

How to Prepare for Your Visit
The most interesting area of the preserve is on the slopes surrounding the bottomland. There are no developed trails. The preserve is accessible year-round. For more information, please see our Preserve Visitation Guidelines.

Directions
From I-84:

  • Take the Irrigon exit (exit 168), followed by the first right (south) onto Bombing Range Road toward Heppner and Lexington.
  • After 16.5 miles, turn right (west) onto Juniper Road.
  • Travel two miles. The preserve is fenced on both sides of the road with signs marking the corners of the property.
  • Continue another 0.3 mile to the bottom of the canyon. There is a gravel road to the left and gravel piles to the right. The preserve is to the left of the road.
  • Park along the gravel road and walk northeast on the unimproved dirt access road to the gated entrance.
  • Cross the fence and hike up the canyon.

What to See: Plants
Deep, wind-deposited soils harbor one of the Columbia Basin's last remaining native grasslands, dominated by bluebunch wheatgrass and Sandberg's bluegrass. Because these soils are highly productive for dryland wheat farming and other agriculture, this habitat type has become extremely rare in the Columbia Basin.  The preserve also hosts high-quality examples of three other Columbia Plateau native shrubland and grassland communities involving downey wheatgrass, needle-and-thread grass, big sagebrush, and bitterbrush.

What to See: Animals
The preserve hosts a diversity of wildlife, including long-billed curlew, badger, songbirds, raptors and Washington ground squirrels which are listed as threatened in the state of Oregon.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Visitors to the preserve will notice a scar running across its east end marking a prairie restoration project over an underground natural gas pipeline. Pacific Gas Transmission Company worked with The Nature Conservancy to replant native prairie grasses after installation of the pipeline. Ecologists are monitoring the recovery of native prairie species and volunteers are helping to control invasive non-native plants that threaten the integrity of the rare habitats on the preserve.