Reimagining Public Lands — Elisa Cheng, Oregon Natural Desert Association Board Member
This year we celebrate 75 years of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — and look to the future of publicly-managed lands. For its anniversary, the BLM has asked us all to “Reimagine Your Public Lands” as the agency looks to manage more than 245 million acres for future generations. We’ve invited BLM Wild partners and friends to share their love of BLM-managed places and reflections about the opportunity to reimagine public land management.
Elisa Cheng has been a lifelong lover of the outdoors: “I try to get outdoors as often as I can and am passionate in advocating for a more inclusive and accessible society in my volunteer work as a Board member of the Oregon Natural Desert Association and Bend Bikes.”
Q: The Bureau of Land Management’s theme for its 75th Anniversary is “Reimagine Your Public Lands.” What does reimagining BLM-managed public lands mean to you?
A: Reimagining BLM-managed public lands means creating spaces that are welcoming and open to all people. I would like to see public lands that are inclusive of people that may have been excluded in the past, people that may not feel comfortable in lands that are designated for the use of everyone. This includes women, people new to exploring the outdoors, people that identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, people with mobility issues, and others. I think one of the most important ways to include these underrepresented groups is by exposing people that might feel intimidated by the outdoors to the beauty and wonder of these special places in an accessible way. Reimagining the programming that has been available for public lands to create safety for marginalized groups in these areas that represent land being taken away from tribes and areas that have not always been safe for them is so important. Something as simple as a walk in nearby BLM land can create a connection to our amazing public lands and should be accessible to all!
Q: How have you been involved in advocating for the conservation of significant BLM-managed lands in your state or region?
A: The Oregon High Desert is very close to my heart. I have been active in direct conservation work as a volunteer with the Oregon Natural Desert Association, and now as a Board member. The stewardship trips I’ve done have been a wonderful way to connect to the land and have brought me to places that I would not have visited otherwise. I have done trail maintenance in Steens Mountain, riparian restoration on the South Fork of the Crooked River, surveyed land along the John Day River, conducted greater sage-grouse counts in the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, and have created so many amazing memories in these special places.
Q: What is one of your favorite or most important BLM-managed areas and why?
A: It is hard for me to pick just one favorite BLM-managed area, but one that stands out is the lands that BLM manages in between the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeastern Oregon and the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. The sweeping plains on the top of the refuge are home to herds of pronghorn antelope that migrate across BLM lands every year to the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. I look forward to when this migration corridor between the two Refuges is protected as well. Additionally, the greater sage-grouse has breeding spots, called leks, in the sagebrush grounds here and if you’ve never seen the dance they do during breeding season, you are missing out! As a keystone species that indicates the health of the whole sagebrush ecosystem, it’s so important to keep these areas protected for them. Hiking around in the Greater Hart-Sheldon can lead you to isolated waterfalls, petroglyphs, mountain top peaks and so much more. It is truly a magical region.
Photos provided by Oregon Natural Desert Association.
