Praying for Oregon Counties: Harney
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| Alvord Desert and Steens Mountain, Oregon |
Harney County is the largest county in the state, at over 10,000 square miles, and the least populated with a little under one person per square mile. It is in the southeastern corner of the state, bordered on the east by Malheur County, Lake County to the west, and the state of Nevada to the south. The county lies in the rain shadow of both the Coast Range and the Cascade Mountains, which block moisture from the Pacific, making it a place of low rainfall.
The county seat is Burns, a place I have visited only a few times. Burns and nearby Hines make up about 60% of the county population. There are many interesting places in Harney County and it is popular destination for hikers, hunters and rockhounds. One unique place in Harney County is the Alvord Desert, a dry lakebed in the southern portion of the county said to be the driest place in Oregon. On the eastern side of Steens Mountain, which casts a third rain shadow over the area, the 84 square mile dry lake attracts numerous visitors.
Several years ago my son, Jeff, was a film actor in Portland. He shot movies in such diverse places in Oregon as Astoria and the slopes of Mt. Hood – and the Alvord Desert. He said it was “practically a dreamscape.”
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| Alvord Desert, Oregon |
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| Land sailing Alvord Desert |
A friend of mine also has some experience with the Alvord Desert. She and another friend camped there and went land sailing, which is a fascinating and unique sport that involves a special boat on wheels with sails to catch the wind and propel it across the playa – the cracked dry earth of the ancient lakebed.
Land sailors vie for speed records, although I think my friend was there just for fun. The real speed is set by jet cars. In 1976 Hollywood stuntwoman Kitty O’Neil set a land speed record of 512 mph on the Alvord Desert. In 2019 race car driver Jessi Combs broke Kitty’s record at 522 mph, also on the Alvord Desert, but tragically crashed and died, and was awarded the record posthumously.
Other places of interest in Harney County include the Alvord hot springs, the Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1936 to protect the last of the pronghorn antelope, the fastest mammal in North America. About thirty miles south of Bend is the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1908 around Malheur Lake to protect a large variety of birds. This refuge was in the news in 2016 with the armed occupation of a group protesting the arson conviction of two ranchers.
A few miles north of Burns is the reservation for the Burns Paiute Tribe, the smallest federally recognizes tribe in Oregon with 210 members. The reservation at Burns is about 700 acres, but the tribe controls several thousand acres elsewhere in Harney County.
Peter Skene Ogden was probably the first European to explore the area, and some credit him with the river and lake being named “Malheur” (meaning “misfortune”). He and his group were searching for fur-bearing animals in the area without success. The history of settlement in Harney County is one of cattlemen with huge ranches alongside smaller homesteaders. The early days included some bloodshed as the large ranchers were in conflict with the smaller farmers. Now, many of the ranches and farms have been in the same families for generations.
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| Peter French Round Barn, Harney County |
Some counties in the eastern portion of the state - Harney, Malheur, Grant, Sherman, Wheeler - operate under a County Court system that includes a County Judge and two County Commissioners. In Harney County the Judge is Daniel W. Jenkins and the two Commissioners are Kristen Shelman and Patty Dorroh.
How do we pray for Harney County?
A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time. Isaiah 60: 22
With the large land base and low population, it is easy for the citizens to question if they have a voice. Currently redistricting decisions are being made by the state legislature. Pray that those result in fair representation for all Oregonians, especially those in the rural areas.
Pray for a balance of economic development and protection for wildlife and other environmental concerns. We need God’s wisdom for this in Harney County as well as the rest of the state.
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