Explore Zumwalt Prairie Preserve

Zumwalt Prairie Open House © Rick McEwan

Phil Shephard, the Conservancy's northeast Oregon stewardship
director (center) discusses conservation issues and strategies
during an "open house" public tour of Zumwalt Prairie Preserve.
© Rick McEwan

The Nature Conservancy will host a day-long tour of Zumwalt Prairie Preserve on Saturday, June 21, 2008.

Visitors are invited to meet at our Enterprise office at 906 S. River Street at 8:30 am for a brief orientation (driving directions below). Participants will then carpool out to the preserve (25 miles northeast of Enterprise on the Zumwalt Road) to visit the 33,000-acre preserve, purchased by the Conservancy for its extensive native bunch grass prairie habitat.

Spring wildflowers and scenery should be magnificent during June. Nature Conservancy staff – along with local biologists and Oregon State University scientists – will point out birds and plant species common to the preserve and discuss research. We will also talk about management of the property and its public use.

Bring a lunch, walking shoes, sunscreen and, if you wish, binoculars and a camera. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. The tour will return to Enterprise at approximately 5:00 pm. For more information, please call 541-426-3458.

To find our office, drive south into Enterprise from La Grande. The highway will abruptly turn right. Follow it and continue through town, past the courthouse. A few blocks later, turn right onto Hurricane Creek Road. Follow Hurricane Creek Road a few blocks past the railroad tracks. The office is the second house on the right (white/tan with a picket fence) directly across from the Wallowa County Grain Growers' main store.