LA GRANDE — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have added 1,073 more acres to the Minam River Wildlife Area east of Elgin, bringing the total to 16,646 acres.

The addition follows land acquisitions in 2021 and 2023 for the project that connects to adjacent public lands near the confluence of the Minam and Wallowa rivers.

Almost the entire 52-mile length of the Minam River, which heads in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, now has public access.

“There are indeed tremendous public access benefits for hunters, anglers, hikers and others to experience this beautiful landscape, but the wildlife values of this project cannot be overstated,” Kyle Weaver, president and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, said in a press release. “This acquisition conserves crucial winter range and habitat for elk, mule and whitetail deer, moose and other species along a wildlife migration corridor.”

The Minam River is vital spawning, rearing and migration habitat for Snake River spring/summer-run chinook salmon, which are listed as threatened by both the Oregon and federal governments, Snake River Basin steelhead and Grande Ronde bull trout, both federally protected species, and Pacific lamprey, a sensitive species in Oregon.

“The Minam is one of the most ecologically important rivers in the state, and ODFW has wanted to protect this special area since the 1960s,” said ODFW Director Debbie Colbert. “We thank RMEF, the USDA Forest Legacy Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Manulife, other partners and the hard work of our Northeast Oregon staff for bringing this project to completion.”

Access to the Minam River property is via State Highway 82, County Road 509 and Big Canyon Road.

A proposed trailhead near the highway will extend south through the newly acquired property, linking it with the 361,000-acre Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon’s largest.

ODFW had sought to acquire property along the Minam since the 1960s.

The partnership involving ODFW, RMEF, Manulife Investment Management Timber and Agriculture Inc. and other partners opened public access to 4,600 acres in 2021 and almost 11,000 more acres in 2023.

The area is open to the public from April 1 to Nov. 30. It is closed form Dec. 1 to March 31 to protect big game on their winter range, including about 1,200 elk.

https://myodfw.com/articles/minam-river-wildlife-area-visitor-guide