Contact: Tara Thissell (541) 573-4400
Release No. OR-BU-15-12
July 27, 2015
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Historic Willow Corral rebuild project set for July 30 at Riddle Brothers’ Ranch HINES, Ore. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Burns District, plans to celebrate the 15th
anniversary of the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) with a service project at Riddle
Brothers’ Ranch on Thursday, July 30. Volunteers are invited to join the Northwest Youth Corps, Oregon
Youth Conservation Corps, and a handful of individual volunteers from across the state to rebuild a portion
of the Ranch’s historic Willow Corral.
Those interested in supporting he volunteer effort should meet at Riddle Brothers’ Ranch – approximately
two hours from Burns – at 9:30 a.m. and plan for a full day of planting split-juniper posts and bending
willow branches between them to create new sections of fence that replicate the original construction. All
necessary tools, a presentation on the history of the area, and a free barbeque lunch will be provided for
those in attendance.
The Willow Corral is part of the original Riddle Ranch settlement constructed by bachelor brothers Walter,
Frederick and Benjamin, who secured home sites and raised livestock in and around the Little Blitzen Valley
in the early 1900s. Riddle Brothers’ Ranch and the entire Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and
Protection Area became part of the NLCS when it was established in 2000. National Conservation Lands are
managed to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural,
ecological, and scientific values for current and future generations.
The 15th anniversary of the country’s National Conservation Lands symbolizes the coming of age for the
BLM as a conservation agency. Because of the sheer amount the BLM manages, the public lands serve as a
unifying and essential link for critical habitat, animal migrations, and public access across the West. The
BLM’s National Conservation Lands represent the future of the nation’s conservation efforts.
For more information on the Willow Corral project, Riddle Brothers’ Ranch, or the NLCS, contact the
Burns District BLM office at (541) 573-4400, or: www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of
Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface
mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present
and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in
receipts from public lands.
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