Enchanted Rocks Preserve
Enchanted Rocks Preserve is a nature preserve in central Oregon noted for multicolored rimrock cliffs, columnar basalt spires, and canyons along the National Wild and Scenic John Day River and Cherry Creek. The property is owned and managed by The Wildlands Conservancy as part of its List of [The Wildlands Conservancy preserves|system of preserves].
Geography
The preserve is located in the John Day River basin of central Oregon, roughly ten miles north of the Painted Hills unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.The landscape includes rimrock canyons, multicolored cliffs, and columnar basalt formations shaped by volcanic and sedimentary processes.
The preserve contains approximately of the John Day River and of Cherry Creek.
It connects with nearby public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
Flora and fauna
Habitats range from ponderosa pine forests on higher slopes to sagebrush and western juniper woodlands.Wildlife includes Rocky Mountain elk, bald eagles, beavers, redband trout, and the federally threatened summer steelhead.
The preserve also provides habitat for sage grouse.
History
In April 2022, The Wildlands Conservancy acquired the 30,000-acre Cherry Creek Ranch for $16.5 million, renaming it Enchanted Rocks Preserve.Funding support came from the Center for Biological Diversity.
Later in 2022, the Conservancy sold 16,714 acres of the original property with conservation restrictions, reducing the preserve to roughly 14,000 acres, according to its audited financial statements.
Conservation
The preserve is designated by the Conservancy as its first "climate preserve," with management intended to increase resilience to climate change.Policies include halting juniper removal, managing western juniper woodlands to support sage grouse and groundwater recharge, and eliminating flood irrigation to restore Cherry Creek for native fish.
The Conservancy also supports proposals to establish Sutton Mountain National Monument adjacent to the property.