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The Owyhee Canyonlands Three States, One National Treasure In the remote expanse where the three western states of Idaho, Oregon and Nevada converge, the Owyhee Canyonlands sprawl over nearly nine million acres and represent one of the largest intact and unprotected desert ecosystems in the West. Spectacular, narrow rhyolite canyons and rugged breaks cut through an ocean of sagebrush, grasslands and juniper uplands buzzing with diverse biotic communities. The region is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, elk, deer, cougars, redband trout, sage grouse, songbirds and raptors. It's also a growing haven for outdoor enthusiasts, hunters, fisherman, hikers, campers and river runners. Watch the Owyhee slide show! Bob Marshall identified the Owyhee as the second largest roadless desertarea in the nation, an enclave of solitude and sublime natural beauty in 1936, but this expansive complex of rivers and sage steppe has not yet been nationally recognized or protected for its unique biological, geological, and cultural values. The integrity of the canyonlands is threatened by the spinning tires of reckless ORVs, the invasion of cheat grass and other exotic species into its native plant communities, looters and vandals rummaging through sacred native sites, poor grazing practices that threaten the soils and water that hold the biological communities together, and, most of all, by a perception of the Owyhee as a series of separate environments instead of as the intact and interconnected system that it is. The Owyhee Canyonlands are not a mere chunk of land that can be sliced into parcels managed for specific uses, but a contiguous entity representative of a much larger biological and cultural community that must be envisioned as an entire landscape and protected. What you can do in and about the Owyhee Canyonlands Natural and cultural history of the area Background on conservation challenges and opportunities View a slide show of spectacular images from the greater Owyhee Canyonlands Photo of the Owyhee Overlook, Oregon, courtesy Steve Bly; used with permission. Up to Top