2020 Update: The Harney Basin Wetlands Initiative is now the High Desert Partnership.

Home to one of the largest wetland complexes in the Southern Oregon-Northeastern California (SONEC) region, the Harney Basin has become a model for collaborative, community-based conservation.  The Harney Basin Wetlands Initiative grew out of the collaborative planning process for Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.  The collaborative has secured millions of dollars in recent years to improve the ecological health of Malheur Lake and works with irrigation districts and landowners to replace large irrigation infrastructure that maintain flood-irrigated working lands across the basin.