Dedication Point Habitat Restoration Project

Dedication Point is a Bureau of Land Management interprative site overlooking the Snake River canyon within the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.  The Birds of Prey NCA supports the densest concentration of nesting raptors in North America and thus is a critical ecological area for eagle, hawk, and owl species including golden eagles, ferruginous awks, and burrowing owls.  The native sagebrush-steppe vegetation in the NCA provides habitat for many spescies of small mammals, lizards, snakes, and insects that serve as the food source for migrating and breeding raptors. Over the last several decades, non-native ivasive annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) have expanded throughout the Birds of Prey NCA, leading to an increase in fire frequency and size. Increased fire has resulted in the decline of native shrubs such as Wyoming big sagebrush and winterfat, which are not fire adapted species. This project, led by the BLM with the help of dozens of volunteers over the years, aims to increase native species shrub, grass and forbs (wildflowers) to increase the habitat for raptor prey. If you are interested in volunteering with the BLM, please contact Ann Marie Raymondi at a1raymondi@blm.gov.