Butte Valley National Grassland
The National Grassland is 18,425 acres in size and is easily visited along U.S. Route 97, between the communities of Macdoel and Dorris. The landscape is shrub-steppe, dominated by sagebrush, rabbitbrush, bitterbrush, basin wildrye, intermediate wheatgrass, and many other arid grasses and flowers. Butte Valley is a good place for bird watching. The Grassland is home to Swainson’s hawk, golden eagle, bald eagle, merlin, and sandhill crane. Winter residents include red-tailed hawk, ferruginous hawk, rough-legged hawk, northern harrier, American kestrel and prairie falcon. Nocturnal species that may be observed at dawn or dusk include great horned owls, short-eared owls, and long-eared owls. Burrowing owls were here historically but haven’t been seen in several years.
Photo Credit: US Forest Service – Klamath
