The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Kristin Bail was recently appointed as the new District Ranger for the Crooked River National Grassland, which is located about eight miles northeast of Sisters.

Bail brings 15 years of wildland administration experience with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to her new position.

Her most recent assignment was as Acting District Ranger in the Paulina Ranger District of the Ochoco National Forest. Before that, she spent two years as Hydrologist for the BLM's Oregon Office and 10 years with the BLM in Lakeview. She is a geology graduate from Washington State University.

The 155,000-acre National Grassland is home to the Middle Deschutes and Crooked Rivers, both of which are Congressionally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers.

The region also includes the lower reaches of Squaw Creek, which runs through Sisters.

Administered with the Ochoco National Forest, the area was originally established as a National Grassland in 1960 as part of the National Forest System.

The Crooked River National Grassland has long been a busy Central Oregon recreation destination and its popularity is growing.

As a result, the Grassland is now the subject of an ongoing environmental analysis to examine livestock grazing practices and vegetation management.

"This is a time of opportunity and challenge for the Crooked River National Grassland," said Bail. "I look forward to working with the many partners who contribute so much to the health and productivity of these unique lands."

Portions of the Grassland were impacted by wildfires in recent years, including the Eyerly and Geneva fires; so, fire control and rehabilitation are among the challenges facing Bail as she assumes her new role in Central Oregon.

Ochoco National Forest Supervisor Larry Timchak had kind words for Bail.

"Kristin brings a blend of people and resource skills to the Grassland Ranger job," he said, in a prepared statement. "Her proactive and positive approach will help the Crooked River National Grassland move ahead with an increasingly complex and diverse workload."

The western boundary of the Grassland roughly parallels the northeastern edge of Deschutes National Forest, about eight miles east of Camp Sherman. It stretches east nearly to Grizzly Mountain, overlooking Prineville, and north to well beyond Madras.

The southern boundary abuts Smith Rock State Park and the Squaw Creek Canyon area.

The federal lands comprising the Grassland were pieced together from abandoned homesteads that were attempted between 1880 and 1930. After the region proved itself to be inhospitable to dryland farming, the government began rehabilitation of the scarred land in 1954.

The region is rich in historical value, particularly as it relates to the homestead era.

Historical relics of the failed homesteads still abound throughout the region, but collection of artifacts or antiquities is forbidden without a permit.