Priday Ranch is a 4,621 acre Preserve on Trout Creek north of Madras, Oregon. It was first established in 2020 and an additional 160 acres was added in 2022. Priday Ranch protects ten miles of Trout Creek, Antelope Creek, and Ward Creek, rugged canyons, and native grasslands. The property is located north of Madras, Oregon (see map below) and is home to numerous wildlife species including steelhead, nesting golden eagles, mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, and beaver. Take our virtual tour or read below to learn more about the property.
Priday Ranch can only be visited on guided Land Trust tours or via hosted educational offerings. When visiting, highlights include:
Steelhead stronghold: Trout Creek is a stronghold for Deschutes River steelhead, providing as much as 25% of the entire Deschutes River’s steelhead production. In a high return year, as many as 350 steelhead may spawn in the 10 miles of creek on Priday Ranch, while the shaded environs of Degner Canyon support young steelhead as they prepare for their long journey to the Pacific Ocean.
Outstanding natural resources: Priday Ranch’s rugged canyons, streamside meadows, and rolling grasslands provide a variety of habitats for native plants and wildlife. Golden eagles nest in canyon cliffs, mule deer and Rocky Mountain elk find forage and cover, and more than 80 beaver dams and lodges can be found on site. Populations of the rare hedgehog cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii) are scattered along the canyon rim, and willow and alder line the banks of several creeks.
Climate strength: Priday Ranch is an important refuge for a warming climate. Diverse natural features and strong connections to surrounding undeveloped lands mean the property will continue to provide habitat value to wildlife in the future. Scientists call this strength “resilience” and we will need more and more resilient lands as our climate warms. Learn more about resilience. Priday Ranch is also a featured climate project in the Land Trust Alliance’s Pacific Northwest Resilient Landscapes Initiative.
Priday Ranch protects 10 miles of Trout Creek, Antelope Creek, and Ward Creek. Trout Creek is an important spawning area for the Deschutes River steelhead population. These creeks also provide habitat for a host of species that rely on water in our arid climate. The property has a long history of stream restoration projects on Trout and Antelope Creeks which have resulted in tremendous habitat gains for fish and wildlife. Priday Ranch also protects sagebrush-steppe and grassland areas which provide habitat for native birds, deer, elk, and other animals. Finally, Priday Ranch is an important refuge for a warming climate. Diverse natural features and strong connections to surrounding undeveloped lands mean the property will continue to provide habitat value to wildlife as our climate warms.
Beaver activity along Trout Creek. Photo: Land Trust.
The Land Trust manages Priday Ranch to protect and, where necessary, restore fish and wildlife habitat. We are currently working to draft the management plans that will guide restoration activities at the property. Initial efforts are focused on:
Forest restoration: Like many parts of Central Oregon, juniper trees grow at Priday Ranch in a greater abundance than they would have historically. The Land Trust completed the first phase of juniper thinning in 2022 to help reduce fire danger and improve habitat for wildlife. Learn more about the project.
Field restoration: We are currently working on converting agricultural fields back to native habitat. Learn more about the project.
Managing weeds. Noxious weeds are a reality at all Land Trust protected lands. If they are not actively managed they compromise healthy native plant communities.
From time immemorial, Native Americans, including the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute tribes, lived in this region or visited it to hunt, fish, gather foods, and trade. Priday Ranch is within the lands ceded to the United States in the Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon in 1855. The bands that signed the 1855 Treaty moved onto the Warm Springs Reservation and are known as the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes. Paiute people began settling on the Warm Springs Reservation in 1879 and, along with the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes, now comprise the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, by virtue of the Treaty of 1855, have legal rights to harvest and manage wildlife and, by implication, the right to habitats suitable to support wildlife populations. The Land Trust considers the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs an important partner in management and restoration of the property.
Marla and Annan Priday. Provided photo.
The first Euro-Americans began to arrive in Central Oregon in the 1800s as trappers, explorers, and survey crews began mapping the region. In 1843 westward migration began along the Oregon Trail as the federal government forcibly resettled Native Americans and offered western lands to Euro-Americans.
The land that is now known as Priday Ranch has been held by the Priday family since 1881, when Albert J. Priday settled near the confluence of Antelope and Trout Creeks. Albert’s great-grandson, Annan Priday, worked with the Land Trust to conserve Priday Ranch forever. Learn more about the early cultural history of Priday Ranch.
Hedgehog cactus. Photo: Eli Egertson.
Steelhead. Photo: Brian O'Keefe.
Beaver activity along Trout Creek. Photo: Land Trust.
Marla and Annan Priday. Provided photo.