Shutdown Notice
Due to the lapse in federal appropriations, this website will not be updated until further notice. Where public access to refuge lands does not require the presence of a federal employee or contractor, activities on refuge lands will be allowed to continue on the same terms as before the appropriations lapse. Any entry onto Refuge System property during this period of federal government shutdown is at the visitor's sole risk. Please read this important updated message about the closure of National Wildlife Refuge System facilities during the shutdown, and refer to alerts posted on individual refuge websites for the status of visitor facilities and previously scheduled events that may still occur during the shutdown.

For more information, please visit the Department of Interior webpage at https://www.doi.gov/shutdown

Features

  • Burrowing Owl Promo

    Burrowing Owls

    Looking for all the world like a child's cute stuffed toy, burrowing owls are beloved residents of the shrub-steppe.

    Burrowing Owls

  • Badger Promo

    Badgers

    Tough, grizzled, occasionally grouchy, the badger is the curmudgeon next door—gruff but a good guy with an interesting life story to tell.

    Badgers

  • Mule Deer Promo

    Mule Deer Photo Gallery

    You'll see a lot of mule deer here. There's a good reason for that—Umatilla has one of the most impressive mule deer herds found anywhere.

    Mule Deer Photo Gallery

Refuge Happenings

Umatilla Waterfowl Youth Hunt

November 10, 2018 Girl Hunting

Don't forget, Saturday, November 10, is reserved exclusively for youth hunters. Adults will not be allowed to hunt that day. Youths must be 10- to 17-years-old to participate in this hunt.

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder . . .

Weeds

. . . or if you have to try to live there. Many plants that people think are “pretty” are, ecologically speaking, disastrous to wildlife. Plants, such as purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) and even phragmites (Phragmites australis), are considered by many to be desirable landscaping plants. That would be fine, if they stayed in your backyard landscape. However, when they escape into the wild, they can out-compete native plants, forming monocultures where before a wide variety of plants provided for native wildlife. Often, these foreign escapees have no forage value for native wildlife, or they create habitats that have a different physical characteristic than wildlife can use (e.g., they may be tall, whereas native birds need low bushes for nesting). So, when you see a colorful field of plants on the refuge, beware that they may mask a terrible problem.

Did You Know?

Watching Wildlife

Watching Wildlife

Want to see more animals on your trip to Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge? Here are some tips from the "experts."

Watching Wildlife

About the Complex

Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge is managed as part of the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Read more about the complex
About the NWRS

National Wildlife Refuge System

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The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants.

Learn more about the NWRS
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