Birch Creek 

BLM

Historic Ranch 

Know Before You Go

• Although the Birch Creek Historic Ranch is open 

year-round, the best opportunities for access are May 

through October. Accessibility is dependent on road 

conditions, and the road is often impassable when 

wet. Snow accumulations in some areas make winter 

access questionable. A high clearance, four-wheeldrive vehicle is recommended.

• Help preserve your cultural heritage, historic and 

prehistoric. Please leave artifacts where you fi nd 

them – take pictures. Call 1 (800) 227-7286 to report 

any violations.

• Although there is one source for drinking water, it 

is not located near the campsites. One restroom is 

located by the fi ve-unit campground.

• Contact the Bureau of Land Management Vale 

District offi ce for facilities rental information, current 

road access conditions, and any seasonal fi re closure 

restrictions. 

Geology

Fine-grained volcanic tuff, rhyolite, and basalt building 

materials were used for construction. The use of on-site 

materials in the construction of the Birch Creek Historic 

Ranch has given the buildings a very organic feel as they have 

weathered over time and blended with the natural setting. An 

associated quarry that used for building stone for some of the 

structures is located nearby. 

Recreational Activities

Floating the Owyhee National Wild and Scenic River is a 

popular spring and early summer activity. The Birch Creek 

Historic Ranch serves as a primary take-out site for fl oaters 

rafting from the Rome launch site. Fishing, photography, and 

wildlife viewing are all pleasurable pastimes in this historic 

setting.

A fi ve-unit campground with fi re rings is located along the 

river. Please check the bulletin board for current fi re use 

restrictions.

Wildlife

This historic area is home to numerous species of wildlife, 

such as bighorn sheep, mule deer, chukar, loggerhead shrikes, 

numerous neotropical migratory birds, and a wealth of small 

mammals. Specialized environments feature streamside 

riparian habitats, meadows, and cliffs that all lend to the area’s 

diversity. 

Cultural

The Birch Creek Historic Ranch buildings and rubble remains 

give you a glimpse of the earliest Euro-American settlement in 

Owyhee Canyon and the signifi cant role of Basque immigrants 

in Malheur County. Evidence of much earlier settlement 

on the site was unearthed when the Owyhee River fl ooded 

its banks in the mid 1990s, exposing artifacts and triggering 

excitement in the archeological community. Archeological 

evidence indicates the river setting is located in a transitional 

area with cultural traditions of both the Great Basin and 

Columbia Plateau regions.

For approximately 1,000 years, this area was used by the 

Mono-Bannock-speaking Northern Paiute and Western 

Shoshone Indians. The cultures consisted of semi-nomadic 

family groups who traveled independently. They subsisted 

on hunting, gathering and fi shing. Evidence suggests that 

family groups were small, probably a refl ection of available 

resources. It is believed that spring and fall were used to fi sh 

the rivers. In summer and early fall, seeds and berries were 

collected. In winter some of the Shoshone groups were known 

to join Flathead expeditions to the Plains to hunt bison. Those 

who stayed in this area during historic times came together in 

groups of 2 to 15 families, pooling resources to live on cached 

fi sh, roots and seeds, along with some game.

Directions to the Site

The Birch Creek Historic Ranch is located in the southeast 

corner of Oregon in Malheur County. From Highway 95, 

8 miles north of Jordan Valley, turn west at the Jordan 

Craters sign onto Cow Creek Road. Follow Bureau of Land 

Management Owyhee River access signs 28 miles to the 

ranch.

District Contact Information

 Vale District

 Bureau of Land Management

 100 Oregon Street

 Vale, OR 97918

 (541) 473-3144

www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale

BLM/OR/WA/GI-08/082+1122.32 

Know Before You Go

Vale District
N tled among cream and chocolate colored hills, 

ba en red cliff s, and towering rock spir lays 

a s r oasis: the Birch Creek Hist oric Ranch. 

Established in the early 1900s, the ingenuity and 

d ermination  a Basque sheepherder and a 

W t Virginia ca le rancher are still evident at 

the site today. Stone walls built in the Basque 

tradition still ascend the m a. Remnants  a 

waterwheel hint at the lush alfalfa  elds fed 

through the gravity i igation  stem. Nin een 

buildings and structur at the ranch contribute 

to the property’s d ignation as a hist orical rural 

landscape on the Department  the Interior’s 

National Regist er  Hist oric Plac . 

 e Bureau  Land Management has managed 

this site since 1988 for its outstandingly 

remarkable hist orical value in the Owyhee Wild 

and Scenic River co idor. 

N tled among cream and chocolate colored hills, 

ba en red cliff s, and towering rock spir lays 

Welcome to 

Birch Creek 

Hist oric Ranch