Deep in the sandy terrain of Rees Training Center, a small owl with bright yellow eyes peers from an artificial burrow that has become home to the most successful burrowing owl colony in the United States.
What began as a desperate conservation effort in 2008 has transformed into a remarkable success story, with the Oregon National Guard training installation now hosting more than 100 nesting pairs of the diminutive raptors – a dramatic increase from just five remaining pairs 17 years ago. Rees Training Center serves as the Oregon Military Department's premier training facility for the Oregon National Guard.
"This has become one of the most successful colonies in the United States right now," said Janet Johnson, Natural Resources Program Manager for the Oregon Military Department, during recent monitoring operations at the site. "Last year was a bumper crop. We had an amazing amount of forage, and the population doubled from 2023 to 2024."
The colony's success stems from an innovative partnership between the Oregon Military Department, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and wildlife researchers led by conservationist David "DJ" Johnson of the Global Owl Project. When natural badger burrows disappeared due to decades of military development, the team developed an artificial burrow system using repurposed apple juice barrels from a local processing plant.
Each artificial burrow consists of two chambers – one for nesting and another for food storage – connected by irrigation tubing that serves as the entrance tunnel. The system is designed to last 10-15 years and can be relocated when military training requirements change.
"My number one job here is to ensure that the military can continue to train on this parcel into perpetuity," Johnson explained. "In order to do that, they need a healthy ecosystem without restrictions from endangered species or species of concern. Those tend to go together quite nicely."
The collaborative effort has attracted researchers from around the world to study the colony. Solai Le Fay, a master's student in raptor biology at Boise State University, is currently leading field research efforts and using 11 years of data for her thesis work.
"Every single chick and every single adult in 17 years has been banded," Johnson noted. "We know their ancestry, who was their father, who was their mother. We're getting six generations over time."
The program demonstrates how military installations can balance training missions with conservation goals. Lt. Col. Mark Timmons, incoming commander of the 249th Regional Training Institute at Rees Training Center, said his Soldiers frequently train in areas near the owl burrows.
"We walk that ground training, and they do tend to coexist quite well," Johnson said of the relationship between military operations and the owl population.
The research has contributed to nine different scientific discoveries about burrowing owl behavior and biology, with studies ranging from vocalization patterns to migration tracking using GPS transmitters.
Lindsay Chiono, Wildlife Habitat Ecologist for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, leads tribal conservation efforts on adjacent lands where about two-thirds of the colony's burrows are located.
"The tribal side and the Oregon Military Department biologists work together to manage the colony as a whole," Johnson said. "The tribe is doing a tremendous amount of effort on their end and has really dedicated a lot of resources."
The colony's success has made it a model for other military installations across the Department of Defense, proving that conservation and military readiness can advance hand-in-hand.
Source: Oregon Military Department