The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs — home to the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute peoples — are heading into the fall season with a full agenda of natural resource stewardship, cultural programming, and community services on one of Oregon's largest reservations.
The 640,000-acre reservation stretches from the snowcapped Cascade ridge east to the basalt canyon walls of the Deschutes River, and managing that landscape — along with the sovereign nation's treaty rights to fish, hunt, and gather across off-reservation ceded territories — remains at the center of Tribal government work year-round.
Wildlife Conservation: A National Spotlight
The Tribes entered 2026 with national recognition for their bighorn sheep restoration program. In February, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs received the Wild Sheep Foundation's Federal Statesman Award, which honors government bodies for outstanding contributions to wild sheep conservation. The recognition followed a successful fundraising initiative that brought in $760,000 to support bighorn habitat and population recovery efforts in Central Oregon's canyon lands.
That conservation work continues into the fall, with wildlife biologists monitoring herd health and movement patterns as the animals prepare for winter range conditions along the Deschutes and Crooked River drainages.
Water Rights and the Drought Year
The Tribes hold senior water rights on the Deschutes River system — rights that predate Oregon statehood and were affirmed through treaty. In a year when Jefferson County and much of Central Oregon faced severe drought conditions, those rights have taken on added significance, both for reservation agriculture and for broader river management discussions between tribal, state, and federal water managers.
Tribal water staff have been active participants in basin-wide water planning conversations this year, advocating for stream flows sufficient to support salmon recovery and cultural uses including the Tribes' treaty-protected fishing rights at traditional sites along the Deschutes.
Cultural Programming and Community Health
On the community side, the Warm Springs Indian Reservation continues to support a range of cultural education, language revitalization, and public health programs serving Tribal members. Kah-Nee-Ta, the Tribes' resort and cultural hub, continues operating as a gathering place and economic driver for reservation employment.
The transition from summer to fall also marks the approach of fall root gathering season and cultural observances that connect community members to traditional practices on the land.
Jefferson County's Relationship with the Reservation
The Warm Springs Reservation sits within Jefferson County's geographic boundaries, and the Confederated Tribes are an important partner in county emergency management, road planning, and economic development conversations. Fire season coordination between Tribal emergency management and Jefferson County Fire & EMS has been particularly active during recent high-fire years.
Residents seeking information about reservation programs, events, or services can visit the Tribal government website at warmsprings-nsn.gov.