This compelling anthology gathers together personal impressions of the Malheur-Steens country of southeastern Oregon, known for its birding opportunities, its natural beauty and remoteness, and, more recently, for the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Contributors of poetry and narrative nonfiction include biologists, students, tourists, birders, and local residents, thus reflecting the perspectives of both visitors and residents. Edge of Awe celebrates the immense variety of human experience in the Malheur-Steens region. This high-desert marsh country has long been a place of human habitation, work, and recreation, but this compendium is weighted toward the writing of visitors over the past one hundred years. It encompasses a wide range of experiences, such as fishing the Blitzen River, attending the Steens Running Camp, leading a mule train on Steens mountain, looking for rare migrant birds, boating on the great marshes, and much more. Anyone who has visited the awe-inspiring Malheur-Steens country or plans to do so, and anyone with an interest in the region, will find inspiration in this literary companion.

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (Or.), Natural history, Natural history Oregon, Oregon, Oregon Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Sciences naturelles Oregon

Foreword Preface Introduction State of nature The Paiute experience Sage sparrow singing The German visitors, Pt. 1 Desert lessons The Marshes of Malheur Excerpt from a Poet in the Desert The meaning of Refuge Malheur Then and Now My summer in paradise Malheur before dawn John Scharff's Malheum Harney County Catenaries Harmey County catenaries Prizes of the 48 states Malheur childhood