About Wallowa County
Wallowa County is located in the Northeastern corner of Oregon. Bordered by the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Hells Canyon, and the Wallowa Mountains. Wallowa County is known for its stunning natural beauty, endless outdoor recreation offerings and charming small towns. Wallowa County's pastoral landscape of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing on rolling hills with old farmsteads and classic red barns, the mountains rising up beyond, is a photographer's dream.
The county's heritage is worthy of history and textbooks that tell the story of the Nez Perce, led by famous Chief Joseph, who once inhabited the valley. Today, there are increasing efforts to strengthen ties with the Nez Perce. They gather yearly to celebrate their heritage, and they are active in local wildlife and fisheries management issues.
The county's population of roughly 7000 has remained virtually unchanged since white settlers inhabited the area in the late 1800's peaking at 9,778 in 1920. With just 2.3 people per square mile, humans are far outnumbered by the 378 species of wildlife, including elk, deer, bear, bighorn sheep, and bald eagles. Located 65 miles from McDonald's, four hours from a major airport and what any teenager might refer to as “the mall,” and lacking a single traffic light, Wallowa County is truly a unique place.
But there's a downside: Wallowa County's economy consistently ranks at or near the bottom in statewide assessments, having unemployment as high as 19% during winter months. In 1994, all three sawmills shut down, leaving hundreds out of work, and setting off an economic decline that the county has yet to recover from.
Due to the continued loss of family-wage jobs, young families are moving out of the County and school enrollments are declining dramatically. A focus on tourism to pick up some slack has sent land and housing prices skyward, making home prices out of reach for the average citizen and tempting ranching families—whose land has been theirs for generations—to sell.
Wallowa County is responding progressively to the trends affecting it. New models of collaboration are developing, and a shared vision of restoration and stewardship of our watersheds is emerging. Local leadership is facilitating creative and inclusive place-based solutions for public land management. Local entrepreneurs are designing new products and pursuing new markets for small diameter logs and other by-products of watershed restoration. Local contractors are diversifying their business to provide a broader range of services, and a stewardship workforce is on the rise. Private sector initiatives are partnering with public schools and filling gaps wrought by State budget deficits, and stimulating education as a sector of economic growth. Wallowa County is working to meet the challenges facing us.
Learn More!
Rural Development Assistance Team
Wallowa County 's Economic Structure: An Input-Output