The Donner und Blitzen River[needs IPA] is a river on the eastern Oregon high desert that drains a relatively arid basin, the southern portion of Harney Basin, from roughly 20 to 80 miles (30 to 130 km) south-southeast of Burns including Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

It collects these and runs north or northwest, descending rapidly to the plateau floor, then turns northward to Malheur Lake, which has no outlet.

[11] The Blitzen is home to a native species of Great Basin Redband Trout amongst many other unique forms of flora and fauna.

[12] As part of the 2000 Steens Mountain Protection Act, congress and President Clinton signed off on the creation of the Donner und Blitzen Red Band Trout Reserve.

[13] The Reserve was designated “to conserve, protect, and enhance the Donner und Blitzen population of redband trout and the unique ecosystem of plants, fish, and wildlife of a river system.”[14] In 1988, 72.7 miles (117.0 km) of rivers in its basin were designated Wild and Scenic, and another 14.8 miles (23.8 km) were added in 2000.