So much happened throughout 2024. The LandWatch team is proud to have realized some big accomplishments in the name of regional livability on behalf of Central Oregonians like you. Here is a brief retrospective of some of the things we got up to in the field, in the courtroom, and alongside our amazing community of supporters!

Over the past year, LandWatch added staff and board capacity to keep pace with the rapid change in our region, expand our impact, and achieve our ambitious vision for the future.

Now, we’re excited to introduce four inspiring community members who will be joining the LandWatch Board of Directors in 2025. Get to know Jackie Dingfelder, Nancy Hinnen, Erin Rifkin, and Peter Shepherd!

Join us as we delve into the intersectional intricacies of the United States’ most famous wildlife conservation law and Central Oregon’s prevailing framework for (theoretically) balancing the needs of water users and threatened species to better understand a path toward meaningful steelhead habitat restoration and population recovery in the Upper Deschutes Basin.

Responses to our joint survey of Central Oregon Irrigation District patrons clearly show that local irrigators are eager to improve irrigation system efficiencies and reduce water waste.

As climate change and drought continue to place pressure on water resources in Central Oregon, an integrated approach to solving water scarcity issues is needed; a concerted effort to pipe private laterals must be part of the solution. 

The City of Sisters and its residents have been hard at work planning to accommodate a 20-year supply of needed housing and employment lands.

Five UGB concept alternatives will be discussed at a Dec 9 Open House. Thanks to their thoughtful approach, the City is poised to preserve the attributes that make Sisters the distinctive town it is today.

With a long holiday weekend ahead, our team hopes you will soon be enjoying meals with your cherished friends and family and time amidst your favorite native plants and rushing rivers.

Could you use a quiet escape? Well, good news … 

Central Oregon LandWatch has teamed up with Left Coast Lodge, a small historic lodge n the heart of Sisters, Oregon, to offer one lucky winner a two-night stay. See post to see how to enter!

There are many ways to contribute to your community as an individual, with a group, or through local government. There are larger commitments, as well as simple actions, formal and informal, and all of it adds up to a more Complete Communities in this place we call home. So, how might you act locally? We’ve compiled a list of ideas!

Rapid growth presents us with a challenge and an opportunity: to grow well and with intention so that our communities are more vibrant, affordable, inclusive, and climate-resilient. So let’s take a look at what we can do to act locally for our climate and community.

Join us on Oct. 23 to gaze out over Central Oregon agriculture horizon with local farmers and ranchers Megan Kellner-Rode, Cate Havstad-Casad, and Sky Sharp.

We guarantee you will leave fired up about local agriculture!

Central Oregon LandWatch recently added our name to the long and growing list of supporters of Ballot Measure 9-173. The measure will appear on the November ballot for consideration by all Deschutes County voters, and asks whether the size of the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners should be expanded from three to five commissioners.

LandWatch feels strongly that the answer is “yes,” and here is why.

In less than a century, the impacts of irrigation, hydropower projects, and other human activities throughout the Deschutes Basin have disrupted the natural water systems and environmental conditions that sustained abundant steelhead populations for millennia.

In order to take steps toward habitat recovery, it is important to understand how we’ve fundamentally changed these waterways.

LandWatch’s new Livable Future Forum will provide a place for discussion and dialogue about the key environmental issues of our time and the solutions that we can put into place locally. On Oct 3, 2024, we will talk about the factors leading to local mule deer population decline and the critically-needed solutions available to help them.

To meet existing and future water needs, the Basin’s senior irrigation districts need to ramp up financial incentive programs to conserve more water, in concert with the piping of private laterals.

The City of Bend’s new tree code took effect in August, with the aim to balance protecting more trees — especially large, mature trees — during development, without hindering the production of much-needed housing. That’s a tight needle to thread, to be sure. Striking that balance was a long, tough process - and the road ahead isn’t looking any easier. Local developers have challenged the newly adopted code.

In August, the U.S. Forest Service issued its final decision regarding an important timber sale on the Ochoco National Forest — and we’re pleased to report that the Forest Service ultimately made significant improvements to the Mill Creek project, providing meaningful safeguards for forest ecosystems and the wildlife that depend upon them.

The future of Bend is happening now.

The City of Bend is beginning work that will guide our community’s growth now and for the next 20 to 50 years. LandWatch’s Cities & Towns team is and will be deeply involved with these efforts on the path ahead—and we’ll make sure our community knows the best times to make their voices heard along the way. 

How do you get around? Be a voice for transportation choices that help Central Oregon thrive.

Central Oregon LandWatch is committed to protecting the livability of our region. When you make a legacy gift to Central Oregon LandWatch, you are helping to protect this unique region from threats like overdevelopment and habitat destruction.

LandWatch and partners across the country are calling on the Forest Service to strengthen protections for the United States’ remaining old-growth and mature forests.

Join us by adding your name to our petition today!