Skyline Forest’s uncertain future
What’s Next for Central Oregon’s beloved woodlands?
Directly northwest of Bend, the Skyline Forest lies on the eastern slope of the Three Sisters Wilderness. Surrounded by the Deschutes National Forest, it is an undeveloped 33,000-acre oasis for hiking, trail running, camping, cycling, mushroom foraging, and wildlife viewing.
Skyline Forest, known by many in the area for its mountain bike, hiking, and nordic ski trails, makes up 50 square miles just west of Bend and Sisters. Photo: Clint McKoy
The forest is perhaps most well recognized for framing the stunning view of the Three Sisters Mountains seen from Highway 20 when traveling between Bend and Sisters.
For many years, private owners have generously granted widespread public access to this forest property and the community has come to treat it much like our surrounding public lands.
Many people even assume that the trails they’ve become so familiar with are public land.
If you’re a Central Oregonian, chances are you know the Skyline Forest. But did you know that it’s not federally protected public land?
Public access to private spaces
We can’t take this public access for granted. The property is currently up for sale for $127 million and the next landowner may have a different vision for this landscape. The property has been advertised as a prime location for a destination resort or a cluster housing development. While the sale price may be unrealistic for the timber value of the property, Bend’s astronomical real estate boom has luxury buyers shopping for large, secluded parcels on which to build private retreats.
We’ve already seen a number of road closures in the area, including the old Brooks Scanlon Haul Road (Road 4606), limiting public access to the area. The road closure sparked shock and pushback from the local community, many of whom frequented the road for access to Skyline and the neighboring public lands.
Beyond the listed price tag, we must ask ourselves, what value does the Skyline Forest bring to this community? And, more importantly, can we protect it for generations to come?
Proactive planning for wildfire
As devastating as it would be for the public to lose access to the forest, this land provides important wildfire protections for Bend, Sisters, and surrounding rural communities. Developing the Skyline Forest would bring an immense risk of loss due to wildfire.
The 2010 Rooster Rock Fire: Deb Quinlan
The Skyline Forest has been the site of numerous wildfires throughout the years. The 2010 Rooster Rock Fire burned 6,134 acres, more than half of which was inside the bounds of the Skyline Forest. Then, in 2014, the Two Bulls Fire burned 6,908 acres on the forest’s southeast portion and came within 3 miles of Bend’s city limits.
This map shows the outline of the Two Bulls fire, alongside the directional winds typical of seasonal fires.
Earlier this year, a small area of Bull Springs already burned during March’s high winds and warm temperatures, sending Level 3 evacuation orders to communities in Tumalo and Deschutes River Woods.
Residential or commercial development in Skyline would blur the line between the forest and the city, increasing the chances that wildfire could more easily spread into our developed areas and cause widespread devastation like that seen during Oregon’s 2020 wildfire season.
This week, as we experienced record-breaking temperatures across Central Oregon, we understand living with wildfire is a part of our future.
Our best approach to mitigating loss is to thoughtfully and carefully plan for development. Land use planning gives us a two-pronged approach to prepare for fires.
First, we should avoid new development in wildfire-prone areas like the Skyline Forest. Research shows that isolated developments on rural lands carry the highest fire risk to homes. (You can read the complete study here.)
Second, we can foster fire-adapted cities and towns through a robust Wildland Urban Interface. This area can provide a natural buffer outside of homes and businesses and distanced from infrastructure.
For decades LandWatch has fought efforts by developers to build homes on Skyline’s private timberland in order to balance the area’s recreational and ecological values with the working timber forest. Without permanent protection, that balance remains under threat.
We will continue to uphold Oregon’s land use laws that prevent expansive development on this forest land as we work to find a permanent conservation solution that protects this area once and for all.