Here’s a little good news for 2021. Defending the environment through land use advocacy is often a long and arduous endeavor. Sit back and let us spin you a tale of how steadfast advocacy and a community passionate about wildlife can achieve success.

There is probably no species of wildlife more iconic of Central Oregon than mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Their elegant adaptations to the arid ecoregions east of the Cascades and their seeming ubiquity across both rural landscapes and urban areas give us the impression of an abundant population. But long-term studies show significant declines in regional mule deer herds. Protecting their winter range is one of the most effective measures we can take to slow and reverse this decline.

LandWatch repeatedly spoke up for riparian areas during project planning, but the Forest Service moved forward anyway. We think not logging in riparian areas isn’t too much to ask for, and now we’re hoping a federal court will agree.

There’s still time to comment on the Forest Service’s plan to allow logging of big trees on public lands!

The Forest Service is moving forward with plans to weaken its rules that protect big trees on all National Forests in Central and Eastern Oregon.

Highways present formidable barriers to wildlife movement. Thousands of deer and elk are hit by vehicles and injured or killed every year in Oregon; these wildlife-vehicle collisions also result of course in human injury, loss of life, and many thousands of dollars in property damage.

The Forest Service is exploring a change in forest policy for all National Forests east of the Cascades in Oregon via what they’ve dubbed “Project 21.” This project would allow the Forest Service to cut and sell trees larger than 21” in diameter. Thanks to prior advocacy, current forest policy prevents cutting these large trees throughout the Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont-Winema, Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests.

Deschutes County recently approved a 19-lot subdivision on the Deschutes River Canyon rim near Terrebonne. This site is a former mine and unpermitted hazardous waste dump site. The County denied a nearly identical application in 2015 because it did not comply with the Flood Plain zone and that zone's protections for fish, wildlife, and riparian habitat. This time around, the County decided the opposite, and approved dense development along riparian habitat.

Central Oregon Irrigation District’s (COID) latest watershed plan would pipe only 7.9 miles of the more than 400 miles of its canals and cost a whopping $568,000 per irrigator. The cost would be more than four times the price of conserved water generated by other similar piping projects in COID in recent years.

We worked closely with and directly supported the efforts of the community movement 30/30 for the Deschutes to advocate for a healthy river. Overall, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service received more than 1,700 comments from the public asking them to assure that an improved plan for the Deschutes River is developed!
 

For decades LandWatch has fought efforts by developers to build homes on Skyline’s private timberland, and for decades the working forest has balanced timber production with recreational and ecological values. But now that balance is under threat as the forest has been placed on the market for $127 million.

We are grateful to announce that this year, the Brainerd Foundation will generously match your year-end gift up to $35,000 to help keep Oregon lovable, and make it even more livable.

Central Oregon LandWatch will be submitting substantial comments on the HCP's inadequacies and how it could be improved. In addition to Rivers Conservation Director Tod’s Heisler’s 15 years of experience with this basin, we have a team of experts commenting on on various aspects of the plan, including: hydrologists, water managers, wildlife specialists, and attorneys.