Hardly a day goes by without an article in the paper or our online news feeds about drought, declining snowpack, climate change and threats to water supply. Despite this continuous stream of information and the obvious fact that water is one of our most precious resources, we continue to waste enormous quantities of it.

We already know that urban sprawl eats up wildlife habitat, creates unhealthy communities, causes pollution, and costs us money. Those are some of the main reasons we created the BCD Initiative promote an inclusive, dense, mixed-use neighborhood in the Bend Central District that is well-served by safe and environmentally friendly mobility options.

Through an innocent-sounding “update” to County-wide codes in both Crook County and Jefferson County, longstanding protections for farm and forest lands could be weakened.  Both counties are considering the adoption of new “model codes” that would significantly replace the counties’ existing EFU and Forest zoning codes.

From the iconic landscape to delicious local food, from our thriving rural communities to important wildlife habitat--agricultural land, also called "resource land", is part of our way of life. 

Take a look at a few ways to get involved in your community and environment! All of these events are free and open to the public. Take some time to learn about your local environment and what we can all do to create a livable future in Central Oregon. We hope to see you out there!

Because of the irresponsible and destructive use of Bayer’s herbicide along Oregon’s roads and highways, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) recently proposed new rules to ban ACP along public right of ways, in wildlife management areas, and other sensitive habitats. 

LandWatch has fought for the preservation of agricultural land in Central Oregon for years, and this month we are happy to be able to tell you that we succeeded in a recent case to maintain protections for farm and ranch land in Jefferson County!

he BCD Initiative advocates for a safe, inclusive, and community-oriented transformation in the Bend Central District. We aren't just here to talk about the community vision - we want to show you how public investment has catalyzed real changes in other cities around Oregon.

In addition to our other efforts in protecting forests and high desert, rivers and springs, fish and wildlife, and well-designed communities, Central Oregon LandWatch engages energetically in legislative advocacy. T

For more than a decade, Central Oregon LandWatch has been concerned about the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the forested area next to the west side of Bend.  Most of this land would have been developed at urban levels had it come in with the City of Bend’s 2009 Urban Growth Boundary proposal to expand the city by more than 8,400 acres. Instead, our advocacy helped reduce the approved expansion by 70% by increasing densities inside the existing city boundaries.

LandWatch succeeded in preserving habitat protections for wildlife species who depend on wetlands and riparian areas throughout Deschutes County!

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) have been in the news a lot recently as more sightings occur in Central Oregon and across the west. They are handsome and secretive animals, native wildlife, and elegantly adapted apex predators.

The City of Bend has completed Phase 1 of its Transportation System Planning (TSP) process. Phase 1 identified a Citywide Transportation Framework, which includes projects and programs that principally affect the City’s arterial and collector system and transportation patterns in the City as a whole. The Citywide Transportation Framework will serve as the basis for Phases 2 and 3 of Bend’s Transportation Plan.

How do you give a Valentine to an old growth ponderosa pine with its orange-yellow bark, to a riffle of water from a spring, to a silent and watchful owl, or to a cougar whose track you see in the snow? How can we give a valentine to the Metolius?

Last year, we asked you to weigh in on the Forest Service’s plan to log and sell the dying trees along Highway 20. On Monday this week, the Forest Service finalized this plan to harvest and sell over 2,100 trees - many more than indicated in initial reports.

Preserving land that could be used for agriculture is at the heart of Oregon’s visionary land use laws. By containing most residential development inside cities and preserving agricultural land in the rural county, we can ensure that our urban areas are vibrant and equitable while our rural areas are preserved in trust for future generations.

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a new zone designed specifically to limit wildfire risk for development west of Bend.  The county’s new Westside Transect Zone will limit development to a maximum of 187 homes on about 700 acres between the city of Bend and Tumalo Creek on private land that could otherwise be eventually developed at a level more than ten times that amount.

The City of Bend is hosting five Neighborhood Workshops where you will be able to influence the future of Bend's transportation system.  These workshops are a part of updating the Transportation System Plan (TSP), which will be the guiding document for transportation in Bend over the next 20 years. 

To assure that the Deschutes River is well-represented in future policy deliberations and decision-making, we are proud to announce that the former Executive Director of the Deschutes River Conservancy, Tod Heisler, will join our staff to run our Rivers Conservation Program .