UPDATES

On March 29, essential protections for large trees in eastern Oregon and eastern Washington were fully reinstated!

The county’s proposed Comprehensive Plan update offers up a less-than-satisfactory framework for our future. Here’s one last chance to let County planners know what you want to see prioritized and help define a better future for Deschutes County.

Listen to some familiar melodies. While simply beautiful to our ears, birdsong has a variety of important and complex functions in communication among different species of birds.

A practical guide to appreciating seasonal changes, deepening your local natural history knowledge, and relishing the longer daylight hours.

Tidying your space is a well-known spring tradition. But what about taking a step back from that and addressing your mental space before diving into a physical clean-up project? In this practical guide to making the most of spring in Central Oregon, we’ll spur you to do the spring cleaning you want to do.

Over just 32 days after it began, Oregon’s 2024 legislative session delivered a mixed bag for environmentally-minded housing and land use advocates. Here’s our take on what went well, what could’ve been better, and what we’ll be working on next.

Housing production bills have been front and center during Oregon’s 2024 legislative short session and we’ve heard an encouraging message from lawmakers that our advocacy matters. Proposed Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion provisions are being scaled back.

On January 24, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed LandWatch’s and co-petitioners’ win at the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) concerning Deschutes County’s attempt to rezone 710 acres of farmland for sprawling luxury development.

Looking ahead to the Oregon state legislative session that opens on February 5, 2024, LandWatch will be counting on our members and supporters to voice their support for an approach to development that urgently addresses our housing needs without eroding bedrock laws that are vital to our livability, human health, and a healthy environment.

LandWatch prevailed at Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeal in appeals of Deschutes County’s decision to approve Thornburgh Resort’s Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan (FWMP).