FAQ: Save Skyline Forest
A community conservation campaign
Over the past year, the Central Oregon community has come together in a unified effort to Save Skyline Forest. The goal of this campaign is to permanently conserve this 33,000-acre landscape for wildlife, wildfire safety, water quality, and outdoor access that is paramount to the wellbeing of Central Oregonians and our communities.
The path towards a conservation solution for such a large and important area is neither quick nor simple. Rather, it is a deliberate and complex undertaking for all involved. As such, it is no surprise when questions arise about the conservation process, campaign progress, and outlook for Skyline Forest’s future.
We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions and answers about Skyline Forest and the community campaign to conserve it.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
A decade from now, we hope to walk through Skyline Forest and see a healthy, intact landscape that Central Oregonians enjoy, treasure, and care for.
As the years pass, Skyline Forest is on its way to becoming a mature forest that is more resistant to wildfire and the effects of drought. Herds of mule deer move into the landscape every winter, and flocks of songbirds wing through the ponderosa pines in the spring. Locals and visitors know where best to hike, bike, view wildlife, and explore with respect for the areas and trails best suited for their favorite activity.
Our Central Oregon communities are safer and more fire-resilient because there is no luxury residential development spread throughout this fire-prone landscape. The watershed on which we depend is supported by an influx of cold, clean water from Skyline Forest’s seasonal streams. Our breathtaking views of the Cascades and their green foothills remain.
The stakes are high. If this place becomes a large-scale, luxury development, we will have lost a vital place that is intrinsic and foundational to Central Oregon’s livability. That’s why we won’t let that happen.
Skyline Forest is a real, inspiring example of a community vision coming to life. By tackling tough issues and protecting what we love, we’re helping create more healthy, safe, and just communities in Central Oregon where people and nature thrive.
-
The recent reduction of Skyline Forest’s listing price is a significant step in the right direction for the local community’s ability to acquire and conserve Skyline Forest, and realize our shared vision for its future.
It also shows us that our local grassroots efforts to Save Skyline Forest and deter large-scale, luxury development are working. Why? This price drop is similar to when a house’s sale price has been set too high and is then reduced because there is a lack of interest or offers.
Thanks to our community efforts, prospective developers quickly realize this is an unwise and unsafe place for large-scale, luxury development - and that pursuing this type of development in Skyline will be a really tough path because it is wildly out of step with what our community wants to see for this forest’s future.
However, it’s important to note that this price reduction is a bit of a double-edged sword. With a cheaper sale price, it could also lead to more interest from buyers who do want to pursue large-scale luxury development of Skyline. So we’ll need to be as vigilant and vocal as ever about the future we want to see for our backyard forest that centers conservation, sustained public access, and improved wildfire safety.
-
LandWatch is playing a specific role in the effort to Save Skyline Forest. Our game plan is to continue to grow and elevate the groundswell of community support for protecting this place - and to keep effectively deterring any and all large-scale, luxury development interests. These efforts are critical to making a conservation-focused offer the best and most compelling one to the seller.
LandWatch does not acquire or manage properties. So we’ll keep coordinating closely with local groups like Deschutes Land Trust - who have deep knowledge and expertise acquiring and conserving land - on the most viable ways to buy this property. Financing a purchase of the property for conservation is a complex process and relies heavily on partnerships with philanthropic funders, state, federal, and local agencies. Securing that financing can take many forms - but we do know for sure that any acquisition scenario will ultimately require widespread community support.
Other questions? To get into more of the campaign strategy nitty-gritty or to find out how to help with acquisition of Skyline, please reach out to Corie Harlan, Cities & Towns Program Manager, at corie@colw.org.
-
In short, we don’t know. In July 2022, Skyline Forest was closed to all public access due to increased seasonal fire risk.
As of October, Skyline Forest remains closed. While it is important to respect the decision of the current landowner, this closure has been a significant loss for the communities that love to ride, run, and recreate throughout Skyline Forest.
As we enter the autumn season with cooler temperatures, fire risk in our forests will start to decrease. However, it is uncertain when public access to Skyline Forest will be restored. Because the 33,000-acre forest land is privately owned, the decision to allow access or not is entirely up to the current landowner. The community hopes that, as fire risk decreases, Skyline Forest will be open to public access again. We’ll keep you updated on the status.
This closure is also an important reminder that we need to work together to find a permanent conservation solution for Skyline Forest that sustains public access and improves wildfire safety. Sign the community letter to elected officials urging their leadership in finding solutions that create a better, safer future for Skyline Forest.
-
Skyline Forest is Bend and Sisters’ backyard forest, and it is a fire-prone landscape. This is a result of Skyline’s decades-long history of being a privately-owned and managed timberland. Over time, harvesting has removed fire-resistant mature trees and old growth and replaced it with younger, denser stands of ponderosa pine more prone to fire.
It is widely recognized by the community, forestry experts, and the current landowner that significant restoration and management efforts are urgently needed to restore the fire-resilience of the property.
If our community can acquire and protect Skyline Forest, we can move forward with restoration and management approaches that reduce wildfire risk and restore a healthier and more fire-resilient forest. This is good for the health of the forest and for the safety of our nearby communities.
-
Although closed at this time, Skyline Forest has long been accessed from a variety of nearby locations. Popular entry points include Tumalo Reservoir, the Upper and Lower Three Creek Sno-Parks, Forest Service Rd 4606 (although some stretches of this road are currently closed), and Forest Service Rd 1610.
It is also important to note that Skyline Forest is part of a seasonal winter range closure from December 1 to March 31 every year to limit disturbance to mule deer and elk that rely on this area for safe foraging and breeding in the winter months.
Find a map of select access points to Skyline Forest here.
-
Skyline Forest is currently zoned F1 Forest Use Zone under Deschutes County’s comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance. This zone implements Oregon statewide land use Goal 4 Forest Lands, which protects forest lands for certain outright and conditional permitted uses. Most of these uses are concerned with forestry and natural resource management, including the conservation of soil, air, and water quality and to provide for wildlife and fisheries resources.
However, F1 zoning could allow for limited residential development on large tracts of land. In essence, this could show up as luxury, single-family residences spread far and wide across Skyline Forest, dividing up and fragmenting critical wildlife habitat, putting more pressure on important groundwater resources, and posing a significant and unnecessary fire risk to those homes and the safety of those residing near this fire-prone landscape.
A well-resourced developer could also attempt to persuade Deschutes County to change Skyline’s zoning to allow even greater development. At LandWatch, we see applications to change zoning in Deschutes County all the time. For example, there is a pending application in Deschutes County to rezone and develop 710 acres of intact farmland and essential wildlife habitat outside of Terrebonne. While it would likely be fiercely contested, Skyline’s F1 zoning could be similarly challenged to convert land from forest use and permit greater development potential in Skyline Forest.
Oregon’s land use laws are the pillars that Central Oregon’s quality of life is built upon. These laws are not easily circumvented and LandWatch is here to ensure they are upheld. That’s what we do. Any potential buyer who wants to pursue large-scale luxury development of Skyline Forest will have a tough, arduous path ahead of them. Should a large development proposal or rezoning start to move forward it will take time, financial resources, and widespread community opposition to stop it.
-
Save Skyline Forest is a grassroots, community-driven conservation campaign. It’s the latest and most promising push in a two-decade-long effort to protect this place, once and for all. See more of the history here.
Over 1,100 community members as well as a dozen local businesses and organizations, have joined the effort to conserve Skyline and put sustained public access and improved wildfire safety at the heart of this forest’s future.
The Save Skyline Forest campaign has been supported by local business partners including Worthy Brewing, Patagonia Bend, and FootZone. Other groups like Dirty Freehub, the world-class gravel cycling route guide, have been strong advocates. Individual people have also stepped up big time, writing letters, tipping back a Worthy “Save Skyline” IPA, and answering calls to action. This is a big lift, and it is going to take each one of us stepping up for the future we want to see.
Ready to get involved? Support the community effort right now by adding your name to the Save Skyline Forest community letter to elected officials. We’re calling on our leaders to work together towards solutions that protect this special place.
Is your group or business ready to join this effort? Contact Alex Hardison, Program & Communications Coordinator, at alex@colw.org.
-
The Save Skyline Forest community letter is a way to harness the voices of the many folks who care about Skyline’s future and make them heard loud and clear by our elected officials. We know there is already overwhelming public support for conserving Skyline Forest, and we know there are local political leaders who believe in this vision for its future.
The community letter - which has already been signed by over 1,100 Central Oregonians - will make it abundantly clear to our leaders that now is the time for leadership and collaborative action to move acquisition, conservation, and management solutions for Skyline Forest forward.
Join the movement
Photo: James Parsons
Skyline Forest is an indelible part of Central Oregon to community members and visitors who have lived beside and explored this special landscape. The effort to save Skyline Forest is nearly two decades in the making. It has always been an important place for our community, but now there is renewed urgency to protect this place once and for all.
It’s time to ensure this special place remains a vital, intact part of Central Oregon’s livable future.
You can take action right now by joining the 1,000+ Central Oregonians who have already signed on to the Save Skyline Forest community letter. We’re urging our elected leaders to work together to help find solutions that protect this place while sustaining public access and improving community wildfire safety.
Looking to learn more?
If you have further questions about Skyline Forest or the Save Skyline Forest campaign - or are ready for more ways to get involved with the campaign - please reach out to Alex, Program & Communications Coordinator, at alex@colw.org.