Scenes + Stories from 2025
Inspiring wins and community highlights from the year in review
A sagebrush sunrise in Jefferson County. Photo: Jared Decker.
Every year, the LandWatch team and our community navigate unexpected twists and turns, make the most of difficult situations, and celebrate significant wins for Central Oregon’s livability. All of this work is powered by members, volunteers, partners, advocates, donors, and neighbors who consistently show up for the places we love.
Below, you’ll find a collection of our favorite scenes, stories, and accomplishments from 2025. Some will play key roles in shaping a more sustainable region for decades to come. Others reflect brief but vital moments when community, collective action, and shared values inspired our work to create a more livable future for all.
$1 Million for Wildlife
Central Oregon’s mule deer and elk depend on the Bend to Suttle Lake corridor for seasonal east-west migration routes. Photo: Matt Oliphant.
With a $688,800 award from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Bend to Suttle Lake Wildlife Passage Initiative coalition reached a critical fundraising milestone—unlocking the ability to apply for federal matching funds for phase two of the project: engineering and design of four crossing structures.
This much-needed project has been propelled by broad community support and collaboration. Thanks to ongoing partnership, collaboration, and persistence, we are closer to a future where strategically located wildlife crossings over Highway 20 restore habitat connectivity and reduce dangerous collisions for wildlife and people alike.
Wild Lands and Water Program Director Jeremy Austin having his wildlife crossing cake and eating it, too.
#1 in Your Hearts…
…and #1 in The Source
This year, LandWatch was honored to be voted Best Nonprofit Serving Health & Environment by Source Weekly readers.
This recognition really belongs to our entire community of members, supporters, and partners who work to protect the lands, waters, wildlife, and livable communities of Central Oregon.
We are grateful to stand alongside so many dedicated local environmental defense and conservation organizations working each day to preserve what makes life here extraordinary.
To celebrate, the team enjoyed a wee dram of Fireball.
65 Acres of Farmland Saved
The Deschutes River flowing through Tumalo State Park.
In a major legal victory, LandWatch prevailed before Oregon’s Land Use Board (LUBA) of Appeals to stop Deschutes County’s decision to rezone 65 acres of irrigated farmland above Tumalo State Park. This proposed rezone—on a property known as “Destiny Court”—would have converted farmland outside Bend’s urban growth boundary into a luxury rural residential subdivision.
This win sets important precedent, making it harder for counties to rezone farmland for rural sprawl and underscoring the importance of upholding Oregon’s land use laws to protect farm and forest lands for future generations.
5 Years of Strong Leadership
2025 marked five years of strong leadership from Executive Director Ben Gordon that has ushered LandWatch into a new era of vision, impact, and effectiveness.
Building on a legacy that began in 1986, Ben has channeled the skills of our team, support of our members, and reputation throughout the community to expand the organization’s reach, sharpen its advocacy, and deliver real results across Central Oregon.
Livable Future Forum: The Redux
3 Events, 700 Attendees
Our flagship speaker series returned in 2025, bringing together community members to imagine what a more sustainable and equitable future could look like for Central Oregon and beyond.
This year’s Forum featured nationally recognized environmental voices who challenged us to rethink our relationship with nature, rewrite our understanding of the natural world, and embrace Indigenous leadership in landscape stewardship to better balance human needs with ecological limits.
More than 700 LandWatch supporters and community members attended, reminding us all of the importance of thoughtful, hopeful conversations that help us imagine a better future.
We’re already dreaming up what’s in store for Livable Future Forum 2026!
Taking it to the (Water) Bank
Passage of House Bill 3806
The Deschutes Basin is a unique watershed that supports diverse ecosystems, fish and wildlife species, and high desert communities. Photo: Arian Stevens.
Delivering solutions to restore instream flows and support food-producing farms in Central Oregon was a top legislative priority for LandWatch this year.
Thanks to sustained engagement and strong coalition work, we played an instrumental role in the passage of House Bill 3806 during the 2025 Legislative Session. This bill establishes a pilot water bank program in the Deschutes Basin, creating new opportunities to share water more equitably, keep flows in stream, and better serve fish, farms, and high desert communities.
$10 Million Toward Housing Affordability
In pursuit of climate-resilient, complete communities, LandWatch helped pass state legislation to clear barriers for affordable housing and secure infrastructure funding to support it during the 2025 legislative session—where housing production took center stage.
Together with a broad statewide coalition, we helped advance $10 million in new funding for the infrastructure needed to build affordable housing in places where communities have already planned for growth. We also helped strengthen policies that support infill and middle housing—such as duplexes, triplexes, cottage clusters, and accessory dwellings—making it easier for communities to grow by filling in rather than spreading out.
Taken together, these advances move us closer to housing solutions that are affordable, climate-smart, and aligned with the promise of Oregon’s land use planning goals.
A Christmas (Valley) Miracle
20 Acres of Farmland Protected
Christmas Valley farmland. Photo: Jimmy Emerson
Actually, not a miracle at all—just the result of community organizing and sustainable land use advocacy. Alongside Lake County farmers and residents, LandWatch successfully opposed the rezoning of 20 acres of farmland in Christmas Valley that was at risk of being transformed into a cryptocurrency mining data center. This win highlights what’s possible when local voices work together to defend rural lands against narrow private interests.
Standing Up for Public Lands
24/7, 365
Central Oregon’s public forest lands are an iconic and beloved part of the region. Photo: Wasim Muklashy.
This year brought no shortage of federal threats to public lands and bedrock environmental protections. We rallied hundreds of Central Oregons to take action against proposed public lands selloffs and efforts to roll back the Roadless rule. We fought dangerous attempts to weaken the National Enviornmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act. And, we partnered with Earthjustice, Crag Law Center and Advocates for the West to explain how the environmental community is pushing back against dangerous, questionable, and illegal moves that threaten our National Forests.
This work is ongoing, but despite national upheaval, we will continue shaping sustainble outcomes for our cherished public lands here in Central Oregon.
1 Day in the Sun
+ 1 Spot Zoning Enforcement Action
In a momentary reprieve from office-based efforts to protect Central Oregon’s rural lands, the LandWatch team connected with our friends at Redside Ranch to plant native flora on their restoration sites in the Lower Bridge Valley. It was a whole-team affair, and we were grateful for the hospitality and time spent in one of the landscapes we work to protect.
Shortly after, we were back to work and making moves that will compel Deschutes County to put an end to its rampant conversion of farmland for luxury sprawl.
Rural Lands Program Director and Staff Attorney Rory Isbell…hard at work.
New Street, Who Dis?
3 Crossings, 2nd Street, 1 Up-and-Coming District
Newly completed improvements to 2nd Street in the BCD. Photo: City of Bend.
The Bend Central District (BCD) continued to transform before our eyes in 2025, with the completion of improvements to 2nd Street and new redevelopment strategies in the works. Progress on Bend's new Midtown Crossings at Greenwood, Franklin, and Hawthorne Avenues will better connect neighborhoods, improve safety, and help unlock the potential of a vibrant, connected core.
LandWatch’s Cities and Towns Program has played an integral role in shaping and propelling this vision for a more livable Bend.
Cities & Towns Program Director Corie Harlan hyped up the crowd at a City event celebrating of the completion of improvements to 2nd Street.
170 Years of Treaty Rights
Time Spent at Warm Springs
Robin, Lorraine, and Kristin representing LandWatch at Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days.
LandWatch was honored to be invited to participate in the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs’ Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days in June. Pi-Ume-Sha is an annual celebration of the rights reserved by the Treaty of 1855, and the day offered meaningful opportunities to listen, learn, and connect with Warm Springs community members on the reservation.
2 Scoops in Sisters
Land Use + Chill
Sometimes, the best land use advocacy ideas happen over ice cream. This year, LandWatch hosted a good ol’ fashioned ice cream social at Village Green Park in Sisters (ice cream truck and all). We enjoyed frozen treats and connected with supporters over the work we’re doing in Sisters Country—from wildlife crossings to forest protections to smart urban growth.
Neighborhoods that Work
+ 1 Upcoming Pie Swap
Complete Communities depend on having places to live, work, gather, and meet daily needs nearby. Bruno’s on 6th Street is a great example of a Neighborhood Commercial staple that offers a unique and beloved opportunity for neighborhood residents to access essential goods (i.e. pizza).
LandWatch and Bend YIMBY are partnering to expand Neighborhood Commercial opportunities throughout Bend—so, naturally, we had to venture into the field to get a better understanding of what makes Neighborhood Commercial operations like Bruno’s so special. Stay tuned for a Neighborhood Commercial-oriented pie swap in 2026
Holding Out for an (Earth) Hero
+ 95 Media Hits
The wait is over, Bonnie. Communications Manager Alex Hardison made the front page of the Source Weekly in April as this year’s Earth Hero.
This was one of 95 times that Central Oregon LandWatch’s team made the news in 2025, with regular mentions in The Source, Bend Bulletin, Sisters Nugget, and other local outlets, right up to our first appearance in The Washington Post.
1 Incredible Community
We Couldn’t Do It Without You!
Thank you to everyone who took action, donated, showed up at events, shared stories, and stood with us throughout 2025. These wins from the past year belong to you, and together, we’re building a more livable future for Central Oregon.