The Horizon
The latest updates on our work defending rural lands, creating livable cities and towns and preserving wild lands and water throughout Central Oregon
The Future of Bend’s Growth
Important decisions that will guide Bend's growth for the next 20 years are in the works and on the horizon.
An Update on Sisters’ Urban Growth Boundary Expansion
The City of Sisters is wrapping up its Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion process with a new expansion area that will serve Sisters’ future well.
LandWatch has been engaged in Sisters’ growth since the start of the Comprehensive Planning process in 2020, and over the past year, we’ve helped guide progress as part of the Sisters UGB Steering Committee.
Shaping Bend’s Future
The future of Bend is happening now.
The City of Bend is beginning work that will guide our community’s growth now and for the next 20 to 50 years. LandWatch’s Cities & Towns team is and will be deeply involved with these efforts on the path ahead—and we’ll make sure our community knows the best times to make their voices heard along the way.
Looking Back on Oregon's 2024 Legislative Session
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.
The latest from Salem
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.
Protecting farmland, preventing sprawl
If you visited a produce stand in Central Oregon this past summer, you likely came across local vegetables, herbs, and seeds grown every year in Jefferson County.
Press release: A win to protect farmland from sprawl!
LUBA decides in favor of LandWatch’s challenge to an urban growth boundary expansion. As Jefferson County is home to the most productive agricultural land in Central Oregon, LandWatch was concerned that the UGB expansion would permanently convert prime farmland away from agricultural use without any need to expand the UGB.
How land use can keep Oregonians safe from wildfires
As Oregon reels from destructive wildfires and oppressive smoke, we at Central Oregon LandWatch want to express our heartbreak and sympathy for the communities experiencing unfathomable loss.
Millions of gallons of water for another destination resort?
For decades, LandWatch has been on the frontlines of defense against the negative impacts of destination resorts.