The Horizon
All the latest updates on our work defending rural lands, creating livable cities and towns and preserving wild lands and water throughout Central Oregon
Defending National Forests Under Trump 2.0
Jeremy Orr, Director of Litigation and Advocacy Partnerships at Earthjustice from Earthjustice, and attorneys from Crag Law Center and Advocates for the West will join Central Oregon LandWatch to examine the Trump administration’s motivations with regard to national forest management and explain how the environmental justice community is pushing back against questionable, dangerous or illegal moves.
Safe Passages
Creating wildlife crossings is a practical, cost-effective move that is also an act of empathy that insists that animals have a right to safety, just as we humans do.
Notes from the Field: The Jays
Jays are strikingly beautiful birds with plumage in various shades of blue: azure, cerulean, cobalt, sapphire, and slate
Notes from the Field: Frogs
Springtime frog song reminds us of the ubiquity of these otherwise shy amphibians, even here in the high desert of Central Oregon.
Wild trout in Whychus Creek need cold, clear water
No more excuses. It’s time for the County to require Thornburgh Resort to make good on its promises to mitigate for its effects on fish and wildlife.
Here's to the Metolius
From the early 1900s, the Basin has been under constant threat from logging and development. It has taken the perseverance and determination of its original guardians and community supporters to fight for its preservation.
Farm and Forest land protections threatened in Crook and Jefferson Counties
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.
Exciting News! LandWatch Preserves Habitat Protections For Riparian Wildlife!
LandWatch succeeded in preserving habitat protections for wildlife species who depend on wetlands and riparian areas throughout Deschutes County!
Notes From The Field: The Puma
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 Love of a Place
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?
Stop: Trouble For Wildlife Ahead
Central Oregon LandWatch is the ONLY watchdog organization protecting wildlife habitat and migration corridors in rapidly growing Deschutes County.
LandWatch Files Appeal to Protect Riparian Habitat
Central Oregon LandWatch is the only group on the front lines in defense of Deschutes County’s wildlife habitat code protections. Last week, we filed an appeal of an alarming change to the county’s Flood Plain Zone to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
A win for wildlife! Upholding protections for mule deer when they are most vulnerable
Last year when Deschutes County proposed amending the code to weaken winter range protections, LandWatch's members and allies, including the friends of the Tumalo Wildlife Corridor, voiced their strong support for protection of winter range habitat and the species that depend on it.
Waterskiing and Wildlife - My take
Waterskiing is a luxury amenity, not a human right. A healthy Mule Deer population however, is a human right, as it is indicative of a healthy, life-sustaining ecosystem that extends far beyond its positive impacts on Deschutes County’s economy and way of life.