Updates
Request for proposals (RFP) for community-building program design and facilitation
Central Oregon LandWatch (COLW) is seeking specific proposals from interested Facilitators who are capable of strategic group development and facilitation, transformational conflict resolution, and have experience working with diverse groups to achieve equitable outcomes, especially when related to community planning.
What can we learn from California's devastating wildfires?
As development pressures grow in high-risk areas, we must consider every new development in the WUI carefully. Smart planning that takes wildfire risk into account will help avoid unnecessary loss of life and homes, risk to our health, and endangerment of firefighters.
Stop: Trouble For Wildlife Ahead
Central Oregon LandWatch is the ONLY watchdog organization protecting wildlife habitat and migration corridors in rapidly growing Deschutes County.
Important win to protect farm and range land
Our win closes a local loophole that was allowing more development than is typically allowed on farm and ranch land.
Find out what Millennials think about the BCD
We gave Bend's Millennial leaders the chance to design their ideal version of NE Hawthorne Ave at the Bend Chamber's first ever Young Professionals Summit.
How we are helping Jefferson County farming families
Agriculture is an important part of Central Oregon’s cultural heritage and supports a resilient local food system. Farm and ranch land has remained available for family farmers in Central Oregon because of protections put in place by our statewide land use planning system.
Court rules in favor of LandWatch & Wildlife AGAIN
After the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals ruled in favor of wildlife earlier this year, Deschutes County went back to court to challenge their ruling. In a recent ruling from the Court of Appeals, LUBA's decision was affirmed, upholding protections for wildlife in the deer winter range!
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.
Do you want a longer commute?
We need to plan ahead so that together, our land uses and transportation system can reduce the average number of miles we all have to travel to get to where we want to go.
More information about the Tree Kill Along Highway 20
More than 100 of the iconic, old-growth ponderosa pine trees which greet us when we arrive back into Central Oregon from the Santiam Pass or the Metolius River Basin are dying because they were sprayed with a deadly herbicide by the Forest Service and ODOT over the course of three consecutive years.
Groundbreaking new protections proposed for 717 acres west of Bend
Last night, LandWatch advocated for wildlife habitat and protection from wildfire risk adjacent to Shevlin Park by supporting an application for a new zone in Deschutes County. The proposal to create a Westside Transect zone will extend to the county the 2016 UGB concept of tapering density as the city boundary nears the forest where there is higher risk of wildfire.
What's Shaping the Bend Central District
As people continue to move here, the Bend Central District is our best hope for Central Oregon to grow into a place we want to keep calling home.
Federal Judge Rules 137-Mile Off-Road Vehicle Trail System Would Harm Elk Habitat
A victory in Central Oregon LandWatch’s fight to protect elk habitat and quiet recreation opportunities in the Ochoco National Forest came out Monday, August 27th, 2018.
ACTION ALERT: Protect Tumalo Falls!
The City of Bend has applied to continue using its archaic and imprecise method of diverting water from the source spring. With climate change, receding snow packs and glaciers will impact the springs meaning less and less water will flow over Tumalo Falls in the future.
Standing with Moey
As an organization, we are committed to pursuing a more just society through community and environmental advocacy.
Speak on transportation in Bend!
The City of Bend is requesting public input as they plan their next Transportation System Plan. The Plan will be the guiding document for transportation in Bend over the next 20 years.
Do you value Central Oregon's agricultural lands?
The process to reevaluate agricultural lands threatens to classify them as “non-resource”, and prioritize them for development.