Rimrock Ranch Fee Acquisition

Our purchase of Rimrock Ranch, a 1123-acre property in Sisters Country, supported the reintroduction of spring Chinook salmon and steelhead to the upper Deschutes River Basin by protecting and facilitating the restoration of high-potential Chinook salmon and steelhead habitat. Having permanently protected the property via a conservation easement in 2006, the Deschutes Land Trust aims to use this purchase to facilitate collaborative, large-scale restoration of the property to provide the greatest value to salmon and steelhead reintroduction efforts along Whychus Creek. Having purchased the property, we have worked with key partners, including the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council (UDWC), Deschutes River Conservancy (DRC), US Forest Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to execute our longstanding vision of conserving the section of Whychus Creek owned by the Land Trust between Willow Springs Preserve and Rimrock Ranch. As part of this fee purchase, the Land Trust also transferred our existing conservation easement to the McKenzie River Trust, an accredited Land Trust in Eugene, Oregon that will fulfill the easement’s monitoring obligations.

Rimrock Ranch hosts high-potential habitat for Middle Columbia River steelhead and Middle Columbia River spring-run Chinook. This property has been permanently protected through the Land Trust’s conservation easement for the past 14 years. Purchasing Rimrock Ranch will facilitate collaborative, large-scale restoration of the property to provide the greatest value to salmon and steelhead reintroduction in Whychus Creek.