Our Work

Our Work

Restoring Our Forests

The DCFP is dedicated to restoring our forests, making them more resilient to fire, insects and disease, and even climate change. At the same time, we are creating better wildlife habitat, space for trees to grow and thrive, and safer and healthier communities.
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A Forest that Needs Fire

Fire were historically a healthy and regular occurrence in Central Oregon forests. Our trees, plants and wildlife are all adapted to forests that received regular fire. A century of fire suppression has resulted in overly dense forests, and thus very hot and devastating fires.
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The West Bend Project

Some of the most beloved places in the Deschutes National Forest are restoration priorities. Our goals for the West Bend Project: restore forest ecosystems, reduce the potential of high-severity wildfire, and provide socioeconomic benefits to local communities.
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2015-CFLRP-Overview-MapRestoring Balance in our Forests

Since 2010, we’ve been working as partners alongside the Deschutes National Forest on a $10.1 million effort to restore 250,000+ acres of forest in Deschutes County, focusing on the unhealthiest places that are putting our forests and communities at risk, including the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas west of Bend, Sisters, Tumalo and Sunriver.

Before and after restoration efforts at the SAFR project outside Sisters.

Recent News

  • Prescribed Burning in Progress
    Prescribed Burning in Progress

    Prescribed Burning locations across Central Oregon With consistently warmer temperatures, fire managers on the Deschutes National Forest will be taking advantage of favorable weather conditions and begin igniting prescribed burns across our area over the next few weeks. This will…

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  • What is up with the Mulch Piles around Phil’s Trailhead?
    What is up with the Mulch Piles around Phil’s Trailhead?

    What is up with the Mulch Piles around Phil's Trailhead? Restoring a forest ecosystem involves repairing STRUCTURE and FUNCTION. In the West Bend project, forest restoration involves reducing fuels and creating space for trees to grow large and resilient through…

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  • Prescribed Burning for a Healthier Forest and Safer Community
    Prescribed Burning for a Healthier Forest and Safer Community

    Prescribed Burning for a Healthier Forest and Safer Community We share our community's concerns regarding health, visibility, and livability related to smoke produced by prescribed fires. And we know that prescribed burns are a critical step in forest restoration. Research…

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  • Fuels Reduction Slows Milli Fire
    Fuels Reduction Slows Milli Fire

    Thinning, Mowing and Prescribed Fire completed earlier this year has helped firefighters battle the Milli Fire outside of Sisters. Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project members Ed Keith and Nicole Strong recently visited an area of the Milli Fire where restoration had…

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  • Why Prescribed Fire Matters
    Why Prescribed Fire Matters

    Why Prescribed Fire Matters: Healthier forests. Safer communities Contributed by Pete Caligiuri – Forest Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy, Bob Madden – Deputy Chief of Fire Operations, Bend Fire, and Deana Wall – Fuels Program Manager, Deschutes National Forest Hey Central…

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  • Trail Closure Updates for Phils Trail area
    Trail Closure Updates for Phils Trail area

    Restoration Work in West Bend near Phil's Trail Area Popular mountain biking trails will now be open during the week You may have noticed some activity in the forests west of Bend. Restoration work (thinning, mowing, and prescribed burning) near…

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